Copyright (c) 2007-2024 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 N.A.O.P. (HOLLAND)
These stalwarts on the Dutch thrash/crossover (aka "Noisy Act of Protest": see the title of the debut) scene do a good job on their debut with intense thrashy crossover which is both fast and catchy, at times lashing nice speed/thrash even touching Angel Dust's "Into the Dark Past" ("Face To The Wall"), at others moshing out in a sincere hardcore fashion ("Destroy Power", "White Trash"), and "Death Judgement" is a pure vicious thrash/proto-death bomb closely followed by the smashing D.R.I.-esque closer "Prisoner of Wealth". The singer is a cool addition with his thick semi-death metal voice who spits the lyrics matching the intensity of the riffs coming close at times to the jocund mean-ish delivery of Pete Lee (Lawnmower Deth).
Noisy Act Of Protest Full-length, 1991 Official Site N.D.EXPERIENCE (RUSSIA)
A decent retro thrash/death hybrid, think a combination of mid-period Sepultura and early Entombed; stomping seismic rhythms ("Desolation") shake hands with intelligent hard-hitting thrashing ("The Eyes Which You Can Break"), the leads all over being quite proficient and melodic, "Prepare To Die" jumping the full-fledged death metal wagon for the provision of the most brutal sounds on this effort.
Demo Demo, 1993 N.E.U.K. (UK)
Very typical for the time groovy post-thrash in a boring mid-pace and semi-shouty hardcore vocals. Some faster moments may remind of Flotsam & Jetsam's "Quatro" ("Propaganda"), but the rest is pretty bland even by 90's standards, descending to some form of groovy doom on the last three songs.
State of Mind Full-length, 1995 N.M.E. (USA)
Based on the debut, this is raw, simplistic thrash (or black) along the lines of Venom; music-wise the merits are very few, but it has definitely had an impact on the future black metal scene. "Machine of War" is a very distant departure from the debut's sound, sticking to painfully familiar, even for that time, modern groovy formulas spiced by very angry shouty vocals. The guitars are suitably heavy doing the best on the heaviest, doom-charged, numbers ("Acid Reign"). Short speedsters ("Dead Years: The Politics Of Paranoia") also roam around as well as a few inept covers: two of Black Sabbath ("Children of the Grave" & "Electric Funeral", the latter better done with a genuine doom vibe; the former turned into awful hardcore with messy guitars); a short variation of Slayer's "South of Heaven" lasting for a bit more than 1-min; AC/DC's "Let There be Light" is also here as a finishing touch played in a carefree crossover manner the singer shouting even more unpleasantly on this one.
Unholy Death Full-length, 1986 My Space N.S.A. (USA)
Modern heavy 90's post-thrash that is strictly on the seismic, somewhat plodding side, the corey dirges of "Dying Nation" cancelled by the stylish semi-technical arrangements of "Laughter House 213", the highlight on this obscurity which also features comprehensible quarrelsome hardcore vocals and the sprightly vigorous thrashcore tune "Free Expression".
N.S.A. EP, 1994 N.W. 77 (BRAZIL)
Simplistic direct thrash/crossover with shouty choruses aplenty and generally uplifting merry rhythms except for a few short hardcore outrages ("N.A.G.A.C.A."). Purer thrash is almost reached on another ripper, "Worldwide Death", but the friendly tone is seldom broken on this optimistic barrage which is assisted by very vociferous quarrelsome vocals.
Nuclear Awake Full-Length, 2015 N.Y.C. MAYHEM (USA)
Based on the "Mayhemic Destruction" demo: these guys pull out raw, aggressive thrash which occasionally catches the ear, but most of the time this is brutal bashing with the drums, guitars, bass and vocals representing one thick wall of a not very intelligible sound. Despite its raw nature it's clear that the band were trying to push the boundaries of the genre towards more extreme fields, the way acts like Messiah, Possessed, Death, etc. did later, but in a much better way.
Mayhemic Destruction Demo, 1985 NACHZEHRER (USA)
A 4-song demo of fast epic black metal ala early Burzum spiced with thrash; rending raven-like vocals tear the air supported by numerous blasting passages and a few haunting slower melodic ones.
Black Thrash Ritual Demo, 2010 Official Site NADHA (BRAZIL)
Heavy militant modern thrash/death which occasionally serves lighter-hearted rock-ish anthems ("Summons to Contest"), the grindy lustre of
"Umbra Penumbra" by all means a lively injection, but rest for a bit on the meditative doomy serenity of "Sketches of Fragments", before
the title-track showers you with addictive melodic lead sections, another relatively respiteful occurrence with more ambitious progressive
decorations.
Nadha Full-Length, 2022 Official Site NADIMAC (SERBIA)
Cool aggressive thrash ala early Sadus and Rigor Mortis; the music is fast and intense with very few pauses along the way, characterized by simplistic straight riffage and very good bass support. "Drzavni Neprijatelj Broj Kec" is built around the songs from the EP with the new material offering the same relentless approach, fast merciless stuff "shooting" a bullet after bullet ("Headshot U Glavu", "Sam Sebi") seldom missing the target, boldly venturing into proto-death waters ("Dlake Na Sapunu", where more stylish semi-technical riffs can also be heard) whenever needed. "Zmajeva Jajca" is a nice number mixing the all-out speedy approach with more melodic hooks recalling the Finns Solitaire including a playful crossover mid-break. The closing "Bog Cuva Bekriju" is again more in the speed/thrash metal camp, with a couple of more melodic tunes thrown in. For sheer speed this act scores very high sounding at the same time fresh and varied, and even acts like the Japanese Fastkill and the aforementioned Solitaire could find something to learn from this really nice nod to the old school. The singer Danilo "Daca" Trbojevic also provides the vocals for the technical death metallers Daggerspawn.
Metal Je Rat EP, 2009 Official Site NADIR (UK)
The full-length: modern progressive thrash which comes served with very boosted modern production, the blasting deathster "Eternal War" not severely obstructed by it, but stepping aside for the loftier hyper-active shredder "Impasse", the shrieky black metal vocals by all means an acquired taste. "Awaiting My Fate" favours the lead guitarist more, a mellower representation with epic overtones, leaving all the hustle'n bustle for "Unstoppable Force, Immoveable Object", a fine fast-paced cut which dynamic clout is also covered by the larger-than-life closer, the 21-min "Forevermore". Some of the band members are also occupied with the metalcore unit Underkript.
Eternal War, Forevermore Full-length, 2022 Official Site NAG (NORWAY)
Crusty black/thrashcore which has its both milder and more brutal side; in other words, expect everything from crossover to grindcore including a few surprisingly stylish exercises in more technical thrash/death ("Master"; the dissonant masterpiece "Soon") which leave the rest much more simplistic rest far behind. The vocalist shouts in an apocalyptic, schizophrenic manner the whole time adding more spice to the outrageous musical scenery.
NAG Full-Length, 2016 NAGNOENIE (RUSSIA)
Thrash/crossover of the retro variety with gruff semi-death metal vocals which surprisingly give the music a nice boost; the guys mosh in a more direct thrash manner at times those songs being more mid-paced and heavier, but enjoyable nonetheless. The happiness reaches its climax on the Oriental piece from Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" in the middle, here turned into a vortex of jolly thrash/crossover rhythms, the highlight of the album also featuring vocals. This unpretentious mixture of faster and slower numbers is really appealing, by the way, with a couple of doomy hooks added as well, plus the odd short melodic lead.
Bezumie 13 Full-Length, 2001 NAHAB (USA)
Rough primal black/death/thrash which is awkwardly chaotic reflected in overlong cuts from which only the slower sections ("Eternal Winter") can be deciphered. The leads are on a higher level, though, and give a cool epic colouring to the more restrained compositions ("Signum Crucis De Fragmentism"). The singer is a shouty deathster, but his rendings can be intelligible from time to time, unlike the music which for most of the time is one big wall of noise.
Nahab Full-Length, 2015 NAHAYA (USA)
Based on the full-length, these folks indulge in fast blitzkrieg retro/modern thrash blend topped by intense shouty death metal vocals. The title-track deviates into a more modern, also more laid-back power/thrash direction, with better cleaner vocals emerging as well. "Kali Yuga" winks at the realms of death, and "Midnight Fidelio" is a bit of a waste with a dramatic semi-operatic layout.
Transcendence EP, 2018 Official Site NAHUM (CZECH)
The debut: this band plays modern thrash/death which is accompanied by brutal death metal vocals. The music is dynamic without being constantly fast although the more intense moments (the dramatic thrash/deathster "Room 101"; the excellent melodic death metal cut "Get Stars Back") seem to work the better. Check the end, appropriately titled "Feel the End" which is a great exiting lead-driven instrumental.
The Gates Are Open Full-length, 2012 Official Site NAIL WITHIN (ISRAEL)
The debut: good modern thrash/death metal with a strong nod to the Swedish school, and more particularly to the founders of the whole movement: the mighty At the Gates. The guys offer quite an amalgam of moods and styles: there's straight-out death metal, there's thrash, even with a shade of the 80's, there's also groove involved ala Pantera and Machine Head. A contribution to the album's appeal make stars from the thrash/death metal constellation: Tomas Lindberg himself, Mille Petrozza, another German throat: Robert Gonnella (Assassin), and Zeev Tananboim from their compatriots Salem.
Nail Within Full-length, 2003 My Space NAILBOMB (BRAZIL)
This band was formed by Max Cavalera, after he left Sepultura; he joined efforts here with the Fudge Tunnel member Alex Newport. Together they have done a good job, with the style of their project coming as a combination of the two bands: this is industrial thrash, which is more up-tempo (but nor really fast), and less noisy than the works of Fudge Tunnel, and more dynamic, and much better than the last Sepultura album with Max ("Roots"). The guitars crush admirably, and Cavalera does a very god job behind the mike, without betraying his traditional singing style. Perfectly conformed with the tastes of the day, "Point Blank" was a valuable addition to the growing industrial metal scene, and could be well placed among the best that year, along with Skrew's "Dusted" and Prong"s "Cleansing".
Point Blank Full-length, 1994 NAILED (CROATIA)
Modern groovy post-thrash ala Pantera with remnants from the 80's scene in the form of merrier thrash/crossover rhythms, mostly on the first two demos. The style could have grown into something more meaningful if the guys hadn't embraced the groovy formulas whole-heartedly on the later demos which also caused a change of name (which could have also been caused by legal issues with an act of the same name) in 2006, into Skepsis when the full-length stage was finally reached with an album released the same year ("Scream Your Scars").
Mankind Demo, 2002 Official Site NAILGUN (GERMANY)
Based on "New World Chaos", this formation provide a modern cross of power and proto-thrash. The guys take it easy by pulling epic mid-paced to doomy rhythms without speeding too much, but once the heavy riff-patterns settle in they are very hard to get rid of and the inevitable descents to ballads and all the rest are guaranteed later in the second half. Still, as a work of epic power/doom metal with bits of more aggressive riffage this album should please on more than just one level not without the help of the very good dramatic clean vocals which deliver without trying anything too adventurous.
Paindustry Full-length, 2011 Official Site NAILGUNNER (FINLAND)
The demo: the vocals would definitely be a pull-back to some: these unholy snarls are almost contrasting to the music which is otherwise competent semi-technical thrash quite close to another Finnish band of recent years, Lethargy. Nailgunner's songs are shorter and more direct, but the overall effect is firmly on the positive side.
All Life Ends Demo, 2004 Official Site NAILSTORM (LATVIA)
This is a one-man show, the alias Puvums, who delivers old school black/thrash on a noisy abrasive base, the approach varying from carefree Motorhead-ish boogies (“Black Flame”) to raspy doom-soaked hymns (“Invocation”), to vigorous headbanging escapades (“My Flesh Consumed”). The vocals are also on the raspy side, semi-declamatory but sinister and darkly commanding.
"New Age Of Politics" (which could be another acronym for the band name?) is another intense offering the guys thrashing with no remorse adding a more carefree jocund attitude bringing them closer to the hardcore arena at times. The mosh never stops here even on the longer, seemingly at first sight more serious, material ("The Right People"), and one will have a very good time jumping on short dynamic outbursts like "Seas of Thirst" and "Survival Unites", and the other 15 (there are whole 17 cuts here) songs (the closing "Cold Flesh" is an exception being a moody quasi-industrial creeper, quite effective and intriguing) all delivered in a direct energetic fashion. The singer now is less brutal changing his aggressive death semi-grunts for more attached shouty semi-clean antics spat in a forceful semi-declamatory manner.
New Age Of Politics Full-length, 1993
In Time EP, 1997
Full Contact Full-length, 1999
Hard To Deny Full-length, 2003
Machine of War Full-length, 1995
Vermination Full-length, 2002
Second Demo Demo, 1985
The EP is another hyper-affair praising Burzum again, above all, this time calming things down with the odd slower section ("Barsarkar-gang") where some thrash can be heard. That same thrash, however, hasn't been given too much space, intense speedy black metal having taken over also sharing some of the orchestral pompousness of later-period Emperor.
Pestilence Hungers in the Shadows EP, 2011
"Po Kratkom Postupku" shows the guys trying to break the speed records again, and may succeed at some stage since the manic fast shred here never stops even for a split second, boldly bordering on hardcore on the more frantic moments ("Znakovi"). "Gas Do Daske" is a pretty contrasting number moving from more laid-back speed/thrash to almost grindy mosh ala Cryptic Slaughter, but the softest piece would probably be the crossover joy "Lapot". For the rest one has to have a strong neck to survive through it: a truly dedicated to speed band.
"Nejebanje Eivesile" continues the ultra-speedy "carnival" with panache and gusto speed/thrashing relentlessly, unleashing short blitzkrieg numbers with precision and spite some of them racing with the speed of light: "Koma Sutra", "Smrt Autoriteta", "Masturbatorski Lakat", etc. "Grupna Terapija" features a not very overt technical element plus a less tamed proto-death section the latter also gracing the following "Grad Ispod Grada". The shreds on "Crna Reka" recall Destruction, and the final "Vukodlak" is a raging thrash/crossover hymn coming close again to the manic pyrotechnics of Cryptic Slaughter. With a third super-speedy effort in a row the guys have managed to establish themselves as one of the fastest playing acts in the genre at present.
"Manifest Protiv Sudbine": the raging speedfest goes on on full-throttle here although the band's more restrained side suddenly shines through on "Krv Do Kolena", but only to an extent. The rest is speed/thrash to-the-death: check out short exploders like "Evrope Danke Najn" and "Retardiran Za Skejt". Both hardcore and proto-death come as "companions" here and there, but their presence gives an additional boost to the remorseless musical approach.
"Besnilo" is the next in line besnilo, the guys moshing in the familiar manner by seldom stopping for breath along the way as at times the intensity reaches hardcore dimensions ("Jednom Nogom u Gradu", "Kapitalizam je Kanibalizam", the short outrage "Revolucija u Izlogu"). "Prvi Put sa Kevom na Semu" is a cool attempt at a more technical song-writing by retaining the speed to a large extent, and "Rodjen u Ofsajdu (Nesportski Dan)" is a nice thrash/crossover rouser the remaining tracks faithfully following the same ways of expression with a desirable more melodic, also uplifting and carefree, flair.
Drzavni Neprijatelj Broj Kec Full-length, 2009
Po Kratkom Postupku Full-length, 2011
Nejebanje' Eivesile Full-Length, 2013
Manifest Protiv Sudbine Full-Length, 2015
Besnilo Full-length, 2017
The "Possessed by Grandeur" EP is a logical continuation of the delivery from the album, the band grabbing the attention initially with the short spastic "Egomaniacal", before unleashing their more intricate arsenal with the multi-layered steriler "Take Head". "Negative Delusions" jumps the headbanging wagon with harsher rowdier riffs, and "Path of Solitude" clams the ball down with imposing operatic arrangements and several more aggressive mechanized spasms.
“Standing at the Cosmic Horizon” places “In the Beginning” at the beginning, an encompassing virtuous progressive which early sums up the entire album, making the remainder sound inferior, but both the hyper-active deathly complexities of “Lost Dogmatic Space New Order” and the virtuoso urgency of “Banished” are anything by throwaways, the balladic relaxation “Vexillum Candela” clearly ruined by the rending shrieky vocals.
Possessed by Grandeur EP, 2023
Contagion EP, 2023
Standing at the Cosmic Horizon Full-length, 2024
Transcendence Pt. II EP, 2020
Vital Alchemy Full-length, 2021
"Within Destruction" is a less bridled, explosive affair with just a few stopovers from the relentless freighter, the band also inserting the odd more intricate vibe ("When the Sun Turns To Black") in order to hook the listener even more among the wild death/thrashing reflected in perennial neck-sprainers like "Mother Death" and "United in Hate" the total opposite to those being the anti-climactic doom closer "Annihilated. All. Absolutely" which at least epitomizes the growling death metal vocals quite well.
And the Chaos Has Begun Full-length, 2015
Within Destruction Full-length, 2018
Unfortunately at the present time the guys prefer to invest more time and efforts into their other project, the much less impressive groove-laden post-thrash formation Betzefer.
“Sound of Demise”: 20 years after their inception the band are back in business, the familiar from the first instalment melo-death/thrash heroics in full bloom once again, the maddening in-your-face “Eyes of Evil” pacified by the slow-burner ‘Sound Of Demise” and the lyrical melodious stroll “Regression... And the Price We Pay”. More restless rhythms provided by “Duplicate Our Lives”, and this is where the second half belongs, also exemplified by the fast-paced bullets “Everything We Know” and the more death-prone “Manipulated and Doomed”.
Sound of Demise Full-length, 2023
World Collapse Demo, 2003
A Moment Of Clarity Demo, 2005
In Vain Demo, 2006
"Desolation" is a more aggressive effort with more overt thrash tendencies on top of some imposing epic moments ("Crimean Crisis", 'Devil's Ground") which create nice officiant atmosphere. The problem is that once it settles in, it's very difficult to make it go away and it stays around to the end resulting in a couple of mellow power metal cuts as a finishing touch. Despite the promising beginning, the band continue to stick to their guns and as such this album isn't too far from the previous one style-wise.
New World Chaos Full-length, 2012
Desolation Full-Length, 2014
The full-length is a great debut featuring forceful thrash of the old school. The guys concentrate on speed and aggression rather than technicality, like it was the case on the demo, and as a result we have Slayer's "Reign in Blood" brought into the new millennium. Don't expect any calm moments: this is an all-out thrash assault until the end. "Craving Your Flesh" betrays the intense thrashing a bit, clinging more towards the speed/thrashing metal side ala early Whiplash; a situation corrected with the aggressive raging "Venomous Overdose". The closing "Torment in Pain" slows down with pounding riffs, and just when one is happy to take a break from the guys' intense delivery, comes the closing section which is another slab of fast furious thrash. This is a really impressive dedication to the 80's sound done with inspiration and love of the genre.
Thermonuklear Thrash Metal Warfare Split, 2005
Outbreak of Evil Vol. III Split, 2006
Apocalypse, Now or Never Full-Length, 2008