The Thrash Metal Guide

\ The Thrash Metal Guide

Copyright (c) 2007-2010 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE

0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

K.G.B. (RUSSIA)

This very obscure act is a fine addition to the Russian metal scene. The debut is good retro thrash metal which starts in the most ambitious way with the 12-min instrumental "Death Of A Madman": state-of-the-art affair seamlessly blending surreal abstract sections, twisted technical ones, and straight headbanging passages; a masterpiece which could well stand on Deathrow's "Deception Ignored", or End Amen's "Your Last Orison". "Waltz" would be a surprise being gloomy doom with nothing technical offered whatsoever. The surprises don't end here, though, as "Madness Celebration" provides very cool agressive technical thrash/death ala early Invocator; and "The Guide For The Fuckface Beginners" is a nice tribute to the Floridian school. More elaborate music comes on "Tanks" which is 12-min of extreme thrash/proto-death shred with a couple of more complex sections. "Risen By Death" is direct Bay-Area thrash metal with a certain technical twist, followed by the more intense proto-death laced "Breath Of A Gloom". "Having The Right" is a somewhat awkward doomy composition lasting for almost 9-min, cancelled by the much shorter explosive "Nomad". "Behind You ...Eternity" is a quiet peaceful ballad, with good clean vocal performance, as opposed to the brutal semi-death shouts accompanying the other material. The closing "Your Damned Name" is another slower clumsy number which doesn't really do the album justice which, despite the wide variety, has more than just a few cool moments to capture the listener's attention.
"Lost in the Atmosphere" arrives 5 years later, and sees the guys having grown as musicians playing capable semi-technical thrash of the classic school. The opening "Who Wants To Live" is a creepy minimalistic technical thrasher clinging between Coroner's "Mental Vortex" and Mekong Delta's "Caleidoscope", and is the highlight. The creepiness and minimalism carry on taking a longer form, on "Rain", which is a twisting doomy number with a surreal edge. Then comes "Feeling", which will ake you "feel" confused a bit, since this is a very good dark wave-ish ballad with very cool clean Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode)-like vocals. "U.F.O. (G.D.S. in the air)" shares some of the avantgardism of early Depressive Age, but refuses to speed up lashing heavy meaty riffs for 2.5-min. "Abyss Awaits" brings back the more technical patterns from the beginning, but remains slow and doomy. The rest of the songs are very similar, and could cause some sleepiness, although the other ballad: the heavier "And Rainbow Keeps Open its Gate", is not bad at all. As a whole this album can be considered the more consistent effort of the two, although it lacks the speed, vigour, and spontaneity which the debut had aplenty.

Risen By Death Full-length, 1992
Lost in the Atmosphere Full-length, 1997

K.O.D. (USA)

This is the band where the ex-Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt continued his career. Based on the "Slaughterhouse" demo, the style is good fast thrash/death metal, sounding like a further continuation of the Rigor Mortis debut, with the Corbitt vocals taking a harsher, more sinister tone. Apart from the short speedy assaults this demo also includes two much longer (8-9min) songs where you won't hear something more technical, it's just that the bashing goes for longer "decorated" with some stylish lead guitar work, and Corbitt takes a secondary role there, leaving more room for the others to perform.

Slaughterhouse Demo, 1989
Demo Demo, 1990
Kingdom of Dead Full-length, 1993

K-0S (SPAIN)

Melodic thrash with some Mrossover tendencies; the music is feelgood, reaching for heavy/power metal at times ("De La Onu A La Otan"), or at times for jolly punk (S.K.A."), also including one cool semi-ballad (El Camino"). The album definitely has its more edgy moments: the short headbanger "Odio", the heavy up-tempo thrasher "La Semilla Del Diablo", but it would have a wider appeal than other full-fledged thrash metal works.

Kondenados Full-length, 1999

KAARMENAITELLY (FINLAND)

Another fine example that there is something in the water in Finland: very cool retro thrash from the North sung in Finnish (a growing tendency with the bands out there) with both fast, technical songs and some heavier, slower ones.

Moraalin Vartijat Full-Length, 2005

KABAT (CZECH)

Melodic thrash with classic heavy metal parts; might sound too soft for the more radical thrash metal fan (based on the debut). Despite the presence of some up-tempo speed/thrashers ("Nechte Me Bejt", "Fuck 'N' Roll", and especially the intense Bay-Area-sque "Ma Ji Motorovou"), the music will not hold water for long for the thrash metal fan. The last song "Pasik" is a sudden turn to slow, funereal doom, and is quite effective, although the ending ruins it a bit, being some punk-ish joke. Later the band moved to hard rock.

Má Ji Motorovou Full-length, 1991
Živě! Live album, 1991
Děvky Ty To Znaj Full-length, 1993

KACHANA (UK)

This band remind me of Ghoul and Frightmare: thrash metal mixed with mid-period Carcass. These guys are less aggressive, and by all means more technical. The music is heavy with nice technical breaks, never speeds up a lot, and the bass work is simply brilliant at times (check out "Severed Skin"). "Byzantium" is the highlight of this cool debut featuring great twisted riffs and more intense sections ala Dark Tranquillity. The singer has a voice similar to Jeff Walker, maybe with a slight shade of Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity again).
"Of Gods And Men" is less striking being pretty ordinary modern thrash metal, a much more melodic offering than the debut clinging towards gothic and the ballad, and despite several edgy headbanging sections thrown in this album will mostly satisfy fans of the more melodic side of the genre who will be particularly pleased with the very good emotional clean vocals. The ban members do further damage in two other acts: the melodic death/metal act Irony of Christ, and the more classically-inclined thrash metallers Craniosacral.

Killing Inside Full-length, 2003
Of Gods And Men Full-length, 2009

KAHTMAYAN (IRAN)

Well done progressive instrumental power/thrash, nicely alternating between intense riff-oriented sections and melodic lead guitar passages. The tempo is quite energetic, without crossing over the sound barrier, although the headbangers will find fine moments on "Auricle" to jump around. The guys are quite expert at mixing acoustic guitars with more aggressive riffage ("Degeneration", "Recalling"); another mixture worth mentioning is the progressive opus "Xenophobia", which constantly alternates quiet dreamy moments with faster more intense ones. "Fogyist" is a really fine exercise on meandering technical thrash, with a speed metal twist at the end. Another similar technical experience is "Hydra", which is slightly less dynamic and more jumpy. The closer "The Last Station" is a very cool instrumental ballad, which will make you cry (at least the more romantic souls), a quiet, but very appropriate ending for this fairly satisfying effort coming from one of the least likely places on the metal map.
"Virtual Existence" has a darker more brooding tone, and is considerably slower now evolving around mid-paced heavy riffage, with more complex song-structures clinging more towards the power/progressive metal field. "Cold Reflection" is a nice break in the middle speeding up quite a bit at some point also containing great technical melodic leads. Then the music becomes even more elaborate with more emphasis on lead guitar pyrotechnics supported by a strong keyboard background. The hard-hitting riffs are not developed fully, and even when they are given more space, they don't really strike a note being slightly monotonous and samey.

Exir Full-Length, 2005
Virtual Existence Full-length, 2009

KAIN (CROATIA)

Based on the "Everything Is Possible" EP: classic 80's thrash metal, reminiscent of Exodus and Vio-Lence. The band plays fast and intensely with cool melodic tunes thrown in. The closing song "Wargames" is slower, mid-paced and heavy (and too long as well: 7-min), and kind of underwhelming, betraying the cool headbanging pace of the rest.
"In Touch With Reality" has already embraced some of the modern tendencies ("Pride" "flirts" with the groovy sounds quite a bit), but the classic thrashiness hasn't disappeared completely, and what's on offer here is a more updated version of the Bay-Area sound still more retro-sounding than the early 90's efforts of the aforementioned acts. The speed, however, has been diminished to a certain extent, and now the pace is mid for most of the time touching the semi-ballad on the good edgy "Time for a Change".

Everything Is Possible EP, 1992
In Touch With Reality EP, 1994

KALAKAI (USA)

Typical melodic thrash/death metal, fast and edgy, with ultra-fast passages interrupted by sharp thrashy breaks. Nothing revolutionary, although the excellent closing acoustic instrumental "Solace" may make you cry.

A Slow Descent Into Oblivion Demo, 2006
Kalakai EP, 2009

KALASCHNIKOV (GERMANY)

There is not much known about this obscure act, except the fact that two people are responsible for the music on the debut, which is pretty competent speed/thrash which surprisingly sounds close to the American standards (Sentinel Beast, Destructor, Blessed Death, Piledriver) topped by somewhat awkward deep clean declamatory vocals which never try to shout a bit higher which could have been beneficial. The album begins with "Devil's Yo Hero" which is vintage energetic American speed/thrash metal slightly ruined by the not very proficient leads. "The Haunted House" follows suit with plenty of sharp galloping riffs and a cool balladic intro, but the guys mess it up with the next "Rockin By The Grave Yard" which is a bland hard'n heavy rocker. "Kill Your Neighbor" improves things with more dynamic power/thrash guitars, but the real status quo is restored with "Chosen One", a really nice mixture of fast intesne and heavy stomping passages. The instrumental "Demons Rebellion" is a cool slab of lead-driven speed/thrash which is hardly the best decision as the lead guitarsit is not a really big asset. "Video Monsters" is pure fierce thrash, but there is a flaw again, this time caused by the singer who this time for some reason tries to rule the show adding gruffer harsher tones plus a few laughable high-pitched thin screams, the former not a complete waste, as a matter of fact, making him sound quite close to Gord Kirchin (Piledriver, Dogs with Jobs, Convict); this number actually strongly recalls the Piledriver's "Stay Ugly" closer "The Executioner", in a good way. More edgy speed/thrash with "Hell's Runnin' Wild" again sustained in the best tradition of the aforementioned "Stay Ugly", before the vocal version of "Demons Rebellion" wraps it up; a much better track than the instrumental with the leads removed completely now replaced by excellent high-speed riffage, and the singer surprisingly sounding more potent compared to his previous performance.
The follow-up has nothing to do with these two guys since neither of them had been listed as taking part in it. Still it mysteriously features as their second official full-length containing an inferior brand of heavy and power metal, again with an American flavour, the only improvement having been made in the vocal department where the new guy comes up with a deeper more melodic tember.

The Torture Never Stops Full-length, 1988
Desert Storm Full-length, 1990

KALASHNIKOV (PORTUGAL)

Punk-ish thrash/crossover of the melodic jolly variety, with no big ties to thrash, except on a few more aggressive faster moments ("Peace is Dead").

Oh Yeah Motherfucker!!! Full-length, 2007

KAMALA (BRAZIL)

Based on the demo, this young Brazilian band pull out intriguing modern thrash with occasional shades coming from the classic school. The style is somewhat technical with choppy riffs, mixed with more straight-forward ones resulting in really good intense, complex numbers: "Take Away", "Corrosive". One song is featured in two forms: "Tired", which is also a cool track, maybe more groovy and standard. The last one "Shame" is 1.5-min of frantic, but again fairly interesting thrashing.
The full-length is hardly an improvement, sacrificing the more original approach for more conventional modern thrash one, which frequently adheres to groove, and frantic shredding with an industrial edge ala Strapping Young Lad. This amalgam doesn't work all the time, awkwardly switching from clumsy groovy to very fast hectic fast passages. The industrial atmosphere is too strong for one to grasp fully this act as a thrash metal one; fans of the Canadians Soulstorm, late period Meshuggah, and even Godflesh would find something to like here.
"Fractal" is a better effort with more frequent nods to thrash, still very modern-sounding, "flirting" with the Swedish melo-death scene as well, but the groove is firmly here, although not to an annoying extent. A nice more technical track appears ("In Others Mind") in the middle, but the clean alternative vocals ruin it big time. As a whole we have a varied industrialized take on the modern thrash idea which should be an entertaining listen to fans of the modern sound.

Corrosive Demo, 2005
Kamala Full-length, 2007
Fractal Full-length, 2009

KAMALA (FINLAND)

Based on the "Riittämättö" demo, this all-female act pulls out quite ordinary modern post-thrash in mid-pace with groovy "decorations" and alternative vibes. The music recalls the one of Guano Apes with a more aggressive punk-ish attitude.

Peto Demo, 2006
Päästä Irti Demo, 2007
Riittämättö Demo, 2008

KAMARA (FINLAND)

A good mixture of classic and modern thrash with rough, death-ish and nice clean vocals, which at times come unpleasantly synthesized, and touches of the gothic/doom style adopted by their compatriots Amorphis on their more recent works. There is some Metallica-influence in the guitar work, coming from both their late-80's and their Black Album period. This is heavy, mostly mid-paced stuff with cool crushing riffs and memorable melodic guitar lines, but is kind of one-dimensional, with very few attempts at a more varied, up-tempo play: "Hauras Mielil", and the closing moments of "Riisuttu", which come with furious blast-beats.
"Tyrannia" is a faithful follow-up, thrashing in a sure-handed semi-classic/semi-modern fashion mixing faster up-tempo and slower mid-paced numbers, but it's the former which pull the album through: "Väen ja Vallan Valtias", the furious speedster "Tuhon Airut", etc. The end is kind of underwhelming, though, with "Syvempiin Varjoihin" which is dragging uneventful mid-paced modern thrash, and "Rauha" which is a quiet acoustic instrumental. Some of the musicians taking part here are also seen in the gothic metal act SaraLee.

Ämäkin Vielä EP, 2004
Synti, Tuomio, Katumus Full-length, 2005
Tyrannia Full-length, 2010

KAMELEONTTI (FRANCE)

Based on the "Vähitellen Vaikenee" EP, this band plays modern post-thrash with a dark gothic sound. Seldom can one hear very fast death metal outbreaks, but the dominant pace is mid at best.

Luojan Kiitos EP, 2002
Kaiken Jälkeen EP, 2003
Vähitellen Vaikenee EP, 2007
Sarkaimet EP, 2007
LeiKi Kuollutta Single, 2009
Tärkein Vähemmistö Full-length, 2009

KAMPFBUND (FRANCE)

This band offers a decent mix between classic and modern thrash of the less hard-hitting type, with gruff death-ish vocals. The music is predominantly mid-paced, with the occasional faster burst ("Divinites Paiennes", the nice speedster "Tempete Nordique"). There is a certain gothic atmosphere going through the album ("Pandemonium" and elsewhere), and "Les Chacals" is jolly crossover.

Mythes Et Combats Pour L’europe Full-Length, 2008

KAN KLOYI (THAILAND)

This obscure Thai formation offers a mild, pleasant blend of classic heavy, power and a bit of thrash metal. The guys never speed up, but there are a couple of very heavy, pounding pieces, which owe a lot to the 80's American power/thrash metal scene. Unfortunately, the singer's clean tember inclines for a more balladic song-writing, and such are half of the tracks on this one.

Huqdib Full-Length, 1995

KAOS (USA)

Based on "Kaos Among Us", this band mixes classic and modern thrash, with Pantera and Slayer being the main influences. The guys try to play fast and tight, but when they slow down, they come up with intriguing heavy tracks ("Burning Scars", the semi-ballad "God As My Witness"), although their more aggressive side is also cool ("Live Forever", "Descend Into Madness"). As a result we have a moderately successful bridge between the old and the modern school. The band benefits from the presence of Kevin Albert: the guitarist who played in the not so distant past in both Ulysses Siren and Defiance.
The guys are not the most productive band in the world, and here "The Pits of Existence" comes to bring you a similar to the older works concoction of classic and modern thrash, and another mix of faster and slower numbers as the former should have been more since they elevate the mood big time. The problem is that they are only 3 in total, and although they open and close the album, they are not enough to make this effort a perennial delight for the old school thrash fan. The mid-tempo semi-groovers dominate, and are not bad at all; it's just that the band were fonder of speed before, and sounded more appealing.

Vision Beyond Full-length, 2000
Kaos Among Us Full-length, 2003
The Pits of Existence Full-length, 2010

KAOSLORD (ITALY)

6 tracks of modern industrialized, sometimes technical thrash, which strangely reminds me of Front Line Assembly's only flirtation with the genre "Millenium". The music is jumpy, and some riffs may catch your attention, but seldom leaves the mid-range, except for isolated sections from separate songs. "Ja-Wohl" livens up the situation with some brisk riffage, but the rest is pretty much the same: heavy, pounding guitars with industrial effects retouching the sharpness here and there.

Catch The Fear Full-length, 1993

KAOTHIC (SPAIN)

These Spaniards play stylish complex thrash/death, which is more on the modern side, but the interesting guitars and the intriguing decisions guarantee you not a dull moment. The album starts with the progressive meandering "Shpere", but there is more to come, with the more aggressive "Hypocritical", which thrashes with full force. "Strange Confusion" offers entertainment of the more elaborate, progressive type again, but is too "out there", without any dynamic moments. They come aplenty on the next "Seven Times Seven": an impressive speed/thrashing opus, with great Oriental hooks, and a few blasting moments thrown in. "A Raven In The Dark" breaks the alternation between slower, longer and faster, shorter songs, and is excellent technical thrash/death, quite a brutal piece, with great guitar performance. "Veif Of Shame" slows down, and is almost gothic/progressive, containing mostly quiet, lead-driven passages. And another more intesne technical number as a finishing touch: "Arrows Of Time", which even includes a short groovy passage, among the steel hectic technical riffage. There is an interesting "duel" between the two vocals styles presented: one is in the brutal death metal camp, the other is clean, with an avantgarde shade, quite cool, recalling the ones of Vintersorg. Spain is not famous for its technical metal scene (Unreal Overflows come to mind from the more recent acts, and, of course, the instrumental technical death masters Continuo Renacer), but these guys look well equipped to compete with the best on a worldwide scale.

Order to Chaos Full-length, 2005

KARBONIZED TRAITOR (FRANCE)

There is no information anywhere who is behind the music, but this is hardly important, as this is unimpressive noisy thrash/black with horrible synthesized vocals; at times the tempo is quite fast, but there are times when clear stoner/doom passages sneak through, as well as rock'n roll jokes: "When I Plug Your Sister's Holes". The overall sound is not far from the Japanese school in the genre: Barbatos above all, but also Abigail, etc.

Take it in the ass Full-length, 2006

KARDANNUI VAL (RUSSIA)

A wild frenetic mix of thrash, crossover, and grindcore; this is music played strictly for laughs with plenty of comic touches inserted. Cool sharp riffs can be heard, but at least half of the tracks are furious, less than 1-min, explosions in the vein of early Napalm Death and Electro Hippies.

Vse V Sad! Full-Length, 1995

KARMA (ARGENTINA)

This obscure Argentinian act pulls out a dry, sterile mix of thrash, death and a bit of hardcore. The guys try to give a fair share of each of those styles, but this blend is nothing exceptional staying mostly in the mid-paced sector, with a couple of moments where the riffs start jumping in all directions creating a chaotic feeling which doesn't quite live up to its technical pretensions. "Feel Your Truth (Betray The World)" is a surprisingly more complex exercise on modern thrash, quite long compared to the rest of the songs with clever heavy, almost doomy riffs, and brings a nice change from the otherwise monotonous picture. "Odio Song" and "Nuclear Epidemy" are also more than welcome near the end, with their raging guitars, and cool tempo changes. A bit of 90's Sepultura, a bit of early Meshuggah, a bit of Grope and Puncture have found room in this hectic, occasionally interesting, but not a really commendable release.
"Elevation Massacre" already sounds as a typical 90's aggro-effort, although the groovy "traps" are nicely avoided most of the time with more energetic almost classic-sounding riffs (the short explosive "Birth Killer Machine"; the dry mechanical, but energetic guitars on "Believe is Not Be Live"). "Scare Dreams" is a cool mix of groove and more dynamic riffage, even trying something semi-technical at some point ala early 90's Prong, but the other material doesn't stray too much from the established 90's laws, still offering songs which could be considered a better follow-up to "Chaos AD" even than Sepultura's own "Roots".

Fear Of Destiny Full-length, 1994
Elevation Massacre EP, 1996

KARMIAN (ITALY)

Above average modern thrash, not miles away from the first two The Haunted albums, but the singer here is a pure hardcore shouter, and both death metal and classic thrash sections can be caught, which makes the Italians' music more enjoyable, at least to these ears. The tempo is fast and energetic, producing genuine headbanging moments. The only drawback would perhaps be the closing "Lethal Weapon" which "flirts" with groove the whole time, and is hardly the most suitable exit from this otherwise enjoyable EP.

Karmian EP, 2007

KARNAK SETI (PORTUGAL)

Based on the "Cosmic Fate" demo, these guys pull out melodic thrash/death metal with both classic and modern elements present. The music is kind of clumsy, though, being constantly mid-paced long on atmosphere the latter also achieved by a couple of more gloomy doom-laden passages. The singer is a scary death metal growler.

Cosmic Fate Demo, 2003
Karnak Seti Demo, 2004
Collateral Dreams Demo, 2005
Stranded by Existence Demo, 2008
Scars of Your Decay Full-length, 2009

KARRAS (GERMANY)

Modern thrash/death with some moments recalling Slayer's late 80's period; the music stays closer to thrash, except on some furious sections where the blast-beats reign supreme for a while.

The Bright Side of Death Full-Length, 2007

KARRION (CANADA)

Based on the "Free In Death" 3-track demo, Karrion blend aggressive, Slayer-influenced thrash ("King's Exile") with slower, heavy riffs ("Free in Death") in the Celtic Frost-vein, plus a combination of the two ("Forsaken World").

Karrion Demo, 1986
Free In Death Demo, 1987

KARTZER (BULGARIA)

This obscure Bulgarian band come up with a modern, angry brand of thrash, which shares some of the hardcore aesthetics of bands like Pro-Pain and Sick Of It All, but when they feel like it, thay can pull out good headbangers: "Let Me Die", "Bulgarian Reality" (this song could be a good starting point, from where you can begin learning something about the country, at least about its more recent history- kidding, of course). "Virtual Reality" tries to experiment with rap-styled vocals and offbeat melodies, but they simply sound ridiculous compared to the vicious, aggressive hardcore shouts of the singer.

Progress to Decay Full-Length, 2000

KASAKIT (PHILIPPINES)

Messy raw amateurish thrash/death, a not very pleasant surprise after the last couple of cool bands from the Philippines that have showed up in the past few months, with very bad brutal low-tuned vocals which obviously try to imitate Chris Barnes. The music is not worth mentioning being rough direct bashing moving from very fast to very slow with abrasive distorted guitars.

Perpetual Pain EP, 2008

KASATURA (TURKEY)

Two songs which show this young Turkish act preferring to stay closer to the classic school; both songs combine speedy riffs with heavy, mid-paced sections, accompanied by a dual vocal attack: one style is vicious black-ish rasp, the other gruff death metal one.

Cruel Killers Promo, 2007

KAT (POLAND)

A band who did a lot to establish metal on the music scene in Poland; the first two efforts are more in the power/heavy metal realm, recalling early ADX and Killers, but after that the band moved to thrash metal (the same year when another big Polish band: Turbo, did that) with "Oddech Wymarlych Swiatów": a fine fusion of power, speed and thrash, boasting really impressive speed/thrashing pieces: "Porwany Obledem", "Dziewczyna W Cierniowej Koron". The band hint at more complex things to come, with the excellent "Mag-Sex", which begins as a ballad, before it evolves into a smashing riff-fest. More mellow compositions are also around, keeping the band's past alive, including the cool ballad "Glos Z Ciemnosci".

"Bastard" wastes no time, showing that the guys have grown musically, and the opening "W Bezkształtnej Bryle Uwięzion" comes with a heavier, more technical sound. "Zawieszony Sznur" excels in the guitar department producing enchanting melodic hooks of the Oriental type; it even finds time for a speedy section near the end. When "Bastard" refuses to speed up, it becomes clear that there won't be much aggression involved here, and this is the reason why despite the high level of musicianship displayed all over, this album will leave fewer memories in the listener's head, than the rawer, but more immediate predecessor. But the guitar performance alone will make you go back to it more than just now and then, as well as the nice closing ballad "Łza dla Cieniów Minionych", a tendency which the guys fully developed on the follow-up ("Ballady"), which consisted of 9 very good ballads (some of which are a bit overlong), including the aforementioned one from "Bastard".
However, the band quickly gave up their romantic inclinations, and "Róże Miłości Najlepiej Przyjmują Się Na Grobach" saw them speeding up once again. Unfortunately the fast-paced thrashing opener "Odi Profanum Vulgus" will cheat you big time, since this album is not about heads-down thrash, and at least half of the songs are full-fledged ballads, with a more aggressive edge. There is a lot of groove involved as well, and although "Strzeż Się Plucia Pod Wiatr" lifts the spirit up with its brisk thrashy guitars, it can hardly dissipate the morose atmosphere created by the two lengthy semi-balladic compositions which surround it.
The previous effort left a solid aftertaste in the mouth, but "Szydercze Zwierciadło" does very little to dissipate it. The guys feel content playing ordinary, uneventful modern power/thrash. It was good that the band took a break after this one, to do some rethinking, but this pause must have confused them even more, as "Mind Cannibals" is a direct follow-up to the last one containing another portion of blatant, unimpressive modern metal.

Metal and Hell Full-length, 1985
666 Full-length, 1986
Oddech Wymarlych Swiatów Full-length, 1987
Bastard Full-length, 1991
Ballady Full-length, 1993
Bąd? Wariatem Zagraj z Katem EP, 1996
Róże Miłości Najlepiej Przyjmują Się Na Grobach Full-length, 1996
Szydercze Zwierciadło Full-length, 1997
Mind Cannibals Full-length, 2005

KATAFALK (HOLLAND)

Katafalk play modern thrash/death metal, with some brutal blast-beat moments and shades of black metal. The tempo very seldom goes to mid-paced; this is quite fast and intense music.

Storm of the Horde Full-length, 2003
Death’s Contradiction EP, 2006

KATASTROPHY (USA)

Good classic 80's thrash, hard-hitting and energetic, close to Anthrax and Slayer, maybe a bit more adventurous, with both more technical and modern 90's elements trying to sneak through here and there, but these are the moments where the music loses edge, and sounds kind of chaotic. It's in the faster and more immediate parts where the guys really know what they do, and also on the heavy, slower, but effective, Infernal Majesty-influenced number "Third Anti-Christ".

Demo Demo, 1993

KATEDRA (LITHUANIA)

Based on "Natus In Articulo Mortis", this is a pleasant surprise: standout progressive thrash, which sounds wonderfully abstract and avantgarde in a way similar to Voivod's "Killing Technology", early Mekong Delta, and the other great progressive thrash metal act from the former Soviet Union: Valkyria. The music is graced by fabulous technical riffs, great leads, and superb surreal melodies. There are also more accessible sections where the guitars thrash more aggressively, creating a cool headbanging atmosphere. Even the gruff, Tom G. Warrior-like vocals fit the music quite well. Despite its complex nature, this masterpiece will grab you immediately, simply because you will get absorbed in the very engaging, but at the same time quite riffy music; by all means one of the Russian-related metal scene's finest hours.

"Mors Ultima Ratio" is a more melodic affair, with quite a few semi-balladic and atmospheric elements, a mix of power and thrash metal (more power metal-based, actually), and is a much more immediate listen, with the progressive tendencies only slightly hinted at. Still it's a worthy effort with, again, good melodic leads and fine speed metal numbers ("Smeklos").
"III" comes after a long 12-year break, and shows that the guys have apparently lost almost all interest in thrash metal; the sound is a mixture of more recent Fates Warning and modern progressive power metal, which packs a punch here and there ("Gele", "Kosmaro Vizija"), and the musicianship remains on a considerably high level, but most of the time it is just not a very impressive progressive metal album.

Mors Ultima Ratio Full-length, 1989
Natus In Articulo Mortis Full-length, 1992
III Full-length, 2006

KAUTERION (SPAIN)

4 songs of black/thrash big on atmosphere and dramatism; fast raging moments get mixed with epic thrashy ones all graced by haunting melodies mostly created by the guitars, with a very sparce use of keyboards. The prototypical raven-like vocals are here, too, recalling Abbath Doom Occulta (Immortal), the Norwegians also being the closest soundalike.

Toward The Lights Of The End Demo, 2003

KAUTERY (ITALY)

This is raw, aggressive thrash metal with numerous proto-death moments, which will bring you back to the days when bands like Messiah and Protector were making a hell of a noise in the metal underground with their first works. The production is awful with bad synthesized, hysterical vocals put in the front during the mix. There are more interesting, almost technical moments ("Calling Inner Self"), but the rest is mostly intense bashing with not a very high level of musicianship present.

Living Crusher Demo, 2004

KAYSER (SWEDEN)

A cool new band from Sweden who play retro thrash with thicker, modern production. The band's influences are from the Bay Area scene, but one could catch shades of Slayer and even of some of the German thrash heroes. In other words, for fans of all walks of classic thrash this band would be a delight.

Kaiserhof Full-length, 2005
Good Citizen EP, 2006
Frame The World...Hang On the Wall Full-length, 2006

KAZJUROL (SWEDEN)

The full-length is a nice classic speed/thrash metal album. The guys play fast and intensely, like on the good opening "A Clockwork Out Of Order", which is not all-out speed, but comes with a heavy, doomy interlude in the middle. Actually, there are no many pure speedy tracks here: the merciless (no pun intended) "Merciless Insanity", the Slayer-esgue "Honesty The Right Excuse", the brutal hardcore-ish "Stagedive to Hell"; the longer compositions mix fast and slower moments all the time, resulting in a fairly interesting listen: check out the awesome, multi-layered "Echoes from the Past". Seldom can one hear something more complex ("Blind Illusions"). No fillers here, and as a bonus there is a cover version of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", followed by the album closer "The Human Force": a heavy thrasher with a hardcore edge.

Dance Tarantella Full-length, 1990
Bodyslam EP, 1991
Toothcombing Reality's Surroundings EP, 1991

KEEN ACT (USA)

One of the many roughly produced typical 80's thrash demos; the music is heavy, not very fast, with gruff vocals, recalling James Hetfield. The sound has a strong Bay-Area influence, but the bad sound quality is a big obstacle for one to appreciate this stuff. "Crematorium" is a nice track- aggressive and pounding at the same time, in the spirit of early Testament. "Sense of Destruction" is a cool closer, again picking more speed: a short, but enjoyable speed/thrasher.

Hope Demo, 1990

KEEPER OF DARKNESS (ITALY)

There's certainly a potential here: the band play kind of original heavy, doomy thrash with progressive overtones, which is not too far from Communic, or Nevermore in the faster parts; another act this band might remind you, are their compatriots Chaoswave, but the music here is slower, and heavier (man, these riffs weigh). The guitar sound is very heavy and crushing, and the strong melodic, semi-high vocals nicely contrast to them. "Subject of Nothing" is a marvellous opener, setting the gloomy, maybe a bit depressive tone for the whole demo. "The Kiss of Rationality" speeds up quite a bit, and all of a sudden the singer might remind you of Warrel Dane, as well as the music, although the Italians stick to a more varied song-writing, spicing things with some stylish leads and cool melodic hooks. "When the Soul Cries" is another great number, slower, with smashing riffs, which jump from leaden doomy ones to some more dynamic technical ones. "Confession with Pain" starts as though the band have decided to play some aggressive death metal for a change; the fast tempo remains, "broken" by the doomy middle section, after which the speed from the beginning never fully returns, but the mighty, creepy riffage does the damage no worse. "A Friend of Mine" ends this demo with style, being a great doomy ballad, although you might not be able to dance with your girl/boy on this one, and not only because of the faster thrashy closing passage. This is an underground gem, which will hopefully reach its goal: to arouse the labels' interest in signing the band.

Keeper of Darkness Demo, 2005

KEEPER OF DREAMS (HUNGARY)

Good technical thrash/death metal, relying on melodic/technical mixtures to pull it through, and succeeds without going for the very fast parameters. The sound is not miles away from the one of later-period Death, but here the pace is mid to up-tempo at best. On the longer songs ("Human Depravity", "Cruel Instincts") near the end the music becomes more serious with progressive overtones, nicely alternating fast-paced with slower dreamy passages. The singer tries to not stray too far from Chuck Schuldiner (R.I>P>), but his tember is lower-pitched and more throaty.

Taste Smashed to Pieces Ful-length, 2009

KEITH MERROW (USA)

Based on "Lonestar Transcend": modern instrumental post-thrash relying mostly on riffs of the mid-tempo type, mixing heavy groovy sections with dynamic technical ones. "Cetus" is dry mechanical technical thrash at its best, a frantic chaotic number which is far superior to the other songs which are a bit samey, heavy and reasonably complex.
"The Arrival" is in a similar vein, maybe a bit more dynamic, with more faster tempos, but at the same time with more melodic hooks as well ("Pillars of Creation"). Still, there is a lot of jumpiness in a way not too dissimilar from Meshuggah even, with a few numbers having a more consistent repetitive nature (the doomy "Nadir", and the groovy semi-balladic "The Arrival" at the end). "Abducted" is furious industrial groovy thrash/death ala Fear Factory with a nice technical twist, and could be viewed as an analogue to the aforementioned "Cetus" from the debut.

Lonestar Transcend Full-Length, 2009
The Arrival Full-Length, 2009

KELDARK (SPAIN)

Cool melodic power/thrash, energetic, mid to up-tempo, with balladic moments ("Stealer's Prince", "Time of War", etc.) and good mid-ranged melodic vocals. The riffs are not very sharp, and except on "Slow Trip To Destruction" you won't be able to hear many intense thrashy sections.

Slow Trip To Destruction Part II Full-length, 2007

KELLER (SLOVENIA)

Excellent classic speed/thrash packed in 4 blitzkrieg songs with vigorous sharp riffs and cool clean mid-levelled vocals; very good stuff also supported by short melodic leads and the occasional more technical hook ("Summon the Mortals"). "Death Command" is a brilliant galloping "horse" thrashing far and wide in the best spirit of the 80's swtiching onto full speed-ahead in the 2nd half. "Holy Slaughter" is a blistering piece of one-of-a-kind technical thrash, quite brutal as well, recalling Have Mercy and Wargasm at their best. This amazing demo shouldn't remain buried, and should by all means find its way to the labels soon...

Awake The Forgotten Demo, 2008

KEMAKIL (UK)

Very good energetic retro thrash, which offers a lot to entertain the thrash metal fan: fast-paced direct headbangers ("Social Disorder", the smashing blitzkrieg thrasher "Blood Removal Machines", and the closing ball of fury "Acceptable Carnage"), great mixtures of heavy, stomping riffs and speedy semi-technical ones ("Profit Of Poison"), a marvellous galloping power/thrasher ("Deadlines") with lashing steel guitars; the nice mid-paced lead-driven instrumental "Gondolas On the Styx". There is not a single filler here: 8 tracks of unadulterated classic thrash; the main riff from "Already Dead" will remind you of Exodus' immortal "Piranha".

Gondolas On The Styx Demo, 2007

KENŇS (ITALY)

Based on "The Craving": these guys' music reminds me of Invocator's "Through The Flesh To The Soul": progressively-laced modern thrash/death metal, which is not bad at all. The band rely mostly on heavy, crushing riffs (the exception is "Teaben Rising" which is a speedy, aggressive piece with a Dark Tranquillity touch), but it's the shorter, faster numbers which stick out, and are the more technical: "Mutant Creation". On the longer songs the guys try to keep things interesting, with Gothenburg-styled elements and slower, gothic parts (think mid-period Sentenced, Cemetary: "Aries", Part II).

Rigor Mortis EP, 2002
Intersection Full-length, 2004
The Craving Full-length, 2007

KEOPS (SPAIN)

This is mostly speed metal in the vein of early Helloween (also the vocals which are very close to Kai Hansen except on the time when the guy screams his lungs out, which, fortunately, doesn't happen too often), but it has its quite a few thrashy moments as well. At the time when Helloween were repelling even their hard-core fans with the awful brand of metal they started to play around the same time, these guys have made a small gem of fast-paced metal which could have been quite an influence on the 90's power/speed metal scene, although this 4-track demo easily beats 90% of those bands. This is energetic music, full of nice melodic guitar leads, more aggressive headbangig riffs, catchy choruses and galloping rhythms.

A Pasarlo Bien Demo, 1990

KEOPHZ (BRAZIL)

Old school death meets old school thrash metal; the tempo is mostly heavy, with some occasional fast outbursts ala Cannibal Corpse ("Sell Your Soul"), and shrieky vocals alternating with deep growls.

Invocation Demo, 2004

KERIFERN (FRANCE)

Based on the demo, this is badly produced black/thrash metal mixed with some pagan/folk elements; the pace varies from ultra fast parts ala Cradle Of Filth to some nice, folk-ish thrashers which will remind you of the Dutch Bifrost. With a better production this music would certainly have a bigger appeal.

War Of Black Fire Split, 2005
KerIferN Demo, 2005

KERNEL (ITALY)

Based on the "Escape Or Kill" demo, this is thrash metal of the modern, groovy variety mixed with hardcore; the style is not too far from early Pro-Pain, but more melodic.

Demo Demo, 2002
Escape Or Kill Demo, 2005
Promo Demo, 2006

KERUNTUK (MALAYSIA)

A 4-track demo of aggressive thrash/death metal of the old school with an awful sound quality from which the guitars can be heard like a constant bee-like buzz, and the vocals are just unintelligible death shouts. The end is worth hearing being a death metal-laced cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets", but the bad sound makes it not very recognizable.

No Room For The Deaf Demo, 2005

KETZER (GERMANY)

Black/thrash metal laternating between slower epic parts ala mid-period Bathory, more energetic ones with a power/speed metal flavour in the vein of the Swedes Bewitched, and fast raging ones akin to Impaled Nazarene. This mixture works quite all right most of the time as the guys try to give a fair share to all three styles often within one song making them interesting varied affairs with seldom a dull moment. The finishing trio of tracks is a pure tribute to retro thrash, and contains great headbanging riffs with almost no interference from other genres.

Satan\'s Boundaries Unchained Full-length, 2009

KEY OF MYTHRAS (AUSTRIA)

After the imposing orchestral intro, these guys hit you with furious black/thrash, which is frequently quite brutal and fast, but rest assured that every song has a big doze of good thrashy riffs, which alternate with the blast-beating moments. The band have a good sense of melody, which reaches impressive heights at times ("Behold The Pentagram"), and is a nice contrast to the more aggressive passages.

Demonspeed Metalstorm Full-length, 2003

KIANA (FINLAND)

Melodic power/thrash of the more modern variety, mixing groove with more energetic Swedish-styled riffs. The longer tracks seem to drag a bit offering repetitive, not very edgy, moments with gothic overtones.

Basado En Odio Full-length, 2010

KIANA (FINLAND)

Groovy modern thrash mixed with gothic/doom; there are cool thrashy headbanging riffs to be heard although the gothic shades ala To Die For and End Of Green are quite frequent, and the clean, alternative vocals which spring up also quite often, lessen the impact of the harder-hitting material. The basic vocals are of the angry, hardcore type.
"Abstract Entity" elaborates on the sound offered on the EP, maybe concentrating on gothic more this time, ending up sounding quite close to recent Crematory. "Son of the Dawn" will wake you up in the middle with more aggressive riffage, and things stay on thrash ground for the following "Psychotic Drama", which is a pounding mid-paced dark thrasher. The second half is more hard-hitting and faster, reducing the gothic influences, albeit leaving the not very good assisting clean vocals.

Reflections EP, 2006
Abstract Entity Full-Length, 2009

KICK-ASS (CHILE)

Based on the split with their compatriots Matahero, this band plays old school thrash of the more energetic variety, sitting somewhere between Slayer and the Bay-Area scene. The tracks mix fast aggressive moments with heavy late 80's Metallica-esque ones, as those aggressive moments sometimes go beyond Slayer, and end up somewhere on the edge between thrash and death metal.

Asesino Demo, 2001
El Poder Implacable Split, 2005
El Poder del Caos Demo, 2005

KIJU (ITALY)

90's groovy post-thrash sounding like a cross between Sepultura's "Roots" and Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes"; "Nothing to Play For" could pass for the better effort sustained in a more playful attitude with jumpy vivid riffs which even take a nice headbanging shape on "Y (Chromosome)". Nothing extraordinary, but those whose hearts have stayed in the 90's, should have no problems liking this stuff.

Nothing to Play For Full-length, 2002
Demo(N)cracy Full-length, 2005

KIL’D KOR (USA)

Despite the demo name, the band have nothing to do with Metallica. Their style is similar to the first two Overkill albums and SA Slayer plus the thrashy riffs which are not too many. Touches of early Savatage could also be found.

Rode the Lightning Demo, 1986

KILL ALL (NORWAY)

A 3-song demo of heavy groovy thrash metal.

Urge to Annihilation Demo, 2006

KILL FOR SATAN (AUSTRALIA)

Black/thrash metal with brutal black-ish attacks, but with also cool thrashy riffs: "Hammers Of Hell" is a very nice example of the latter. At the end there is a good cover of the death metal legends Armoured Angel ("Madam Guillotine").

Thy Kingdom Undone... Full-length, 2004

KILLAMAN (SWEDEN)

A decent mixture of death and thrash metal, closer to the classic 80's-early 90's sound; not very brutal, but quite energetic and fast, with the vocals being deep death metal growls.

Killaman Full-length, 2003

KILLEM (SPAIN)

One of the highest hopes for Spanish thrash metal of recent years: really good technical thrash, with Megadeth being the main target for worship. The demo shows the infatuation with their more renowned American colleagues pretty clearly, especially in the vocal department, where the singer on quite a few moments is a dead ringer for Dave Mustaine. The music is not too far behind, but comes as a mix of Megadeth, the Bay Area sound, and 90's Annihilator; it is quite straight-forward on many parts, but delivers the goods all the time.
"Muted" is a masterpiece of technical thrash which even beats the last two Megadeth efforts. It opens with the excellent "Cancer" which sets the tone for the rest of the album with its sharp up-tempo technical riffs. The music has a lot in common with early Megadeth, but the more technical moments bring to mind the Dutch Usurper, the Belgians Target, among others. "Faithless Priest" is a glorious closer to this album, a technical thrash opus which deserves a place even on Coroner's "Mental Vortex"; in its more than 7-min it contains numerous tempo changes and mighty, twisting and turning in all directions riffs. The guitar work as a whole is on a very high level all the time; despite the quality of the material offered here, I kind of feel that the best from these guys is yet to come.
"Reflections of Decline" is another decent slab of technical thrash, this time offering a more individual and much more modern face, well expressed with the opener "Spiral", which is indeed a spiral-like number with winding guitars and a couple of brutal speedy passages bordering on death metal. "Dawn" is much less intense offering abstract dreamy sections with a semi-industrial colouring recalling Voivod's 90's period (both their early and later efforts), and "Ephemeral" is a big relief with its aggressive shred, despite another calm balladic digression near the end. "Facade" follows the same path, but is slower and kind of dragging. "The Abyss" is a heavy hectic labyrinthine composition with dramatic escalations losing the speed almost completely. The bad news is that this approach gets repeated on every other song until the end lessening its initial impact, making the 2nd part inferior to the 1st one. The technical riffage comes aplenty near the end, but similar patterns of jumpy twisted guitars without any more dynamic moments wear thin way before long. As a whole the guys this time have decided to follow the Swedish side of technical metal: Altered Aeon, Darkane, Agretator, in particular, mixing it with the cyber-thrash style of mid-90's Voivod, but despite the initial promise this mix, in the long run, lacks a "heart" sounding too artificial and much less spontaneous than their early efforts.

Void Demo, 2003
Muted Full-length, 2006
Reflections of Decline Full-length, 2010

KILLER ELITE (USA)

Speed/thrash metal calling to mind Hallows Eve and Destructor with a raw bass-dominated sound, and quite chaotic song-structures mixing very aggressive riffs, suddenly interrupted by a slower, heavier section, which doesn't work that well. "Night Stalker" is a cool opener, featuring the aforementioned mix, but taking the best out of it, resulting in a really cool thrash assault. The rest of the material is less impressive, despite the guys' efforts to come up with decent energetic music. The bass player is considerably better than the guitarists, and his insertions are superior. Wild, speedy hardcore-ish pieces are thrown in ("Spastik March"), and their frenetic nature is more on the positive side. At the end the guys apparently get tired, playing such frantic stuff, and the last two pieces are just noises, non-related to music. The singer has a rough, mid-ranged voice, which suits the music; even his high-pitched attempts are not too bad.

Mad As Hell Full-length, 1988

KILLER WATT (IRELAND)

A cool energetic take on the early speed/thrash sound; the music clings more towards the American scene, recalling Blessed Death and Liege Lord. The guitar player Paul Kennedy later founded Moral Crusade with whom he released one full-length in 1990.

Death E.P. EP, 1986

KILLERS (FRANCE)

Killers were one of the premier French metal acts of the 80's, and were basically the main rivals of ADX for the metal crown in France at that time (did someone else also say: "Sortilege"?). They played high-octane power/speed metal during those times with just hints at thrash, but lost the inertia near the end of the decade, unlike ADX who switched on full-throttle speed/thrash on the excellent "Weird Visions". Killers went into the other extreme: during the 90's they took a more melodic direction going down to hard rock even on "Cités Interdites" and "Contre Courant". "Fort Intérieur" was a partial return to the high-speed antics of the past, but wasn't convincing enough to make it superior to the shaky ADX comeback album "Resurrection" the same year.
"109" showed a lot of promise with the news of the original 80's line-up coming back together, but was more on the heavy metal side, with a couple of more speedy pieces scattered among the not very impressive rest. However, less than a year later the guys hit unexpectedly with the marvellous "Mauvaises Graines": the definitive speed metal album of both the new and the old decade seeing the band producing some of the finest classic tunes and riffs around. Although in terms of thrash there was not much happening, except for the furious opener "Attaque", which is by all means an "attack" on the senses with its brutal fast guitars, this sincere slab of speed surpasses all created in the field around that time, including the Stormwarrior debut and the Not Fragile efforts; the Finns Solitaire "rose to the challenge" two years later with "Rising to the Challenge", but their debut was also buried deep by the habemus... sorry, fabulous, "Habemus Metal"- exquisite speed/thrash played with maximum intensity, their only complete contribution to the genre up to that point, and one of the best works the French metal scene has ever produced. The guys also managed to find time between the new material to re-record their 1989 classic "Mise aux Poings" in 2001.
"A L'ombre Des Vautours" shows the band in fine form once again mixing power, speed and thrash metal ("Malgre Tout", "S.O.S." and other tracks reach even death metal intensity on the fastest sections) with fabulous guitar work (especially the leads are superb) to provide us with another standout, high-octane entertainment; by all means one of the top ten picks of 2007.

...Fils de la Haine Full-length, 1985
Danger de Vie Full-length, 1986
Mise aux Poings Full-length, 1987
Résistances Full-length, 1989
Cités Interdites Full-length, 1992
Contre Courant Full-length, 1995
Fort Intérieur Full-length, 1998
109 Full-length, 1999
Mauvaises Graines Full-length, 2000
Mise aux Poings 2001 Full-length, 2001
Habemus Metal Full-length, 2002
Ŕ L'ombre des Vautours Full-length, 2007

KILLHIM! (CZECH)

Based on the 2nd demo, these guys play modern thrash/death metal with an abrasive guitar sound and rending death metal vocals. The music is not all-out speed, and is not short on atmosphere, the guys throwing a couple of peaceful balladic passages as well as a few gothic sections ala Sentenced and mid-period Dark Tranquillity.

Promo Demo, 2007
KillHim! Demo, 2008

KILLING CHAPEL (USA)

A very good debut of classic, Slayer-influenced thrash with an "updated" modern production, and a truly aggressive delivery, smelling death metal on the most intense parts. The band's influences are betrayed by the Slayer cover at the end of "Dead Skin Mask", although the sound here is closer to the more aggressive Slayer period, but the real surprise comes with Cannibal Corpse's "Shredded Humans" which is a kind of an awkward choice, since the guys' music has nothing to do with that of the Floridian death/grind monsters; the cover is actually quite well done, with the double vocals and the crushing rhythm (to those of you who are not familiar with this song, it is one of the less speedy, but one of the heaviest songs of Cannibal Corpse).

High on Homicide Full-length, 2007

KILLING CREED (ITALY)

The band's style throughout the demos varies from some Gothenburg-influenced death metal ("Havoc"), to gothic/death ala Sentenced's "Amok" and Cemetary's "Godless Beauty" ("Demo") to heavy, groovy thrash/death ("Menticide").

Havoc Demo, 2001
Demo Demo, 2004
Menticide Demo, 2006

KILLING CULTURE (USA)

Produced by Scott Ian and featuring Scott Sargeant who had done service in renowned thrash metal acts like Laaz Rockit and Wrekking Machine, it would be no surprise that the expectations were high. The bad news is that this is nothing more than just another one-dimensional, modern groovy thrash with no impressive moments whatsoever.

KillingCulture Full-length, 1997

KILLING SPREE (USA)

Based on the EP, this is jolly thrash metal with a classic flavour sounding close to the Americans Panic (their 1st album), with some crossover tendencies.

Motive EP, 2003
Deception Betrayal Revenge Full-length, 2005

KILLJOY (USA)

A side project for the man who achieved a huge cult status with his other band Necrophagia. The music on this one is lighter and faster, but very enjoyable, without the depressing proto-death moments of his other band, and even with some clever semi-technical guitar work at times ("Compelled by Fear"). It is more straight-forward thrash with a Bay-Area flavour, and Killjoy does a pretty decent job on the vocals; he actually sings here, coming up with some really cool semi-clean vocals. He has also found a perfect balance between speedy numbers and heavier, slower ones (they actually alternate throughout the album). Too bad this album remained his only solitary venture into more conventional thrash (as well as the other one-album wonder with his participation: Cabal).

Compelled By Fear Full-length, 1990

KILLPOWER (USA)

The "Catalyptic World" demo is a nice combination of Slayer, Infernal Majesty and Incubus. In other words, this is thrash/death metal, quite intense, but not always fast and brutal, with stylish slower breaks. "Vivasected" is a full-blooded death metal number showing clearly the band's direction of development. "Howling Legions" is a vicious blend of thrash and death metal, quite well-played, with a nice variation from very fast numbers to slower, almost technical ones. The band looked well-equipped to join the death metal camp, but disappeared after this one.

Blood Will Bring Blood Demo, 1988
Catalyptic World Demo, 1989
Howling Legions Demo, 1990

KILLRAPE

Another addition to the classic thrash resurrection movement, of the more extreme death metal-laced kind; the guys play fast and tight, seldom using blasts, as well as slower atmospheric sections which come assisted by nice melodic licks, even growing into whole compositons towards the middle ("Mausoleum"). Slayer (all their periods) comes as the closest soundalike on at least half of the songs, but watch out for the cool epic thrasher "The Walk of Lucifer", and the cover version of Judas Priest's "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" at the end, which infortunately is ultimately ruined by the bad indifferent semi-shouty vocals.

Corrosive Birth Full-Length, 2010

KILOTON (USA)

Kiloton are actually only two people, but this is not a problem for them to pull out nice thrash riffs. Their style mixes modern and classic thrash, but the guitars have a very computerized sound at times, bringing the music more to the modern side. This is a minor complaint, though, as the guys really know what they are doing, albeit with a more industrialized touch. The music is actually close to Annihilator ("King of the Kill", in particular), but is more classically inclined, and the guitar work resembles the one of Jeff Waters. The tempo is not very fast, except on a few occasions (parts of songs, but never a whole song). The vocals are quite melodic, strangely recalling Bobby Liebling from the American doomsters Pentagram at times.

The Seeds of Genocide Full-length, 1998
Knock the Box Full-length, 1999

KINETIC (GREECE)

This band feature the bass player and the singer of the progressive death/thrashers Acid Death Savvas Betinis. Based on "The Chains That Bind Us", this new act follows closely on the steps of the other band, and more particularly their debut, although here the complexity is not that big. This is first-class technical thrash, with some shades of death metal, coming mostly from some really good, but sparcely used Gothenburg-influenced guitars. There is not much complexity involved, the songs are not overlong, and there are enough sharp riffs to headbang to, as well as more technical moments, also bringing to mind Chemical Breath and the Swedes Agretator. The tempo is mostly in the mid-range, speeding up a bit here and there, but never ventures into very aggressive waters.
“6.6.6.6.” is only 6 songs (apparently the obsession with this number has taken a full grip on the guys), and at least on the opening track there is nothing technical to be heard, just straight thrash without any gimmicks, and not really appealing. The clumsy slow follower “Holy Instinct” slows down, refusing again to offer anything more interesting. “Never Ending Winter” is an almost identical copy to the opener, and at this point the listener knows that this would be an animal of a different kind, and an inferior one for that matter. The only difference which “Venturing High And Low” offers, is the nice female vocals, which remain for the less impressive, modern-sounding “Dreams For Nothing”. The girl is also featured on the closer “Faces Far From Reality”, which is the only more original offering, mixing tecnical riffage, gothic, and a more aggressive, death metal-laced play, and as a result the fan finally has something to relate this album to “The Chains That Bind Us”, although this composition is probably closer to the works of the Swedes The Project Hate. But seriously, the girl is really good, and for the future she should be given the mike completely, if the guys decide to continue in the same thrash/gothic direction.

The Chains That Bind Us Full-length, 2004
Corrosion Full-length, 2007
6.6.6.6. Full-Length, 2008

KINETIC DISSENT (USA)

Very cool progressive power/thrash metal; there are some jokes along the way ("Melanin"), but the rest is pretty hard-hitting. Imagine Heir Apparent or Lethal mixed with a good doze of thrash, and you'll get the picture. In the longer songs ("Reworked") the guys get carried away, introducing a lot of influences, and create the impression that they would never end the song; but these moments are not too many, and the rest is quite enjoyable, still with the presence of various influences, sometimes outside the metal spectre.

I Will Fight No More Forever Full-length, 1991

KINGDOM OF DEAD (USA)

A death/thrash metal band featuring the former Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt: a mixture of Slayer and death metal; intense, hard-hitting old school stuff, staying closer to death metal most of the time. The opener "The Unholy Ghost" will startle you with its brutal, sincere death approach, and the following "Decay of Life" shows even less mercy. After "Blackened by Hatred" comes with furious blast-beats, some of you out there might curse me for listing this act as thrash, but those who have more patience, will find out that thrash is just a song away, served again with a huge doze of death, and compositions seldom longer than 2-min, except for the closing "Flesheating Zombies", which is a slower thrasher with a long orchestral intro.

Kingdom Of Dead Full-Length 1993

KINGDOM OF SALVATION (GERMANY)

Melodic death/thrash metal reminiscent of At the Gates with cool melodic lead guitar work and sharp thrashy riffs, also recalling a modern-day Kreator.

Lost in Chaos Full-length, 2006

KING'S EVIL (JAPAN)

A side project of Ritual Carnage members; the music is not a very distant departure from the other band, but is a tad more aggressive and faster, sounding like a mixture of late 80's Kreator and Necrodeath. This is intense, relentless attack on the ears, which offers some break from the fast riffing with two slower and more melodic numbers put in the middle, with great, sharp guitar work, and vocals which sound like a more death-ish version of Mille Petrozza; a strong album and hopefully not the last one from these guys.

Deletion of Humanoise Full-length, 2001

KINGHORSE (USA)

Light-hearted, melodic thrash which kind of precedes what Anthrax would start playing later in the 90's. The music also has shades of punk, hardcore and doom. This is not bad, but the melodic nature of the band's style might come as too soft for some thrash metal heads.

Kinghorse Full-length, 1990

KISINGER (MEXICO)

This is melodic speed/thrash with crossover elements, more classic-sounding, at times switching onto full-fledged thrash: "New Horse Men", "The One Within". The singer spoils the picture considerably with his shouty hardcore delivery, which fits some of the more crossover-based numbers, among which "Dude" is a cool jolly punkcore joke.

I Full-Length, 2007

KISS OF DEATH (ITALY)

Based on "Stronger Than Before": modern thrash which hesitates between more energetic hard-hitting sound with a classic edge ("Stronger Than Before", "E.F.E.T.F.T.") and a less impressive groovy one ("Uncontrolled Reaction", "Mind-Fucker"). Apart from these two trends one can find more ambitious compositions with a progressive edge and a bigger sense of melody: "Twisted Personality" which, despite its more mellow nature, is a very satisfying number. The closer "Rising Fear" is a very good heavy semi-ballad.
"Inferno Inc." is a strictly modern affair thrashing with an abrasive noisy guitar sound, which may be intentional, since it gives the music a boosted industrial sound. The bad news is that the speed is gone for the most part making the album sound quite samey and repetitive. Worth of note are the husky semi-whispered vocals which at times find it hard to go over the noisy guitars, but deliver in a sinister hellish way.

Stronger Than Before Full-length, 2000
Inferno Inc. Full-length, 2004

KNELL (COLOMBIA)

Fast intense retro thrash with a bad sound quality; raw semi-amateurish musicianship provides simplistic direct guitars which bash in an intelligble, but pretty one-dimensional, manner topped by hoarse drunken vocals which are of the declamatory inexpressive variety seldom livening up with the casual spasmodic shout.

Galeras Thrash Assault Split, 2006

KNIFE CLATTER (BELGIUM)

Modern groovy thrash meets thrash/crossover of the old school; this is melodic stuff , mostly in the mid-tempo, and more on the modern side with even some hard rock, semi-doom tunes involved. The classic thrash metal fans will not be very pleased.

Babylon Full-length, 1995

KNIFEDANCE (USA)

Jolly crossover with the occasional thrashy break ("Chosen Few"); there is Motorhead, punk, rock'n roll, and one more serious attempt at song-writing: "Desert Hopes, Desert Dreams", which is a strange ballad lasting for more than 9-min, and the very unemotional indifferent tember of the singer makes it even stranger and oddly listenable.

Wolf Hour Full-Length, 1989

KNIGHTMARE (AUSTRALIA)

A cool mix of the power/speed metal scene and a little bit of thrash; maybe the thrashy moments are not too many to make this a truly satisfying listen for the regular thrash fan, especially with the dual melodic leads ala Iron Maiden, the sing-along choruses, and the soft attempts at ballads ("Blood of the Gods").

Unholy EP, 2008

KNIGHTMARE (USA)

A good mixture of power and thrash metal, simplistic with semi-balladic moments; this is not aggressive music; will remind you of Griffin, Jag Panzer, early Laaz Rockit.

Demo Demo, 1989

KOBONG (POLAND)

Both albums offer a very avantgarde, left-hand path approach to thrash, based around the fashionable at the time groovy base, and although there are quite a few deviations from the thrash metal path, as a whole the music delivers, but one has to have a wild imagination to fully appreciate it. So you can imagine that this is hardly the headbanger's paradise, since the guys seldom offer direct fast-paced moments. The music constantly meanders from one time change to another, suddenly jumping on something more intense for a while, but it gets quickly "clouded" by the next quirky element. At best the approach could be likened to mid-90's Voivod, or the early efforts of the French Treponem Pal, but here you will come across jazzy, funky, alternative passages, and more. The songs are not very long, seldom crossing the 4-min line, but still this modern industrialized avantgardism may come as too much for even the more modern-inclined fans.

Kogong Full-Length, 1996
Chmury Nie Bylo Full-Length, 1997

KOHRUPTION (USA)

An ambitious, but flawed attempt at more complex power/thrash metal; at times the riffs are wild recalling Terrahsphere, but these guys like it long (all the tracks, except one, are in the 6-8 min range) and elaborate, and as a result their music leaves the thrash metal field quite a bit. The pace varies: from fast playing, to mid-paced to doomy. There was certainly a potential here, but they called it quits too soon after that.

Scarred for Life EP, 1990

KOKA (CZECH)

Based on "What Will Become?", this is groovy thrash featuring some nice, up-tempo thrashers ("The Only Justice"), but most of the time the music is mid-paced to slow with numerous melodic, alternative passages ala more aggressive Alice In Chains. Semi-hardcore-ish vocals alternate with some clean ones. This is not heavy stuff, but there are not too many bands these days who try their hands on such style.

Koka Full-length, 2002
What Will Become? Full-length, 2003

KOLDBORN (DENMARK)

This is a side-project for the Hatesphere guys, who are also helped by the Artillery bass player Mikael Ehlert Hansen. Based on the EP, this band walk in the Hatesphere shoes pretty closely, offering a slightly more brutal version of that band's modern thrash/death metal mix. The music is constantly fast, with certain adherence to blast-beats and sparce technical "decorations".

First Enslavement Full-length, 2002
The Devil of All Deals EP, 2005
The Uncanny Valley Full-length, 2006

KOLISION MOSH (SPAIN)

A mix of thrash, death metal and hardcore with a strong modern edge; the band deliver the goods when they play fast and tight, like on the good opener "Parricidio", the cool short death/thrasher "Insumisión", and the furious grinding "Raza Humana". At least half of the songs are explosive hardcore outbursts, which are not bad, as opposed to a couple of slower, much softer, somewhat pointless tracks ("Aceleración"). There is one number which offers all the three styles put together ("Tu Cruz"), which is the highlight of the album. "Kalinka" is a very cool take on the popular Russian folk song "Kalinka Maia", mixing raging thrashy guitars with the main theme from the song. The closer "Kolisión Frontal" is another light-hearted, but intense thrash/crossover, again blending melody and aggression in an impressive way.

Raza Humana Full-length, 1993

KOMA (RUSSIA)

The band's debut is one of the better examples of how aggressive and progressive thrash could co-exist; the music is mostly fast, with a strong bass-bottom and heavy, technical riffs. The songs are not long, with a very few exceptions, and the riffs come easy and naturally, without any many complex arrangements or a musical show-off. The most aggressive tracks perhaps carry a shade of death metal ("Shabash", "Psy Ada"), but the highlight is the more laidback, twisting ones ("Sled V Sled"), or the atmospheric mid-paced "Anarhiya".
The debut was followed by "Born To Be Great" two years later, which saw the guys hardening the course, now sounding like a well-equipped thrash/death metal act. "Born To Be Great" delivers exactly that: aggressive straight death/thrash, with a mellower chorus and a couple of more technical leanings; still, this is extreme stuff with not much to relate it to the more sophisticated debut. "Happy Childhood" is a curious number, starting in a soft power/thrash manner, before switching onto something harder; it never reaches the aggressive heights of the opener, though. "A Pilot's Ruin" is brutal thrash/death, sounding like a very faithful follow-up to the first song. Another deviation is offered in the face of "Suicide Song", which is much slower, and could easily pass for doom metal, and good one at that. Finally something more stylish and technical on "At The House Of Sorrow", which twists and turns in a cool way, not forgetting about the straight-ahead moshing near the end where also a few nice technical leads can be heard. "March Of The Mutants" moshes in a hard direct fashion with heavy slightly dry riffs, a satisfying slab of hard-hitting semi-mechanical thrash. "Victory Or Shame", which is the last song, preserves some of the dryness, but mixes it with melodic semi-balladic passages, and all of a sudden starts a furious thrash/death moment, all this alternating the whole time to an awkward, not very convincing effect. As a whole this effort leaves something to be desired, without being too bad, stretching into many directions, abandoning the consistent monolithic delivery of its predecessor, spreading wider than what the abilities of the band members can handle.
After a lenghty 6-year break the band re-appeared on the scene, but "Awakening of Wax Figures" was a pale shadow of the first two albums, featuring a few high quality progressive thrashers immersed in the majority of mediocre, unimpressive progressive pop-metal numbers. "Star's Sliver" follows the same pattern reducing the thrash metal elements even more opting for a radio-friendly material with a touch of a more complex semi-progressive song-writing.
"ß Âčäĺë (I Saw)" is a better effort returning to the more aggressive thrashy patterns from the past, but it does it in a more modern manner with dry industrialized guitars and a bit repetitive rhythms in mid-tempo except for the short extreme death metal digression on "Ia Videl". That same track, along with "Oda Smerti", are re-worked at the end turned into instrumentals-only, and are kind of more appealing "deprived" of the strained dispassionate semi-clean vocals.

Cepi Full-length, 1992
Born To Be Great Full-length, 1994
Awakening of Wax Figures Full-length, 2000
Îńęîëîę Çâĺçäű (Star's Sliver) Full-length, 2004
Ýňî Áűëî... [Eto Bilo...] EP, 2007
ß Âčäĺë (I Saw) EP, 2009

KOMA (SPAIN)

One of the better practitioners of the 90's groovy thrash in Europe; there is no much variety between the albums; this is heads-down 90's thrash, which sounds quite interesting, because the guys mix the heavy base with some more melodic heavy metal tunes; the overall sound will remind you of Machine Head's more melodic period (1999-2004). The positive thing from such a mix is that the songs often are quite memorable, and do not stick to each other like it happens on many more generic efforts.

Koma Full-length, 1996
El Infarto Full-length, 1997
El Catador de Vinagre Full-length, 1999
Criminal Full-length, 2000
Molestando a los vecinos (Promo) EP, 2001
Larga vida al... Volumen Brutal Full-length, 2002
Sinónimo de Ofender Full-length, 2004
Sakeo Full-length, 2007

KOMAHAWK

Energetic playful thrash/crossover, offering good headbanging moments ("Sick Society", "Thirst of Power", etc.) for most of the time, as well as a few mid-paced smashing pounders ("Time To Go"). The punk-ish side is not forgotten, either: the jolly carefree "Drunkards", and the drunken blues at the end "Unfucked Society".

No Hope for Tomorrow Full-Length, 2008

KOMBAT (USA)

Quite good take on the classic German sound, with Kreator's "Extreme Aggression" paid special attention; so expect lashing steel riffs the whole time, constantly fast-tempos, cool more melodic leanings ("Death Creation", the speed/thrash explosion "Soul Reaper") with interesting, semi-technical "decorations". Shorter more direct tracks go straight into a "Pleasure to Kill" territory, others go even beyond that, spicing things with more brutal proto-death riffage ("Descent Of Hell"). Expect the least mercy from the shortest numbers, which are simply bullets shot with the utmost precision: the 2-min ball of fury "Kombat". The lead guitar work is sparce, but the riff-fest more than compensates for this shortcoming.

Kombat / Promo Demo, 2008

KONDENA (SPAIN)

Based on the "Método de Equilíbrio" EP, this is good modern thrash with a nice melodic, semi-technical guitar work, mid-tempo for most of the time. The guitar line has a specific, unique sound, but it goes on all the songs, and creates a slightly one-dimensional atmosphere.
The "Lírica Apocalíptica - Ira" EP, which is whole 10 songs long, and it's a mystery why it is listed as an EP in the band's discography, is again cool modern thrash, this time elaborating things a bit with longer compositions, spiced with balladic quiet moments, very melodic vocals, aiming at the progressive sector, but losing speed and sharpness in the process. Still the guitars preserve this interesting characteristic melodic blend, and the shorter, more immediate songs are way better and more appealing to the thrash ears: "Victima", "2359". Some of the band members also take part in the black metal act Byleth.

Condena Demo, 2001
Génesis Demo, 2004
Método de Equilíbrio EP, 2005
Lírica Apocalíptica - Ira EP, 2008

KONGREGATION (USA)

This is all-instrumental modern thrash of the more technical type. The album starts promisingly with the aggressive mid-paced riffage on "Grasp", quite reminding of the Canadian masters in the instrumental genre Electroquarter Staff, but later on the music takes turn towards the works of more recent Annihilator, by adding the odd blasting death metal passage ("Silence the Masses"). Some songs are reworkings of each other: hardly necessary since the difference between them is very small. The lead work is particularly good, and is the strongest asset. The music remains mid-paced until the end with timid attempts at a more intense delivery ("Tabula Rasa", and especially the death metal delight "Lumbering Giants"). On the closing "Optical Illusion" there are finally vocals to be heard, courtesy of Ville from the Finnish death metallers Mors Principium Est, although the music on this one has nothing to do with death metal, but is a cool modern Annihilator-esque thrasher.

Art in Aggression Full-Length, 2009

KONKWISTA (POLAND)

Heavy 90's thrash meets hardcore: this is angry, but not brutal music, which speeds up at times ("1000 Watt"), but the dominant pace is mid-tempo, leaving the thrash field on a few occasions ("Barbarzynski Klan", "Our Bond", and the very cool closing ballad "In The Heart Of Alaba").

Break the Chains Full-Length, 2002

KOROG (HUNGARY)

Reportedly on their early demos the guys have played some cool speed/thrash metal; those were also the times when the legendary Csihar Attila was a member of the band for a while. Based on their debut, they offer modern thrash, with quite a few technical, complex deviations. There is a lot of groove involved, so fans of the old school, stay away from this, as you won't come across many headbanging sections, if any at all. Otherwise the music is really worth checking out, recalling Prong's mid-period quite a bit and the Voivod works with Eric Forrest, although the Hungarians are more complex than both, being quite jumpy, mostly mid-paced, with some really original decisions, and very cool sudden melodic leads; this is a multi-layered stuff, which will keep you listening the whole time. The more avantgarde passages will remind you of Gorguts' "Obscura" even; a really original take on modern thrash, which shouldn't pass unnoticed.
"Próbáld Újra" is just a decent follow-up. The sound is much more melodic, although some songs are fairly complex and interesting, especially the longer ones, which are impressive progressive modern post-thrashers ("Halott Lany", "Egy Nap es Ma"). There is some not very desirable industrial/electronic experimentalism, brought with two short instrumentals in the middle, and remaining until the end, marring badly the rest of the material. As a result we have a band who clearly aim at the semi-electronic undustrial metal scene, where acts like KMFDM, Oooomph and Die Krupps belong.
"Korog" surprisingly puts the electronic elements aside, and brings back the more guitar-driven sound. The complexity has been reduced, and now the guys sound not too far from the many modern post-thrash metal bands roaming the scene these days. If the album-title suggests at some new beginning, or self-retrospection, the music doesn't give too much ground for this.
"Mumus" is a very good offering from the avantgarde, non-conventional side of the genre, seeing the band in fine form again, after having dropped the ball on more recent offerings. The very proficient leads would be the first improvement one may notice, but the riffs are quite sharp and clear, without many industrial/noise interferences. The gruff, low-tuned growls which "quarrel" with the raspy black-ish ones throughout, may not be the most fitting choice in the vocal department, but the interesting, multi-faced music will keep you entertained. Actually, the complexity is not so big, and on many parts the riffs flow nicely and straight, but all of a sudden one comes across a more elaborate section, where the riffs start to twist and turn ("Harm Mass"), blended with the nice melodic leads. Somewhere those leads are missing, and then nothing offers relief from the labyrinthine picture ("Serpent Of The Abyss"), which stops just on the edge of becoming unlistenable. The end is preserved for the most thrashy, but also more complex songs, with both sides admirably shaking hands on the twisted, but entertaining closer "Trance War".

Álmodj Makkal Full-length, 1999
Próbáld Újra Full-length, 2001
Live In Studio EP, 2002
Korog Full-length, 2004
Mumus Full-length, 2008

KOROTORY (USA)

This is heavy groovy thrash, mostly mid-tempo, suddenly bursting into faster thrash/proto-death ("ATM") for a while. The music bears no other surprises, being quite predictable and one-dimensional, with the good prototypical Phil Anselmo-like vocals being the main asset.

Age of Rebellion Full-length, 2009

KORPUS INC. (VENEZUELA)

Melodic thrash/death metal of the modern variety, dynamic and varied, at times fast, at times with gothic overtones. Not bad, but similar stuff has been heard a lot through the years.

Testigos Del Miedo Full-length, 2009

KORROZIA METALLA (RUSSIA)

This band have roamed the metal fields throughout their career, flirting with almost every possible genre they came across. Their thrashy days are from 1988 to 1992; the style is at times melodic reminding of Venom and Motorhead, at times pretty brutal with proto-death, and even grindcore elements; not groundbreaking, but cool.
The guys' desite to thrash again has woken up on "Voina Mirov", although it comes accompanied by a solid doze of death metal which was the prevalent tendency in the band's more recent output. There is quite a diversity here ranging from extreme raging tracks to slower almost doomy ones, to short grinding outbreaks all based on a simple direct approach mixing the classic with the modern trends. It's unpretentious and pretty basic, but it's good fun, and after all the guys have never been the most ambitious musicians in the first place.

Orden Satani Full-length, 1988
Russian Vodka Full-length, 1989
Cannibal Full-length, 1990
Sadism Full-length, 1992
Voina Mirov Full-length, 2010

KORSAKOV (HOLLAND)

The style on "Hangover Heroes" is aggressive thrash/death close to Pestilence's first two albums, with shades of Death's "Leprosy". The pace is predominantly fast, and the vocals are gruff, brutal death shouts, lacking the more comprehensible barking shade of Martin Van Drunen. "Korsakov" is a nice up-tempo instrumental, which for some reason reminds me of Iron Maiden's "Loss for Words". One might wonder how these guys never got signed with the high quality of the material on offer here, and the fashionable for that time sound...

Hangover Heroes Demo, 1989
Radiation Exposure Demo, 1991
Prolong The Agony Demo, 1994

KORUPTURE (USA)

Energetic fast-paced thrash/death metal which could have been better, if it wasn't for the awful duel between the very brutal low death metal growls and the hysterical hoarse semi-hardcore vocals. Otherwise the music packs a punch, staying closer to the old school pulling out really aggressive explosions: "Destructor", "Bells Of Warning", which contains a nice short lead section; "This Is My Boomstick" is an awesome melodic technical track with great guitar lines, mighty bass performance, and sharp riffs; it's a pity that numbers of the kind are not that many here.

The Book of Time Full-length, 2008

KORZUS (BRAZIL)

A cool thrash metal band with a style which is not too far from Sepultura and Slayer; their first three works are good examples of their potent, forceful sound; "Sonho Maníaco" is a brutal slab of thrash, vicious and relentless, but sounding considerably better than the majority of their compatriots at that time; really cool deviations from the aggressive pattern could be found as well: the smashing mid-paced "Suicido", the dark doomy "Guerra Nuclear". "Pay For Your Lies" is another good effort, combining direct headbanging thrash in the Slayer-vein with stylish guitars, which slow down in a way no worse than "South Of Heaven", creating a gloomy, dark atmosphere ("Born To Kill", "Under The Sun"). "Mass Illusion" is the band's finest hour: intense thrash assault, a nice companion piece to same year's Sepultura's "Arise". Later the band adopted more modern tendencies on "K.Z.S.", but on "Ties Of Blood" their classic sound has returned, and despite the presence of the modern groove there, is another solid release.
"Discipline of Hate" is quick to add more fire into the thrash metal resurrection of recent years, pulling out good Slayer-esque thrash with a slight presence of more modern trends. The guys crush with no mercy, but things get really serious on the explosive thrasher "2012", the latter followed by the slower, but equally as intense "Raise Your Soul". Then all of a sudden comes "My Enemy", a nice deviation into jumpy more technical thrash, but "exploits" of the kind are a rarity later on, the 2nd half being a potent blend of aggression and stomping heaviness in the best tradition of late-80's Slayer.

Sonho Maníaco Full-length, 1987
Pay For Your Lies Full-length, 1989
Mass Illusion Full-length, 1991
K.Z.S. Full-length, 1995
Ties of Blood Full-length, 2004
Discipline of Hate Full-length, 2010

KOSTO AND FULL (SPAIN)

Based on "Esparciendo El Veneno", this band play modern thrash with a touch of crossover. The mixture works all right, although nothing really aggressive happens here, and despite the presence of more energetic numbers (the interesting diverse "Amnesia" and "Ironfull") the music as a whole is soft and melodic.

Esparciendo El Veneno Full-length, 2004
A.D.I.C.T.O.M.I.A Full-length, 2008

KRAAL (FRANCE)

This obscure 3-song EP shows a band who capably combine the aggressive more stripped-down approach of the French school (Massacra, Agressor, Loudblast) with the atmospheric progressive-sounding one of acts like early Therion and Nocturnus. The music clings more towards the death metal side, nicely mixing aggressive fast sections with haunting atmospheric keyboard-driven ones; on the latter fine female vocals are added to a quite positive effect. There's not much thrash to be heard, but fans of the more sprawling atmospheric tendencies (including the ones of Septic Flesh and The Project Hate) in extreme metal will find more than a few moments to enjoy.

Mutant EP, 1998

KRABATOR (CZECH)

Based on the "Total Destruction" demo, these purveyors of Czech death metal have managed to come up with really aggressive, but badly constructed thrash/proto-death, which most of the time is just plain bashing in the beginning, in a very fast and unintelligible manner, with a very thin buzzy guitar sound. The brutality gets under control, though, at some stage in the 2nd half, and this produces the edgy dark thrasher "Divny Cisar" and the mid-paced stomper "Tajemnstvi Hrbitova". Later on one can hear early Metallica influences ("Posmrtna Vina") as well as one brutal grinding attack ("In Memoriam") as a finishing touch. At this stage Petr "Christopher" Krystof's (also Master (USA) vocals are too screechy and undeveloped, clinging more towards black metal. Later the band made a slight correction in their name, becoming Krabathor, and with this came the full metamorphosis into a full-fledged death metal act.

Breath of Death Demo, 1988
Total Destruction Demo, 1988
Brutal Death Demo, 1988

KRAGENS (FRANCE)

A good progressive power/thrash metal band; their sound is similar to Nevermore, Scariot and Eidolon. The band incorporate a few vocal styles, some of them having more in common with death, or even black metal, but they help in the creating of more atmosphere and dramatism, on which their music has no shortage. "Dying In A Desert" is a cool debut, albeit following the patterns created by the aforementioned acts pretty closely, with heavy, dark, sharp guitar work, in a mid-tempo most of the time, offering cool melodic breaks (the melodic power metal number "Fear" ala early Queensryche). Doomy ovetones grace the excellent heavy "Lords Of Chaos" and the slightly faster "Satan The Killer", compensated by the two nice speed metal pieces "Road Warrior" and "World Made Of Heroes" which, despite the certain amount of cheesiness, are not bad at all.
"Seeds Of Pain" begins in a really aggressive manner, with the title track, with vicious, almost death-ish vocals, and cutting, intense guitars. "The Last" goes even further adding a death metal-like intensity, but also coming with great contrasting melodic leads. The other songs are slower, but not much energy is being lost, except maybe on the technical, choppy "I Choose". "Over The Deadline" is a superb exercise in technical thrash, with a nice atmospheric, more quiet section near the end.
"In Fight" doesn't betray the band's basic style, but is even more aggressive, with clear shades of death metal here and there, and it could be viewed as the guys' finest hour by the more aggressively-inclined thrash metal fans, although highlights, like the ones on the previous two releases, are not offered.

Dying In A Desert Full-length, 2004
Seeds Of Pain Full-length, 2005
In Fight Full-Length, 2007

KRAKATOA (CANADA)

This band features Maxel Black- the singer who was to sing in the Mastery works, before the time when they decided they wanted to be purely instrumental. They have definitely made a mistake to lose him, since he is really a find, with his emotional, versatile voice, capable to cover every possible pitch, and gives the 3 tracks here a genuine, haunting atmosphere. "Infidels" is an awesome dark progressive thrasher in the Nevermore vein, mid-paced, with crushing riffage. "The Beast" speeds up, and is a great headbanging number, with Black showing his more brutal, death metal side at times. "Be Silenced" returns to the more complex formula, being more aggressive than "Infidelis", with great leads, slower, even doomy on some parts, with a more smashing riffage, and again, outstanding vocal performance. Hopefully the next thing we hear from this talented outfit will be their full-length.

Infidels Demo, 2007

KRAKKBRAIN (FRANCE)

This is the first musical attempt of the Misanthrope (the greatest French death metal band ever) members. The style has nothing to do with death metal- it's thrash, semi-technical and interesting. The vocals are in the death department, and the music is quite energetic, frequently intense with really original guitar work, but with no shades of death metal. Some more twisted sections will even remind you of Coroner, or Mekong Delta, although they are kind of undeveloped, as the guys also like to insert more straight-forward passages to keep the headbanging going. The progressive tendencies acquired by Misanthrope are obvious, but the music is much more straight-forward than the one on their first two very eclectic albums. Judging by this EP, Misanthrope could have done a great job, too, if they had stayed within the confines of thrash metal.
The demo incorporates elements of death metal and is much more aggressive and faster. The technical leanings have disappeared, and the singer has gone up the shouty throaty scale now sounding like a slightly higher death metal growler. A few stylish balladic insertions can be heard on "Dead of Me" and "The Mourning", intercepting the aggressive riffage, later further developed on the Misanthrope albums.

Innercut EP, 1993
Mindself Demo, 1993

KRANEOS (MEXICO)

This is aggressive, but not fast thrash/death of the old school; the band nicely mix very heavy, crushing songs with more up-tempo ones on the full-length, not too far from the first two Six Feet Under efforts. The concentration, however, is on the slower side, and the style smells doom/death ala the Dutch Beyond Belief, but this "accusation" is quickly thrown away after the fast, brutal "Matadero De Humanos". The vocals are pretty brutal, too, emulating Chris Barnes quite well.

Demo 1 Demo, 2001
Demo 2 Demo, 2004
Uno Fuerte Full-Length, 2007

KRANIUS (UK)

Based on "Evilution", this act offers modern power/thrash metal in a nice dynamic pace frequently changing from mid to up, with both balladic and groovy tendencies. When the guys keep it short, things are not bad, but when they go the extra mile (the 9-min long "All In Me") things start to drag a bit with repetitive clumsy riffs with a touch of stoner/doom, and don't get any further than the "Loads" and "Reloads" of the mid, late-90's. Towards the end the dynamics is brought back, but again Metallica seems the most obvious influence, this time The Black Album, maybe with a more playful attitude involved. "My Darkened Soul" is a cool headbanger "killed" completely by the following 9-min ballad "Futures End", and the very awkward ambient outro "Prometheus", which has nothing to do with the Greek hero it cites in the title, but contains Martin Luther King's (R.I.P.) "I have A Dream" speech played on an ambient background.

What I Am EP, 1999
Turned to Stone Full-length, 2000
Evilution Full-length, 2005

KRANKENSTEIN (USA)

The band's debut is classic heavy metal, opposed to the thrash metal wave of the time. Then, when thrash metal has fallen from grace, they decided to resurrect it; and have done a good job. Their second release is a smashing piece of thrash along the lines of Forte (both their more classic and more modern efforts) and Viking's "Man Of Straw". At times the music gets more aggressive and fast ("Iron Curtain", "Krush Kill Destroy") smelling Rigor Mortis, at times has this genuine heavy, technical edge ("Trance of Madness", "Insult II Injury"), at times acquires this playful, crossover feeling ("Sabataged"); there is even one beautiful semi-ballad ("Those Eyes"), probably a leftover from their debut. "Invisible Death" is the highlight of the album: 7-min of smashing, heavy, dark riffs topped up by great semi-clean powerful vocals. This is a diverse listen, and there is never a dull moment.

One Foot In The Grave Full-length, 1990
Krankenstein Full-length, 1993
Theozoology Full-length, 1997
Dirt Nap Full-length, 2000

KRANTY (RUSSIA)

Based on the debut, this band plays retro heavy/power/speed/thrash with both a melodic and technical edge. "Za Vsjo" starts the album in a brisk headbanging fashion, but "Provokaciya" is a masterpiece of jumpy technical thrash. And that's all: the effort totally loses steam on "Ehrotika", which is an ordinary heavy metal anthem, and the rest is not far, mixing heavy, power metal and ballads in an entertaining but very non-thrashy manner, until the final "Alisa", which offers heavier more aggressive riffs. The follow-up takes a strong hardcore edge.

Vsem Full-length, 1996
Ne Vlezay! Full-length, 1999

KRASS JUDGEMENT (USA)

This band look well-equipped to carry the groovy legacy of Machine Head and Pantera through the new millennium. These guys are actually heavier; the sound frequently shakes hands with sludge/doom and only rarely does the music move into more up-tempo levels ("Serial Killer", "Demon Bitch"). It will appeal to fans of heavy, 90's thrash.

You Got This? Full-length, 2001

KRAZE (USA)

Based on the full-length, which actually consists of all the 4 demos released by the band in the mid-late 80's, offers quite cool pure classic American speed/power/thrash in the best tradition of Liege Lord, Savage Grace and early Overkill. There are whole 13 tracks here, so don't expect only high-speed antics like the opening "Devil In Disguise", which can easily rival any number from the first two Helloween efforts, and at least 1/3rd of the songs are sustained in a furious speedy tempo, also touching the Metallica debut ("Self Infliction"). The other equally as attractive side are the mid-paced pounders ("M.A.D.D.") which lash with heaviness and the occasional fast outbreak. Certainly one will come across a couple of softer, but not bad at all, galloping power metal anthems ("Death Row", "Liar"), but the other two sides alternate throughout the album, leaving them little space for maximum effect. The guys drop the ball on the last two pieces which are typical radio-friendly hard'n heavy ala Quiet Riot and Ratt, but having in mind that this effort encompasses the band's whole career, its versatile nature should come as no surprise.

4th Demo EP, 1990
Devil In Disguise Full-length, 2002

KREATOR (GERMANY)

Reportedly Slayer and Kreator have been the two most frequently imitated thrash metal bands throughout the years. "Pleasure To Kill", like its counterparts from the other side of the ocean that same year: "Reign In Blood" and "Darkness Descends", made new laws for the thrash metal field with its brutal, relentless sound, bordering on something new (death metal, that is). Later the band became more technical, but equally as compelling, gracefully closing the first chapter of their history with the excellent "Coma Of Souls".
The 90's were a very troublesome time for Kreator who tried to put their music on a new modern level with "Renewal"(the title says it all), but it was such a distant departure from their earlier works that it was universally rejected by the metal fanbase. With "Cause For Conflict" Mille Petrozza (being the real face of the band and the only permanent member) tried to combine the new sound with elements of the past, but only partially succeeded. With the recruitment of Tommy Vetterli from the great Coroner, a light in the tunnel appeared, especially after the strong "Outcast", which was not exactly thrash metal, but was way better than the last few experimental works. But the worst was yet to come with "Endorama", seeing the band taking a break from thrash (even from metal on certain parts from the album); a frustrating album which closed the 90's page from the band's history in a very unimpressive manner. The coming of the new millennium saw a new, much better Kreator, ready to compete again with the best of the genre, with two strong new releases so far; the music on those two nicely combines the intense classic riffage of the band's early works with some modern "updates".
"Hordes of Chaos" shows Mille and Co. hungry for more quality thrash, and this effort could well deservedly be considered the band's finest achievement of the new millennium. There would hardly be a single fan who would be left unmoved by the controlled (not extreme) aggression of the opening "Hordes Of Chaos" and the mighty smashing follower "Warcurse". "Escalation" is the traditional for the band calmer, slower piece- a good number, with a faster section later on and addictive steam-rolling riffs. "Amok Run" begins as a ballad, but before one starts frowning (Kreator and ballads: this is a bigger sacrilege than metal mixed with disco!), it explodes into a nice speed/thrash killer. "Destroy What Destroys You" calms down the tempo once again, before "Radical Resistance" scatters you into various parts of the room, with its sharp speedy guitars. The moshing continues to the very end, slightly interrupted on the more melodic longer "To the Afterborn", which even has progressive pretensions (what are you talking about again?!), but does nothing to spoil the picture. Overall Kreator have done a good job, enriching their sound with much more melody (almost every track, but pay special attention to the closer "Demoon Prince" and the aforementioned "To the Afterborn"), sometimes smelling Gothenburg, compared to the abrasive guitar tone of the last two releases. As a result the music has more appeal, and at times goes heads-down into pure speed metal ala Angel Dust and early Helloween. It's always nice to hear some of the old veterans trying something slightly different, without messing it up, and even moving up the scale.

Endless Pain Full-length, 1985
Flag of Hate EP, 1986
Pleasure to Kill Full-length, 1986
Terrible Certainty Full-length, 1987
Out of the Dark...into the Light EP, 1988
Extreme Aggression Full-length, 1989
Coma of Souls Full-length, 1990
Renewal Full-length, 1992
Cause For Conflict Full-length, 1995
Outcast Full-length, 1997
Endorama Full-length, 1999
Violent Revolution Full-length, 2001
Enemy of God Full-length, 2005
Hordes of Chaos Full-Length, 2009

KREMATE (BRAZIL)

This is good 80's Metallica-influenced thrash metal. The band nicely cross Metallica's early, speedy period ("The Killing Toys") with their more technical works of the late 80's ("Watch the End"), but the concentration is on the early efforts.

Death: In the Name Of Full-length, 2005

KREMULATOR (CZECH)

This band play a decent mix of thrash, speed and classic heavy metal. This is laid-back, melodic stuff, with gruff, low-tuned death metal vocals. It has its cool headbanging moments ("Killer", "Chlastam V Praci"), but as a whole this is not aggressive music, and will also appeal to gothic fans with its dark atmosphere and nice melodic guitar lines.

Masakr na kolejích Demo, 2005

KREON (POLAND)

This is one and the same album featured here. In 2003 their debut was re-released with a better sound; and rightfully, because this is some fine speed/thrash metal akin to Paradox and Forbidden. This is good stuff, with nice sharp riffs and a generally fast tempo. The singer has a cool melodic, high tember, which makes the choruses very catchy; his higher tones are particularly good. Even the 8-min "Przenaczenie" doesn't slow down, and comes with speedy, smashing guitars the whole time. "Schizopata" is the most aggressive track, increasing the aggression to death metal in the beginning. Hopefully these guys will stop re-releasing albums, and will provide us with something new soon.

Zdrada. prawo. kara... i co jeszcze czeka nas? Full-length, 1988
Zdrada, prawo, kara... i co jeszcze czeka nas? Full-length, 2003

KRESTOVYI POKHOD (RUSSIA)

Roughly-sounding retro thrash of the heavy type, mid to up-tempo with very cool melodic leads which are kind of awkward compared to the much more simplistic background which does not serve the long compositions right, and they can quickly turn into tiring experiences with little variety offered. The singer is semi-declamatory with a husky low voice, and his unrehearsed performance fits well the amateurish music.

Holostoi Vyistrel Demo, 1990

KREVEL (CZECH)

This is an avantgarde effort, mixing thrash/crossover, groove, funk and alternative; heavy and crushing at times, but at others too "out there" "courting" too much along the way to be fully appreciated by even the regular metal fan.

Krevel Full-Length, 2008

KRISTENDOM (FRANCE)

Based on "Inferno", these guys offer a cool fusion of thrash and death metal, which is more melodic than the one of their compatriots who started the trend some 10 years ago. The album has its aggressive moments ("Extermination", although later on it moves towards atmospheric semi-gothic; "Black Death"), but at least half of the songs are slower with a clear gothic/doom edge ("Your Faith", "Fatalitée"), and are quite appealing. "In Gods Name" is a pointless groovy, industrialized track, and is the only one which doesn't really fit here.

Operator Dead...Post Abandon Full-length, 1999
From Within Full-length, 2000
Inferno Full-length, 2002
Awakening the Chaos Full-length, 2005

KRONIK (TURKEY)

Based on "Endless War", the band mix some cool energetic thrashers with some very insipid, tasteless pop-metal numbers, leaving the album clinging towards the dull side. The Turkish metal scene knows much better bands.

Endless War Full-length, 1992
Kavga Full-length, 2004

KRONIN (USA)

The first demo is up-tempo thrash influenced by Metallica's "Kill'Em All"; the second one is a much better effort featuring some really well executed heavy, technical thrash quite similar to Forced Entry and the Swiss Apocalypse, maybe a bit faster. The speed has been diminished a bit compared to the first demo, replaced by stylish swirling technical riffs. The singer has an original voice: hoarse, but at the same time semi-clean, recalling Phil Rind (Sacred Reich) and Jon Van Doorn (Deathwish).

The Final Assault Demo, 1989
Peace Bomb Demo, 1990
How Do You Start This Thing? Full-length, 1993

KRONIX (USA)

A 3-song demo of exquisite Bay Area-influenced thrash which combines technique and aggression in a quite impressive way. The music will remind you of a heavier and more aggressive version of the Testament and Forbidden debuts. This is really a hard-hitting stuff, quite fast as well, and although the technicality plays a secondary role here, there are enough intriguing, stylish guitars at play, especially the leads which are simply brilliant, with a great melodic blend.

Demo Demo, 1991

KRONK (USA)

This is the new band of Kevin T. Idso- the man who was once a member of the 80's thrashers Kublai Khan, and is the only constant member here. Based on the full-length, he does a good job here as well, mixing several styles, death and thrash metal being the basic ones. This mixture has a very technical edge, almost progressive one (check out the album closer "Waking Up", which will by all means wake you up (no pun intended) with its huge amalgam of styles and influences, graced also by furious blast-beats and unexpected time changes). Those same blast-beats actually take a considerable place here, present on almost every track, and partially ruin the impression made by the dominating thrashy guitars. But the sudden and numerous tempo changes and the raging guitars would surely win the listener, who is also offered stylish breaks from this intense music, in the form of one nice acoustic ballad: "Impossible Dream", and one even better acoustic instrumental "Roop Bear".
"Spill Your Guts" shows the band alive and well, although Idso released a new demo with Kublai Khan, and reportedly more new things are expected from them in the near future. This effort continues the complex technical music from the debut, and is actually better with better constructed numbers and excellent guitar work. "You're Not Me" starts the album in an open headbanging fashion with a couple of quirky riffs present, but "Rats" is already a pretty technical affair, a very cool abstract modern thrasher played in a very hectic fashion. This song is followed by two variations on hardcore and the ballad, before "Shadow of the Guillotine (Dawn of Death)" comes forward thrashing hard with sharp headbanging riffs. "Slaughtering Sheep" is another wild track, again more straight-forward bordering on proto-death. The guys calm things down big time on the nice avantgarde ballad "Long Dead" which is followed by another direct thrashing duo which forebodes nothing like the monstrous progressive 11-min opus "The Spurious Messiah": mid-paced ponderous modern thrash which is a bit repetitive, but delivers with consistent heavy riffage. And that's it since the remaining 4 songs are hardcore/grunge/alternative/nu-metal jokes. Idso apparently entertains himself here giving freedom to both his more serious and more carefree nature.

Kronik Dreams Full-Length, 1998
"Spill Your Guts" etc... Full-length, 2007

KRONOSPHERE (FRANCE)

Only two people are behind this project, which is your average melodic modern thrash/death metal, not very fast, often descending to mid-tempo parts, also nicely acquiring more technical tendencies at times: "Liars Aren't Worth Listening To".

Guilty Behaviors Demo, 2006

KROSSBREED (BELGIUM)

Heavy groovy thrash with long-ish tracks, without any technical moments, with more energetic outbursts thrown in ("Means To An End", which brings forward more classic riffage, and is an overall solid thrasher).

Carved in stone EP, 2008

KROW (BRAZIL)

Based on the full-length, this act pulls out a brutal fast mix of thrash and death metal which stays closer to death crossing the more extreme aesthetics of Morbid Angel with the more sophisticated approach of mid-period Death. So the music is technical at times, at others mercilessly bashing with loads of compulsive blast-beats scattered throughout which may make this effort a tiring experience the exhaustion further aggravated by the very brutal death metal vocals.

Contempt for You EP, 2006
Before the Ashes Full-length, 2009

KRUCIFIX (TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO)

A 4-song demo containing two tracks of heavy mid-tempo retro thrash with Bay-Area pretensions (think Defiance), one more vivid Motorhead-esque speedster ("Crosseyed"), and one awful jazz/blues/funk joke at the end ("Jolan is a Bullerman").

Demo-Nstration Demo, 2003

KRUCIPÜSK (CZECH)

Based on the debut, this band offers laid-back thrash/crossover with 90's post-thrash borrowings. The problem is that there are no many fast moments, and this mid-paced soft stuff may tire you quite quickly, especially after listening to whole 15 songs. There is some experimentation inside ala the Japanese Gargoyle, but there is not a harder contrast offered to it, and here it sounds just dull.

Ratata Full-length, 1993
Cirkus dneska nebude Full-length, 1996
Bigada bigada bejby Full-length, 1998
~4~ Full-length, 2001
10 Years Best of/Compilation, 2002
Druide! Full-length, 2004
Ahoj Full-length, 2007

KRUCIX (USA)

Another one of the bands who refused to live according to the modern laws of metal; their music is excellent energetic thrash along the lines of Forbidden's "Forbidden Evil" and Wargasm's "Why Play Around". The music is mid to up-tempo, with a cool technical edge, reminding also of Forbidden's sophomore effort "Twisted Into Form". The leads are a find here, both melodic and technical, as well as the vocals which are semi-clean and deep, fitting the music quite well.

Say What You Will Demo, 1992

KRUGER (RUSSIA)

This band was founded by the Front member Seva Khodosevich, and he is the only known member from the line-up. The style is miles away from the aggressive thrash/death which Front started playing at a later stage, but is not too far from the softer heavy/thrash sound of that band's debut most of the time, this "idyll" broken twice by one much more aggressive fast number, which is actually vicious thrash/proto-death. There are a couple of ballads and a few songs which could pass for an average 90's power/speed metal act.

Pamjati Druga Full-length, 1991

KRUIZ (RUSSIA)

Kruiz were one of the first rock bands in Russia, and they have hardly heard about metal, let alone thrash, in the early stages of their career, not until 1986 when their guitarist Valerii Gaina decided to shift the band's sound into a metallic direction to respond to the demands of the times. "Kruiz 1" is a striking debut which features speed (mostly), power, heavy metal and finally a little bit of thrash all that topped by the amazing guitar pyrotechnics of Gaina (one of the ten best guitar players of all times). The band's debut was a huge success, and the debut sold the shattering 12 million copies in Russia alone (that immediately makes it one of the best selling metal albums of all times). Their second effort again titled "Kruiz" (the guys do not have a very big imagination when it comes to album-titles, do they?), but without the 1, is triumphant speed/thrash metal- a lesson in the genre for all past, present and future practitioners. Every song is a gem in the speed/thrash metal crown, with the album closer "Possessed" being one of the 10 finest thrashers I have ever listened to. The only flaw is Gaina's awful accent when singing on the English version of the album. Alas, this remained the last effort from this great band, with Gaina moving to the USA where he became a producer, and formed another band under his own name which has nothing to do with thrash.

Kruiz-1 Full-length, 1986
Kruiz Full-length, 1988

KRULLUR (USA)

These guys have the unique skill to combine aggressive and technical play in a way very few bands have managed. The music is fast, intense with slower heavier breaks suddenly interrupted by speedy technical outbursts. When the band tones down the technical guitars they sound quite close to Slayer although this happens on only one of the six tracks on this demo. The rest is relentless assault which will remind you of Atheist, Hellwitch, Necrodeath and Terrahsphere all at the same time. There are moments when the intensity jumps over the thrash metal fence and crosses into death metal territory. Another good point are the vocals which are a nice mix between Jeff Walker (Carcass) and Kelly Shaefer (Atheist).

Enormity Demo, 1990

KRUSHYA (GREECE)

Based on the "Ashta" demo, this band sit nicely between the two Sepultura albums "Arise" and "Chaos AD". The mighty sharp riffs of the Brazilians' best album are mixed with the modern tendencies from "Chaos AD". The music stays closer to "Arise" most of the time (fortunately), and in the fast parts one could also hear shades of Slayer ("Enter Your Own", a nice headbanger).

Krushya Demo, 2002
Ashta Demo, 2005

KRYOBURN (USA)

Modern, industrial thrash similar to Fear Factory (especially in the vocal department) and Puncture; the music is crushigly heavy, but there is little that hasn't been done before.

Enigmatic Existence Full-length, 2005

KRYPTA (USA)

Heavy-handed thrash which combines the more stomping nature of Paul Speckman's Abomination with more aggressive riffs ala Slayer. The final result is not very appealing, the musicianship is pretty basic and simplistic, ably "supported" by rough, death metal vocals. The lead guitar work sometimes tries to raise hopes that this wouldn't be a total waste of time, but it should have tried harder.

Demo Demo, 1989

KRYPTOR (CZECH)

One of the most famous and better thrash metal bands from the Czech Republic; they play aggressive thrash with some occasional intense, proto-death parts on their earlier albums, acquiring a more modern and lighter approach on the last two releases. I would go for "Greedpeace" as their finest hour- aggressive thrash, bordering on death. The opening "Euthanasia" is a furious thrasher in the Sepultura ("Beneath The Remains") vein, which offers some nice melodic leads, along with the bashing riffs. Later the album is a combination of slower, more laidback, almost non-thrash pieces ("Struggle For Humanity", "Greedpeace") and intense, death-tinged ones ("Psycho"). The more controlled side of the band is the better one, albeit much less speedy: the pounding dark "From Gehenna To Here", the crushing up-tempo closer "Mills Of Justice Slowly Grind".

Septical Anaesthesia Full-length, 1990
Time 4 Crime Full-length, 1991
Greedpeace Full-length, 1993
United Full-length, 1994
Na Východní Frontě Boj! Full-length, 1997

KRYPTOS (INDIA)

Based on "The Ark of Gemini": one of the leading Indian metal acts provides a decent mix of thrash, power and speed metal, more on the modern side. The guys thrash with conviction and melody on sure-handed speedy thrash hits, like "Order of the D.N.A." and "Heretic Supreme"; but this is not all, as right after comes the power/doom metal masterpiece "Tower of Illusions". Thrash metal returns with "The Reverant", but of the more melodic, less edgy type. Then the album descends into power metal territories in the 2nd half, and stays there until the end, which is preserved for the nice acoustic instrumental "In the Presence of Eternity".

Spiral Ascent Full-length, 2004
The Ark of Gemini Full-length, 2008

KRYTERIUM (USA)

Groovy, modern thrash, which spices things up a bit with more energetic numbers ("Unlock the Gates"), but the rest is no more than what we have heard many times before from the hordes of the Pantera and Machine Head clones.

Control Full-length, 2007

KR’UPPT (USA)

Based on "The Spunion Field", the band play heavy thrash similar (but better) to Defiance ("Void Terra Firma"). The sound is firmly classic, and the guys keep the tempo energetic, coming with some really heavy, smashing riffs. The heaviness comes a bit too much, probably, on some tracks, which border on doom: "Asylum", but all this is nicely made up on the faster material, which clearly dominates, but is never of the very aggressive variety, although some tracks are not that far from there: the very good intense thrasher "Shattered Worlds". The vocals are good, close to Phil Rind (Sacred Reich). This is an excellent classic thrash album, showing total disregard to the fashions of the day.

"Within the Asylum" is a fine debut, not far from the sound heard on the follow-up, although "Shattered Worlds" starts it in a fast-paced pounding Bay-Area fashion. "Asylum", despite its short length, is crushing heaviness all the way, not bothering to speed up at all. This tendency continues on the 10-ton hammer "Internal Subversion", which will crush your skull, and "Kruppt" comes as a relief, beginning with a blistering speedy section, but later on quite a few punishing rhythms can be heard during its close to 9-min. "Nocturnal Nomad" is another headbanger, before "Evolution and Creation" takes over, hammering down a nail after nail. "Forsaken Race" is a full-on speed/thrash attack, the last one here, since after it come "Protect and Serve", which is a cool atmospheric doomy track, and the closer "Womb of Decay" which livens up with more dynamic riffage, and a nice fast ending. If there ever was a "pounding classic thrash" tag to be attached to any act, this should have been the one: this is what happens when Sacred Reich's "The American Way" "marries" the Bay-Area, with both sides willing to tolerate the other half without any attempts at domination.

Within the Asylum Full-length, 1994
The Spunion Field Full-length, 1996
Chapter 2 Full-length, 2003

KRÜGER (RUSSIA)

Based on the debut, these veterans are one of the first acts from Russia to introduce death metal, although this album is still a thrash/death mixture quite close to the Swedes Merciless' debut. So expect fast "merciless" music with very good bass support. The guys lash in a furious manner, keeping the tempo constantly fast on the first 3 tracks, before "9 Rings Of Ordruin" comes with its more sophisticated technical approach, recalling their compatriots Koma's debut, by still remaining quite a fast offering. Speed is the order of the day on the next "Durby Mc. Row", but the riffs are much more melodic, with clear speed metal pretensions, this time reminiscent of another Russian debut: the one of Kruiz. This song is like a precursor to a softer direction, continued on the jolly power/speedster "Harley Davidson". Fortunately "M.O.R.G." is a different "animal", bringing the sound back to the death/thrashy patterns, and is the most extreme number, also providing a few technical twists with again the bass playing a major role. "Farewater Of Death" is excellent fast thrash with more melodic implements, and the closer "Satan's Embryo" sees no reasons why it should change the course, moshing in the same entertaining way. The follow-up kept the hard course, but after the 6-year break the band have adopted a much more melodic sound, following the 90's speed/power metal models.
"Ordamor" is a much milder affair than the debut, and a much more diverse one as such. It's mostly speed/power metal of the classic type with a few modern proto-groovy throw-ins, cool energetic stuff, but without any thrash metal merits.

Satan's Embryo Full-length, 1991
Rozhdenniy Mrakom Full-length, 1992
Deti Vrazhdi Full-length, 1998
Faith and Religion Full-length, 2002
Mi - Rock Full-length, 2002
No Compromise Full-length, 2004
Äóřŕ Čçóâĺđŕ (Fiend's Sou Full-length, 2005
Rocks And Steel Full-length, 2007
9th Messiah Full-length, 2009
Shipy i Rozy Full-length, 2009
Ordamor Full-length, 2010

KRźSTAL SźNN (USA)

A blend of power and thrash which has already acquired slight modern 90's tendencies; the music on its best and more thrashy moments recalls the last two Laaz Rockit albums, and one could hear cool choppy rifs and fast leads. There are more quiet balladic moments, but they are tastefully done, and "Time Slips Away" is one of the better ballads from the metal field. Some rap-styled vocals sneak through ("Shut the Fuck Up"), but, again, they are not irritating, and fit the hard-hitting riffs well. The guys try a more ambitious song-writing where the songs get quite long (7-9min), but they are filled with awkward offbeat, non-metal elements, and are far less impressive than the shorter stuff. Despite its mixed nature, this album has its cool thrashy moments which at times move into quite aggressive territories ("New York City Echo").

American Steel Full-length, 1991

KTULU (SPAIN)

One of the second wave of Spanish thrash metal bands, and arguably the best from that same wave. "Involucion" is a good debut of classic 80's thrash. Despite the slightly raw guitar sound, it's clear that these guys are here to thrash with no mercy, and this is exactly the case on the opener "Involucion": a nice, pounding piece, coming as a more catchy Slayer. The band vary things later, introducing some very good melodic hooks ("El Chino"), and a slower, mid-paced rhythm ("Error Clinico"), but the intense Slayer-esque delivery remains the dominant one, sometimes accompanied by a pleasant shade of crossover: "Uno Mas", and even punk: "Mi Granja".
Things get really serious three years later on "Orden Genético" , which offers very cool technical thrash boasting a good modern production and heavy, meaty riffs. Despite some modern metal elements, the music is still rooted in 80's thrash, and some songs are great exercises in complex, technical thrash: "Auto-Destrucción", "Sin Treguas", which haven't also forgotten to be dynamic and intense. Some songs still thrash in a smashing way: "Utilizados", "Deja De Joder", whereas others combine the modern sound with cool technical riffage: "El Ultimo Pajaro". This was a really striking effort, and wasn't very likely that the band would be able to surpass it. And indeed, the past was buried on their future efforts, which are nothing more than aggressive modern thrash ala Pantera.

Involución Full-length, 1991
Orden Genético Full-length, 1994
Confrontación Full-length, 1997
Ktulu Full-length, 1999
2078'' EP, 2000

KUBLA KHAN (SPAIN)

Retro thrash/death metal, not far from Defleshed and the Australians Dark Order, so expect quite a few fast brutal sections spiced with heavier ones, the latter offered with a slight touch of modern groove. This is headbanging music with good, surprisingly melodic for the style, leads and forceful aggresive death metal vocals.

Six Sex Six Full-length, 2008

KUBLAI KHAN (USA)

This band are famous for including a former Megadeth (Greg Handevidt is the name) guitarist in their line-up, who also handles the vocals here. As a matter of fact, the style is close to early Megadeth and mid-period Exciter, being melodic speed/thrash metal, but without the technical pretentions of Handevidt's previous band. The concentration is more on heavy rhythms and faster melodies, which nicely mix together. "Down to the Inferno" is an exercise in monotonous, doomy thrash, and works almost as well as the faster material. The production quality is not very high, and it clearly shows its age, but the album definitely has its moments.
Kevin Idso may have been setting the scene for a comeback album with the new 2-song demo, but his occupation with his other project Kronk keep the veterans at bay. And it's probably for the better as the two songs here are not very impressive noisy modern thrash with touches of industrial having very little to do with the band's old style.

Annihilation Full-length, 1987
Demo Demo, 2003

KUDAI (SPAIN)

Based on "Shah Mat", these guys offer an alternative groovy form of post-thrash, which will hardly make a few thrash eye-brows raise, but fans of the 90's trends will like the jumpy guitars, the semi-angry vocals, and the numerous melodic alternative, and also balladic, breaks, especially those coming with a nice Oriental shade ("Shah Mat").
"Hutsa" is more dynamic and faster, and the riffs crush more creating a few intense headbanging moments along the way: the excellent more classic-sounding speed/thrasher "Fobia"; the very cool power/thrash instrumental "Kudai v1.0". The deviations from the more hard-hitting formula are not that many, mostly coming in the form of atmospheric lead-driven passages.

Hutsa Full-length, 2004
Arima Eroslea Full-length, 2006
Shah Mat Full-length, 2009

KUGA (SERBIA)

This is a live recording, like you've guessed from the demo-title, but this is not a hindrance for the listener to enjoy this energetic retro take on thrash, since the sound is clear, and the guys play with gusto and competence. The music is fast, with the German school being the closest reference, at times sharing the speed and aggression of "Pleasure to Kill" ("Japanska"), at others the sound is more Destruction-inclined ("Najcrnje Noci"). This is an exercise in sheer speed, and as such guarantees plenty of headbanging moments.

Live Danguba Demo Demo, 2006

KULTHEIT (GERMANY)

The demo provides modern-ish power/thrash in mid-tempo with gruff death-ish vocals which are two types, both quite gruff, spiced with occasional clean ones. The riffs are more on the melodic side slowing down for the doomy piece "Insane".

Like A Virus Demo, 2003
On The Edge Full-length, 2006

KUWALDA (RUSSIA)

Based on "Alkaliod", thid band plays thrash/crossover mixing fast aggressive pieces with more laid-back ones. The latter predominate, and one may be left disappointed a bit that the speedy numbers were not more, since they really make the head bang. There are allusions to Russian folk songs as well, and the melodic hooks as a whole deliver no worse than the sharp riffage.

Delikatesy Full-length, 2001
Rescue And Keep Full-length, 2004
Alkaloid Full-length, 2009

KVIKKSŘLVGUTTENE (NORWAY)

Based on the EP, this band offers roller-coaster thrash/death metal ala mid-period Entombed in up-tempo which seldom goes into more extreme territories ("Violent Death"). Some of the guys played in the early death metal act Vomit who had close ties to the legendary Mayhem.

Gamlem EP, 1997
Krieg Full-length, 1997

KYLÄHULLUT (FINLAND)

Based on the first EP, this is an awkward mix of thrash/crossover (which is the basic style), rock'n roll metal ala Motorhead or Tank, and on top of that Children Of Bodom-like guitar work. You might ask yourself what exactly these guys want to be; more concentration on the thrash/crossover side for the future could at least take them somewhere.

Keisarinleikkaus EP, 2004
Turpa Täynnä Full-length, 2005
Lisää Persettä Rättipäille EP, 2007

KÖRGULL THE EXTERMINATOR (SPAIN)

Raw, simplistic black/thrash, owing a lot to early Bathory and the Canadians Megiddo; the Spaniards' approach is probably more aggressive, moving completely into the fields of black ("The Dark Riders"). "Dogs of War" increases the speed and the aggression, but early Bathory remains the closest reference point, with Burzum being a close second, although on a few moments the sound is pure bashing thrash/proto-death: "Berserkers", which is sheer extreme madness, topped by the ultra vicious Burzum-like shrieks; the speed/thrash fury "Dogs of War". Some calmer moments are compulsory ("For the Glory of Tyr" in the middle) for both the listener and the musicians, but after that the show goes on in the same brutal fashion, turning into Burzum-like black metal on "Kingdome of Darkness".

Körgull The Exterminator / Morbid Yell Split, 2008
Dogs of War Full-Length, 2009

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