The Thrash Metal Guide

Copyright (c) 2007 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

O.P.E.N. (UK)

Mechanical industrialized post-thrash with jazz and funky moments; this is both jumpy and atmospheric music with a strong alternatice vibe and several balladic stretches, plus ridiculous computerized vocals which still suit the hectic robotic delivery.

Let's Get It On! Full-Length, 2010

O.N.E. (RUSSIA)

These Russians offer melodic power/thrash with crisp guitars and a few more aggressive moments ("Na Grani") where the riffs start thrashing with more force. But generally this is moderate stuff with balladic and grunge touches ("Zver"), and an occasional adherence to speed metal ("Kto Otdal Jizni za Nas"). The singer is good with his passionate clean mid-ranged tember.

Smotri i Pomni Demo, 2011

OBEISANCE (USA)

Based on "Lucifer Master": this band is a kind of a side project for the members of the Mexican death metal maestros The Chasm. The music, however, bears no resemblances to death metal opting for classic thrash metal mixing heavy stomping riffing ala Celtic Frost with faster energetic numbers in the tradition of early Bathory and the Swedes Bewitched. This is straight stuff, you won't find any twisted technical riffs typical for the The Chasm style, but is enjoyable and a good reminder of the heydays of thrash metal.
"Unholy, Unwholesome and Evil" is an ultra-brutal black/death metal affair with very few moments of thrash. This is well inferior to the much more proficient debut, constantly blasting in a noisy drum-dominated way, with only "Dark Gardens Of Eternal War" providing some comfort for the listener with cool doomy rhythms. The rest is just mindless bash, and it would be really hard to believe that The Chasm members are responsible for it.

Lucifer Master Full-length, 2002
Unholy, Unwholesome and Evil Full-length, 2006
F.U.C.K. : Forever Unholy Christian Karnage EP, 2007
Satanik Shoktroops Auf Doom EP, 2008

OBLITERATION (UK)

One of the less known bands from the British metal scene; it's hard to define their style with a few simple words, though: there are fast, aggressive numbers; there are slower, doomy parts; there are mid-paced, semi-technical tracks, too. It might sound impressive to some, but as a matter of fact this is just an average thrash metal album.

Obscured Within Full-length, 1990

OBLITERATOR (USA)

This band was formed by Ski: the man who sang for Deadly Blessing previously, and the same man who was very close to becoming the Rob Halford replacement in Judas Priest (outrun in the last stage by Tim "Ripper" Owens). This could have been the beginning of a stellar career if released 5-6 years earlier; the style is characterized by the typical for Deadly Blessing speed/thrash metal anthems, but the music is more technical and heavier (check out "Bloodred Sin"), and Ski screams his lungs out to the very extreme, seldom achieved before, even by Halford himself (check out "Bloodred Sin" again). Hey, there are other songs here, too, like the brilliant opener "Windows To Your Soul": another great brutal technical thrasher, as well as the Ski's tribute to Judas Priest: the cover version of "Beyond The Realms Of Death" with the vocal performance, of course, being the highlight.

Demo Demo, 1992

OBLIVEON (CANADA)

This great band never got the recognition they deserved. They play a unique brand of technical/progressive thrash metal with a certain industrial flavour on later works, heavy and mid-paced most of the time with meaty, crushing riffs. Their debut fits this description almost completely, lacking the industrial decorations of the other albums, but is a first-class slab of technical thrash. It opens with the excellent speedy, lead-driven instrumental "Access To The Acropolis", after which things take a heavier and a more technical turn with "Chronocraze", which still enjoys a great faster-paced section. "Droidomized" increases the heaviness without losing the speed, and the result is a fine intense thrasher with a technical twist. The technicality remains for the great 9-min progressive thrash opus "Fiction Of Veracity", one of the band's finest hours, a smashing combination of moods and tempo changes. "From This Day Forward" is a dark brooding mid-paced thrasher with creepy sinister guitars. "Imminent Regenerator" is technical speed/thrash at its smashing best, whereas the closing "It Should Have Stayed Unreal" slows down again acquiring a dark gothic edge.

"Nemesis" is the band's magnum opus, the finest example of their unique style, which also manages to stay away from the modern/industrial influences for most of the time. It starts in a fabulous way with the technical masterpiece "Dynamo", with superb guitar performance. "Estranging Abduction" follows the same pattern, but "Factory Of Delusions" speeds up and gets more aggressive, creating a headbanging atmosphere which gets lost for the complex whirlwind of technical riffage "Frosted Avowals", which fans of progressive/technical thrash might find the highlight here. "Nemesis" relies more on heavy crushing guitars, and is a nice pause before another technical gem overwhelms you: "Obscure Mindways", this time faster, combining the best from Helstar and Despair in their prime. "Strays Of The Soul" shows the more lyrical semi-balladic side of the band for a while before the smashing technical riffs take over. "The Thinker's Lair" closes this incredible album in a mid-paced, more standard approach.

"Cybervoid" is a much more modern and a more immediate effort. There is groove, there is also industrial, but the interesting arrangements and the original musical decisions are still present to a certain extent: "Perihelion", "Sequels". Still they are not enough to make this album sound even half as good as the first two; the approach is too samey, making the whole album sound like one big track. The EP and "Carnivore Mothermouth" concentrate on the industrial and modern tendencies, leaving the technical flair far behind.

From This Day Forward Full-length, 1990
Nemesis Full-length, 1993
Cybervoid Full-length, 1995
Planet Claire EP, 1998
Carnivore Mothermouth Full-length, 1999

OBLIVION (CROATIA)

Cool retro speed/thrash metal crossing Angel Dust with Rigor Mortis; fast music with simplisitc guitars and a gruff death metal singer. The leads are very melodic contrasting to the harsher, but repetitive, riffage.

R.I.P. Demo, 2000

OBLIVION (CYPRUS)

This act plays dark atmospheric thrash/death metal with numerous melodies and heavy proto-gothic elements the latter recalling mid-period Rotting Christ. The tempo is mostly mid, but there are descents to slower waters with doom/death tendencies to which the deep low-tuned death metal vocals suit better.

Oblivion EP, 2009

OBLIVION (ITALY)

A very obscure release, Oblivion's only mini-album is an enjoyable mixture of power and melodic thrash with a nice finishing touch ("Pipes And Drums", which somekind of reminds me of the ABBA great folk instrumental "Arrival"). Before this finishing touch, however, one will come across a very good fusion of power, speed and thrash metal: "Screaming Hearts", partially ruined by the emotionless, semi-clean vocals; one full-blooded intense thrasher: "Guilty Youth", with a great bass-bottom (which is very strong on the whole album, by the way); one feelgood crossover piece: "Let Leave Me Be Myself", and more.

Oblivion Full-length, 1990

OBLIVION (USA)

A very obscure band; their only album mixes classic heavy metal ala Accept with power/thrash in the Heretic-vein, or the later Ultimatum works. There are punk-ish moments, too- "Get A Life", and as a whole the album doesn't have a very big headbanging potential, except for the live track "Cross The Line", which is a cool nod to the 80's American scene, and the galloping power/thrasher "Euthanasia", which loses in the process from the buzzy guitars.

Oblivion Full-Length, 1989

OBNOXIOUS (FRANCE)

Based on the full-length, this band provides typical modern thrash metal with cool industrial overtones at times. The music is pretty energetic and headbangable also featuring one full-blooded deathster ("Postmortem Reprisal") which partially translates its ferocity on the closing "Filthy Secrets", another furious piece with blasting leanings.

Dismal Swarming Shape EP, 2007
Lab #01 Full-length, 2009

OBNOXIOUS (GERMANY)

The full-length shows a very odd unusual act who center their music around technical/progressive death/thrash metal, but more is being offered on this base. The opener "Life In A Second" will meet you with very brutal death metal vocals, dynamic technical hectic music, sometimes brutal and fast, sometimes complex and melodic, and alternative clean singing as well which sounds not bad actually. The mixture continues on the next "Methylhydroxypropylcellulose" (thumbs up for the title of the decade!), where the music becomes more brutal (by brutality here understand sudden short very aggressive outbreaks, nothing lasting for more than a couple of seconds) and technical; the technicality goes even beyond Coroner, lashing multi-layered riffs from all sides to the point of slightly overdoing it probably. "The Counterbalance" tries indeed to bring some "balance" to this very non-standard picture, by toning down both the aggression and the technicality; still it remains fairly complex, with nice bass support. "Autumn" is another technical riff-fest, quite fast, but not brutal, at times, at times slow and doomy; a mixture which delivers the whole time. "Mechanisation Of Death" is intense fast technical thrash/death metal ala Hellwitch with a great Oriental middle theme. "Videos Of Horror" is another fast/slow mix, with the clean vocals taking more space, and a very scarcely present technical play. "Euthanasia" is an excellent 8-min progressive opus, mostly mid-tempo to slow, which again doesn't rely on very technical performance. "Prophet With Profit" carries on in the same spirit, not very fast and not very technical, and might leave some disappointed, since the technicality kind of disappeared in the 2nd half. A slight compensation is being offered on the short 1.5-min closing instrumental "Beyond The Twilight".

Twilight of Autumn Past Full-length, 1994
Dead At Dawn EP, 2003

OBSCENE GESTURE (USA)

A band formed by two ex-members of Agent Steel (Chuck Profus, Juan Garcia and George Robb); the style is not splashing speed/thrash along the lines of that legendary band, but (based on the demo) is quite a worthy slab of 80's thrash metal spiced with some crossover, reminiscent of Nuclear Assault and Sonick Plague. The full-length is an improvement in every department, not a very distant departure from the music displayed on the demo, but much more aggressive. The songs are short explosions of rage and fury, this time closer to Slayer's "Reign in Blood", or Sick Of It All on the more hardcore-ish sections. More laid-back jolly numbers are certainly added (the album is 21 songs long): "Crumbs", "Lovely", but songs like "Warning" compensate for them with their brutal, grindcore approach.

Demo 2005 Demo, 2005
Living in Profanity Full-length, 2007

OBSCENE JESTER (USA)

This not very known act specializes in cool speed/power/thrash which boasts clear sharp guitars and forceful clean vocals. The guys mix fast and slow sections on almost every track, except for the short speedy cut "D.E.A.", also acquiring more complex progressive dimensions on the more powr metal-based "Citadel’s On Fire". Run for cover, though, on the closing "Insomnia" which is a wild shredder with ultra-cutting guitars.

Citadels On Fire EP, 1989

OBSCURA (ECUADOR)

Based on "Vital Estructura", this act offers an ultra-heavy mix of post-thrash and death metal which is curiously abstract at times, although the guys seldom abandon the predictable groovy patterns which may tire the listener well before the end; it's quite surprising, though, how come the singer doesn't ge tired: his very shouty hysterical delivery may cause some serious vocal cord damages.

Fuera de Alcane Full-length 2000
Vital Estructura Full-length 2004

OBSCURE (SPAIN)

Based on the "Curse the Course" demo, this is great thrash/death of the dark, but intense type reminiscent of Pestilence's "Testimony of the Ancients" and Infernal Majesty's "None Shall Defy". The tempo is frequently fast, but never too brutal, and the riffs are technical, but not as overtly technical as the ones on the Pestilence album, for example. The guitar hooks are catchy and memorable contrasting to the drastic brutal death metal vocals. The only flaw is the unnecessarily long orchestral intro "Yellow Brick Road to the Void", which lasts for more than 3-min, and might stretch your nerves a bit.

Disgusting Reality Demo, 1990
Curse the Course Demo, 1991
Non Existendi Cultus Demo, 1992

OBSCURED (SERBIA)

A 3-track promo of intense retro thrash/death metal, quite faithful to the early Swedish scene (Entombed, Unleashed), with a couple of heavy doom-laden sections ("Witness Of The Last Crucifiction") in the tradition of Bolt Thrower. The guys also try their hands on some more death metal under the name of Disdained where the music is pretty much the same, maybe with a slightly more technical edge.

Obscured Demo, 2006
When Darkness Comes EP, 2009
Promo Demo, 2009

OBSCURO CORVUS (CZECH)

This is a versatile mixture of thrash, death, doom, gothic, and a bit of power metal. The music is very atmospheric and dramatic evolving in a dreamy mid-tempo with slower semi-balladic breaks and very good melodic leads. The singer is your average low-tuned death metal growler who never changes the pitch even on the more tender moments which are quite a few, by the way.

Born Demo, 2008

OBSCURITY (SWEDEN)

One of the first bands in Sweden who explored the more extreme and "darker" corners of metal. Their style is a furious mix of black and thrash (some proto-death moments, too) metal akin to Possessed, Bathory and early Slayer.

Ovations to Death Demo, 1986
Damnations Pride Demo, 1987
Damnations Pride EP, 1997
Ovations to Death EP, 1997
Damnations Pride Best of/Compilation, 1998

OBSESSION CULT (CHILE)

Stylish dark retro thrash metal not miles away from Infernal Majesty's debut, with a few brutal death metal elements inserted; the music seamlessly mixes fast aggressive moments and slower almost doomy ones, the latter accompanied by excellent twisted riffs and nice swirling leads which are not fast and follow the rhythm. "Terrorlogy Part 1" is a great technical semi-instrumental, mostly up-tempo, with brilliant Coroner-like decisions in the second half, and a cool speedy exit. Hopefully there will be "Terrorlogy Part 2" soon... "Vulcanus" carries on in the same vein, with again a sparce participation of the vocals, but here the music is slower, mid-paced at best, even gloomier, blending the very technical vortex-like riffs with the most melodic power/thrash metal sections near the end. The vocals are also quite dark low-tuned death metal rasps, but suit the brooding sinister music just fine.

Terrorlogy Demo, 2009

OBSESSOR (USA)

Based on the "Sick Salvation" 2-song demo, this act, which is actually only one person (Brandon Ferrell), plays direct stripped-down thrash/crossover with overt hardcore overtones. "Sick Salvation" is a fast moshing cut, whereas "The Demon" is mid-paced with a punky vibe. The singer quarels throughout with a comprehensive, shouty tember.

Obsession Single, 2011
Sick Salvation Single, 2011

OBSESSOS (BRAZIL)

A 4-song demo of really brutal thrash/proto-death metal sounding well more vicious than their more renowned compatriots; some tracks are pure death metal: "Satans Procreation", one of the earliest attempts at the style. The sound quality is very bad with buzzy guitars and low gruff vocals which do their best to sound as brutal and vicious as possible. This is the reason, I guess, why this demo had sunk without a trace, although from a poineering point of view it definitely deserves a mention when talking about the spawning stages of the death metal genre.

666 - The Ultimate Demo, 1987

OBSKUR (CANADA)

Good classic mid-paced heavy thrash metal infused with more melodic guitar lines, more typical for traditional heavy metal, but they don't sound awkward, and give the music a more catchy edge. There are some up-tempo moments ("Season of Witch", "Intru-mental", both great stomping thrashers with good leads and riffs), but they are compensated by pure hard'n heavy numbers ("Negligence").

Obskur Full-length, 1994

OBSZÖN GESCHÖPF (FRANCE)

Heavy abrasive industrial thrash metal which hesitates between uncompromising hitting riffs ala Skrew and Ministry and more dancey tunes akin to KMFDM and Rammstein. The mixture works fine, although to these ears the pure exercises in creepy atmospheric electronic ambient ("House Of Wüstefeld"; the excellent mix of harsh guitars and electronics on the "symphonic" "Symphony Of Decay") are more compelling showing a more thought-out side of the band similar to Front Line Assembly and Clock DVA. "The Cauldron Of Human Flesh", however, is equally as interesting being a vigorous thrasher of the less industrial mid-paced variety. "33 Knife Thrust For A Satanic Crime" is not far behind being the only more sincere attempt at headbanging thrash, even touching proto-death on the more aggressive moments. "The Devil Inside" is also worth mentioning being a calmer piece with gothic overtones. The downside would be the last two tracks which are sheer semi-techno/industrial variations, something typical for the industrial metal acts; and probably the noisy synthesized proto-death metal vocals which don't change anywhere, even on the mellower sections, although again, they are something pretty common for this genre.

Symphony Of Decay Full-Length, 2010

OBZIDIAN (UK)

Modern ordinary groovy post-thrash; the best moments are probably... ha ha, this is funny!, the ones where the sound moves towards stoner/doom ("War Machine"); no kidding. The balladic instrumental at the end "Epitomy of Evil" is not too bad, either (lol).

Obzidian EP, 2007

OCCULT (HOLLAND)

A black/thrash metal band; their debut is mostly furious black metal with slight hints at thrash. On "The Enemy Within" the transition is more than obvious: this is excellent heads-down thrash with a certain presence of black metal; quite fast and raging at times: check out the blitzkrieg opener "Souls". "Inquisitions of the Holy" is slower, but more proficient guitar-wise. The next "Crossing the Boundaries (of Life and Death)" is a very cool mixture of the two preceding tracks, a pattern followed by the slightly more vicious and brutal "Selfbetrayed". "Twisted Words (My Darkest Emotions)" will literally sweep you with its ultra-fast tempo: black/thrashing madness at its most unbridled. "Through Dark and Light I Dwell" has to be softer for the listener to continue being on track, and it's a fine up-tempo thrasher with a great haunting balladic interlude. The sound takes a genuine technical edge on "One Way Out", which also "courts" death metal, and is a masterpiece of technically-minded thrash/death metal ala Pestilence and later period Death. This nice deviation is nowhere to be heard later on; instead the guys keep blasting out, with "Eyes of Blood", or adding more black metal-like atmosphere and heavy mid-paced riffage, with the final "Delusions". The singer is a girl (Rachel Heyzer), but there is absolutely no way one would guess that right: her super vicious black-ish snarls would make even Mika Luttinen (Impaled Nazarene) run for cover. The death metal legends Sinister, quite impressed by her performance, hired her for a couple of albums later.
"Of Flesh and Blood" introduced death metal in the proceedings, and the black metal influences by then have been almost completely gone; this is another good album, although some may mourn the lost primal aggression of the debut, and the spontaneous merciless shredding. "Parasite" opens it with a calm heavy pace, but the rage starts no longer after, although it gets partially lost on the dark brooding "Dreamsweeper". "Stolen" keeps a good energetic pace, but "Killing Breed" slows down, and influences the rest of the material, which reaches atmospheric gothic grounds on "Downfall of Deity". "Doomsday Destroyer" will surely wake you up, thrashing on full-throttle, sounding like a leftover from the debut. "Dead Man Walking" and "Vow of Retaliation" carry on in the same direction, exiting the album with style, although the very end is in the exactly opposite pole, coming in the form of the heavy doomy "Creatures of the Night", which, of course, is not a Kiss cover.

"Rage to Revenge" is pure thrash assault, with no gimmicks from any other genres. It will blow your socks off from the get-go, with the raging "Mind Domination", and the slower steam-rolling "Violence & Hatred". "The Madness Within" is a maddening thrash fury, another reminder of the debut, but the crushing heavy sound returns with "Killing for Recreation". It remains for "Thy Creation" as well, but the speed is brought back with no compromise on "Revenge is Mine". The last 2 compositions mix the two approaches, but the closing "The Desolate One" wants your soul producing another slab of intense headbanging thrash.

"Elegy For The Weak" is the band's magnum opus, and one of the best trash metal works of the decade. It opens with confidence and aggression with "Disturbing the Dead", and never lets go, inimitably mixing the fast and the heavy moments on "Nuclear Torment". "Nocturnal Predator" is a masterpiece of mid-paced crushing, machine gun-like thrash: arguably the finest achievement in this trend. "Feel the Blade" starts in the same way, and one would hardly complain, still enchanted by the previous smasher, but later on speeds up, without completely losing the heaviness. "Expire" is badly needed: a short tender peaceful instrumental, to give a chance to both the listener and the performers to rest, totally cancelled by the brutal thrash on "Warbeast", "Obsessed by the Grave" and "Slaughtering the Pigs". "Reapers Call" shows some mercy trying to bring the super heaviness of "Nocturnal Predator", and comes close. "Slut of Sodom" is more controlled up-tempo thrash, a cool finishing touch to this truly memorable head-shaking tour around the thrash metal field.
A change of name followed: from Occult to Legion Of The Damned, taking with it the female vocalist as well who was seen for a while in the brutal death metal outfit Infinite Hate; but the style pretty much remains the same with a slight return of some of the black metal tendencies of old.

Prepare To Meet Thy Doom Full-length, 1994
The Enemy Within Full-length, 1996
Of Flesh and Blood Full-length, 1999
Violence and Hatred EP, 2000
Rage to Revenge Full-length, 2001
Elegy For The Weak Full-length, 2004

OCCULT (USA)

Based on the demo: two songs of raw early speed/thrash ala Hallows Eve and Razor, with a certain shade of hardcore on the short "Slaughterhouse", which also boasts the better guitar work, with a nice melodic main theme.

Bloodthirsty Demo, 1985
Agathocles/Occult Split, 2007

OCCULUS (GERMANY)

Cool thrash metal crossing modern with classic influences on a dark gothic base. The riffage is sharp with not many temptations at a faster play, and the final result comes as a more aggressive version of mid-period Sentenced, similarities also in the vocal department. Some of the band members try something harder with the classic thrash metal outfit Exvertigo.

Wahnsinn EP, 2010

OCELOT (CZECH)

Based on "Rychlá Smrt", this Czech trio plays entertaining speed/proto-thrash which has shades of Motorhead and Tank, but often does it rage no worse than veterans like Rage, early Helloween and the French Killers. The odd heavy metal tune ("My Nemáme Peníze") is also around the corner, as well as the obligatory borrowings from their peers (the Helloween-esque guitar harmonies on "Já Nedìlám"). So you can imagine that this will mostly be speed metal stuff; music which is done with conviction and understanding of the old canons. The singer is cool with his his clean, attached tone which aptly accompanies the musical proceedings, never leaving the mid-parametres, although a few higher-pitched antics could have been quite fitting.

The Motorhell Full-length, 2002
The Sexhell Full-length, 2003
Rychlá Smrt Full-length, 2005
Fuckers Full-length, 2008

OCTUM (SAUDI ARABIA)

Very cool old school power/thrash metal this way comes from the Middle East. These Arabians pull out competent thought-out stuff with a progressive edge which gives their style a nice melodic blend, which sometimes maybe comes as too much ("Illusion of War"), but at other times brings about good intense rhythms ("Delusion"), accompanied by fine lead guitar work. The tempo is predominantly mid-paced, and the singer has a fine mid-levelled semi-clean voice.

Fighting for Freedom Demo, 2008

ODAL SIEG (CANADA)

Simplistic laid-back proto-thrash/crossover with epic tendencies; the music is not miles away from Tank and Motorhead, with the vocals taking a harsher angrier hardcore tone.

Friendship Split, 2003

ODD HEATHENISH (SPAIN)

Modern thrash/death metal, alternating between the 2 genres, "courting" death metal more probably, with furious blast-beats scattered around. The good sound quality gives a cool boost to the guitars which are cutting-sharp, occasionally going for the odd more technical lick ("669").

Damned Demo Madarikatua Demo, 2006

ODDECH BUNTOWNIKA (POLAND)

A 2-song demo of heavy, black-ish thrash obviously influenced by early Venom; the music is not very intense, and the vocals are a bit of an acquired taste, being shouted black-ish ones.

Ju¿ Tu Nie Wrócisz Szatanie Demo, 1987

ODDMONGERS (FRANCE)

Based on "The New Prometheus", this is modern 90's thrash metal, but these guys don't fall too often into the groovy "traps" set by Pantera, Machine Head and the likes; they opt for a more original, alternative sound reminiscent of Tool perhaps at times, but more aggressive and less adventurous. The clean vocals used on this album are quite good, but they would probably be more suitable for a doom or gothic metal act. This is cool, but melodic stuff, and might not satisfy the more hard-boiled fans.

Qualms... Full-length, 1995
The New Prometheus Full-length, 1997

ODIN'S LAW (CANADA)

Based on "Still Standing Strong", this act pulls out happy unpretentious thrash/crossover with open punk overtones. The singer is a more aggressive deliverer better suiting the intense proto-death "Plunder And Pillage", or the heavy doomster at the end "Hail The Gods".

Battle Legions of Wotan Full-length, 1997
The Fire In Your Eyes EP, 1999
Still Standing Strong Full-length, 2000
Never Fade Away EP, 2001
To Death We Ride EP, 2002

ODINFIST (CANADA)

Based on "We Are Gods", this act plays melodic modern thrash metal with epic tendencies. The officiant mid-paced tone is broken on more vigorous pieces like "More To Lose", but the majority of the songs are lengthy, with doomy and semi-balladic stretches, those suiting well the clean emotional vocals which acquite a more vicious screamy pitch ("Dark Eyes") on the faster parts. The closer "We Are Gods" is an encompassing progressive opus which blends intense galloping riffs with beautiful balladic interludes creating something not too far from early Falconer, with similar catchy sing-along choruses and infectious tunes.

Thrash and Pillage Full-length 2009
Fields of Flesh EP 2009
We Are Gods Full-length 2010
Come to the Walls EP 2011

ODIOUS (GERMANY)

Modern groovy 90's thrash metal with a pinch of death and gothic; this is not headbanging stuff as the music is mid-paced at best with several quiet atmospheric moments.

Fallen Apart EP, 1995

ODIUM (GERMANY)

This German act is a pleasant surprise trying to find their way through the groovy/modern "jungle" of the time providing a cool retro mixture of power, doom and thrash metal. The debut begins in a dark morose manner before hitting the much more dynamic thrasher "Chronic Madness", which remains the only faster surprise, the rest of the tracks goind down to doom metal (including one tender acoustic ballad) producing good results in this genre, but their appeal to the thrash metal fan will not be very lasting.
"Into The Outfields" continues in the same vein blending the three styles again giving more space to doom metal perhaps, this time refusing to speed up beyond the semi-galloping tempo (the dark power/thrasher "Mindbender", which will hardly bend your mind), and may consequently fail to win the thrash metal fans for the band's cause. Still, they have to be paid respect with their true to the classic idea sound, although it would be interesting to check whether they have managed to preserve it on future efforts...
"Stop My Anger" is a harder affair, comprising of moody, mostly mid-tempo power/thrashers, seldom livening up ("Salvation") with the odd more aggressive riff, relying on crushing, stomping guitars which this time don't recall the doom metal scene (maybe only on the heavy ballad "A Look Inside"; and on the semi-balladic closer "Suicide") so much, but have a characteristic dark quality to them, whch brings them closer to Swedish acts like Fifth Reason and Morgana Lefay. The vocals keep up with the morose music, pullng out subdued, semi-clean performance without any emotional outbursts.
"Written In Flesh" doesn't stray too much from the chosen path, but is edgier than its predecessors providing cool sophisticated power/thrash with an early-90's Megadeth flavour ("Written In Flesh") at times. The doomy side shows up ("All Is Bleeding") inevitably, mostly in the 2nd half, but the accentuation is on more dynamic numbers, including the short crossover joy "be-orscype".
The "Just a Crisis" EP is 6 tracks of the same stuff, mixing fast and slow pieces in equal dozes (3 from each side), the former featuring the nice sharp headbangers "Diet" and "The Well", and the more diverse closer "Would u Carry Me". The band show quite a consistency throughout both music and vocal-wise, never venturing into anything outside the box, but at the same time never betraying their fans with their steady reliable, albeit slightly repetitive, approach.

Odium Full-length, 1997
Into The Outfields Full-length, 1998
A New Beginning Full-length, 2001
Written In Flesh Full-length, 2004
Just a Crisis EP, 2006
Stop My Anger Full-length, 2010

ODIUM (RUSSIA)

A very cool obscure band which started promisingly with an interesting progressively-oriented debut sounding like a more thrashy version of early Therion and Nocturnus. "Cold Of Oblivion" is an awesome highly atmospheric opener alternating clever technical passages ala Death with haunting keyboard-infused ones to a very positive effect. The masterpieces don't end here, and "Out of This World" is an entertainment of a similar kind, slightly slower, but also more technical finishing with great twisted Coroner-like hooks. "Space Reason" is a melodic opus starting with a quiet balladic section before speeding up to mid-pace later on. "Constellation Of Dreams" is a great "cosmic" piece with virtuoso leads and brilliant melodies; the sharpness of the guitars has been taken away a bit, but this song would be a no-brainer for the progressive lovers. "Eternity" is a nice speedster with Death again a close soundalike, but "Putrefying Flesh" is another breathtaking exercise in more melodic progressive thrash with haunting keyboard implements. "The Last Angel" is a nice combination of hard riffs and swirling melodies giving room to the closing "Ýâòàíàçèÿ" which is a fine acoustic ballad with lead-driven parts; more than a fitting epitaph to this first-rate effort.
"Bezdna" is another standout work, shorter on atmosphere, but longer on technical play, as evident from the heavy complex opener "Anti-reality" which even touches Watchtower in terms of complexity. "Voskresshiy" is relatively more relaxed with references to Coroner also containing a few faster moments supported by a great bass-bottom. "Illusion Of Superiority" will remind you of the debut with the return of the keybord motifs and the memorable melodic lines resulting in an outstanding progressive/technical thrasher with some of the best leads around as well. "Interminable Sleep" is an abstract doomy "sleepy" composition with creepy minimalistic riffage. "Mirror Of Dark" is a great exercise in another more abstract technical thrash with a few faster "surprises" near the end which culminate in a gorgeous bass-dominated exit. "Book Of Fates" recalls later-period Death with a keyboard support, and is a welcome more dynamic number, and "Limit Equilibrium" doesn't stray too much from the more energetic formula despite the couple of high-octane doomy riffs present. "The Abyss" closes the album by mixing slower and faster rhythms offering fine lead guitar passages along the way plus the fast-paced headbanging ending.

Up to that poit the guys had all the right to be considered "the greatest underground phenomenon" on the Russian metal scene producing two albums of exemplary technical/progressive thrash metal ranking right beside (and even higher) the works of more famous Russian acts, like Valkyria, Zhelezny Potok, Aspid, Trizna and Koma. "Realnui Mir", however, would be quite a surprise for their fans offering pretty mild, and not very impressive, modern post-thrash with very little left from their more complex past. There are a few faster tracks, but they sound as though taken straight from the 90's power/speed metal scene. The fine guitar work can still be felt, as well as the keyboard melodies, but they sound much more ordinary and not very inspired. Well, we have heard worse examples of change of style, both from Russia and elsewhere, but still the aftertaste is pretty strong after such strong performance in the not so distant past. Parallel to this band's career, some of the members had also taken part in the heavy/power metal formation Magistr.
"Otchuzhdenie" is better than its successor, but is nothing more than your typical progressive metal offering, melodic laid-back stuff, not bad, with loads of melody, but having almost nothing to do with the band's older "exploits".

Kosmicheskij Razum Full-length, 1994
Bezdna Full-length, 1996
Otchuzhdenie Full-length, 1998
Realnui Mir Full-Length, 2000

ODYSSEY (USA)

Excellent technical all-instrumental thrash metal of the jumpy hectic, unpredictable, type, not too far from the Canadians Electro Quarterstaff; "Schematics" is an outstanding composition mixing very fast, almost death metal-like, sections with very elaborate maze-y structures supported by some of the most technical riffs around, and awesome bass bottom; the song remains memorable due to the repeated motifs which are still a bit hard to follow comprising numerous time changes. Then hits "Fractured Dimensions", a colossal 11.5-min number, quite an achievement in the progressive/technical thrash metal genre summing up almost everything one could look to hear on such a piece. A riff after riff overflows the listener to a pretty overwhelming effect, and it will inevitably require several listens before one starts getting the picture; very good melodic leads are aslo featured to assist the superb riffwork. "Requiem" is a relaxed take on lead-driven dreamy progressive with no ties to thrash, but "Peripheral Aspects" will make your head spin once again with sudden time and tempo changes mixed with abstract spacey moments ala mid-90's Voivod. Although consisting of just 4 tracks, this effort contains music to fill in a whole full-length easily, and hopefully the guys will delight the technical metal fans with a longer offering soon.
The debut is already an accomplished affair, comprising of pretty good diverse instrumentals, like the opening "Iconoclast", which is a creepy offering with meandering riffs, in mid to slow pace with a dry, sterile edge. "Ashes Rain from the Sky" is more dynamic, thrashing intensely with puzzling, multi-layered riffs with a fine surreal flavour. Things get just a bit more simplistic on the shorter jumper "Planetary Implosion", which delivers in a busy, hectic manner. One will have no choice, but to "quietly wait" for the passing of "Quietly Waiting", which is a peaceful, dreamy composition of the balldic variety. "Neural Impulse" is an aggressive proto-deathster of the ultra-complex type, the balladic moments springing up again in the middle, stretching till the end, to give an atmospheric abstract touch to the otherwise intense shredding. "Outlier" is a calmer number, progressive thrash in a consistent mid-tempo without too many adventurous digressions. "Ascendance" is in a similar vein, but the riffs become edgier, although their presence is not felt too much due to the overuse of the leads. The closing "Redemption" is a creepy masterpiece of atmospheric technical thrash which seamlessly moves from aggressive lashing sections to slower, abstract ones the both graced by some of the finest technical riffs around; a brilliant display of high-class musicianship, 12-min of sheer mastery the riffs doing the major damage leaving some room for the leads at the end. This is more than a sure-handed beginning for one of the most talented acts on the scene nowadays, showing a surprising maturity at this early stage.
"An Abstract Existence" would be another no-brainer for the technical metal lovers, starting with the dry abstract shredder "Cellular Deconstruction", which has a few more melodic surprises (mostly in the lead department) later on, without losing the futuristic edge of the jumpy guitars, which comes nicely supported in the middle by stylish orchestral insertions. "Transcending the Earthly Form" is calmer spacey progressive ala Canvas Solaris, despite the several more aggressive riffs heard in the 2nd half. Time for something bigger and more serious: and here comes "An Abstract Existence", a 14-min whirlwind of time and tempo-changes, served with quirky rhythms and funky/jazzy decisions galore, plus a hefty doze of consistent, modern thrashy shred in a solid mid-pace. "Peripheral Aspects" begins with a whirlwind of chaotic leads, but later on things get under control, this composition turning into another hallucinogenic experience, more aggressive (don't read fast), with crushing thrashy and proto-deathy riffs involved, reaching a fine Atheist-like crescendo near the end. "Inputting a Binary Sequence" is brilliant twisted technical thrash with very good bass support, maddening fast sections (with a touch of death metal again), and weird cosmic nuances the latter graced by some of the most complex lead guitar work around. Another colossal piece awaits you at the end: the 20-min "Quantum Symbiotic Inception", the ultimate encyclopaedia of progressive/technical metal, which delivers in all departments, with brutal shredding cuts taking turns with mellow balladic ones, all this having an appealing futuristic edge, with mid-90's Voivod a close soundalike on the more sterile mid-section, and a more officant doomy exit. The guys are pretty much on top of their game at present, and hardly is there any act which can beat them in the all-instrumental sector, and not because that same sector is not the most affluent one on the scene.

Objects in Space Full-length 2009
Schematics EP, 2010
An Abstract Existence Full-length 2011

OF RAVEN & RUINS (USA)

Swedish thrash/death metal; Gothenburg seems to have moved to the States with the increasing number of acts over there treading Swedish waters. These guys walk the borderline between the two genres (staying closer to thrash perhaps), adding nice epic melodies here and there, supported by the fine keyboard/piano background, which creates an encompassing orchestral atmosphere "covering" the whole album, strangely recalling Blind Guardian's "Imaginations from the Other Side". The tempo is mid to up with adherence to speed metal as well (check out "Shadowed In Silence") without many very aggressive passages, and overall the music is dominated by a big sense of melody with the sharp riffage playing a secondary role here. The "Blind Guardian of thrash/death metal" definition could very well fit this talented band who give a nice twist to an already overcrowded and depleted style.

Bound to Prophecy Full-length, 2009

OF RYTES (GERMANY)

The band where Mem Von Stein (Exumer) stopped for a while before his departure for the USA; he had also taken his colleague from the thrash/crossover outfit Phobic Instinct, with which he had a short spell earlier on, the drummer Bilka. The music presented here, however, has no relations to thrash/crossover whatsoever, but makes "Without..." one of the better works of the 90's German metal scene. Don't expect to hear any speed anthems like the ones featured on the Exumer's debut, either: this is moody, mostly mid-paced, technical/progressive thrash metal which had no precedent on the scene at the time. Von Stein lowers his vocals down to suit the music, and does a marvellous job as such. The style bears resemblances to the surreal atmosphere of Voivod's "Killing Technology" sticking to similar abstract dissonant musical patterns so characteristic of the guys' Canadian peers. It's hard to accurately describe this very cool album; this is probably the first work to start the wave of progressive/technical thrash metal acts which appeared on the German metal scene in the early/mid-90's, although it hardly sets the tone for it being pretty much in a league of its own not sharing much of the faster more aggressive formula of the majority.

Without... Full-length, 1991

OFFENSIVE (JAPAN)

This is modern groovy post-thrash/death metal which will remind you of the last two Massacra albums. The music doesn't sound stale, though, as the guys vary things from heavy, almost doom-laden, numbers to cool faster thrashers.

Existence Full-length, 2002

OGNENNUI STORM (RUSSIA)

These Russians offer a larger-than-life mix of power, speed, thrash and death metal with epic shades with other influences also sneaked in (funk, jazz, classic heavy metal, etc.) which is far from coherent, still thrashing witrh passion on the more logical numbers (the epic progressiver "9-oe Marta"; the jumpy crossover piece "Zimushka Zima"). The singer mostly semi-recites in an attached, authoritative manner, although his one0dimnesional delivery doesn't really follow the numerous musical nuances.

Ubil Politiku Full-Length, 2011

OGRE (JAPAN)

Based on "Lacerate the Betrayer", these guys offer aggressive modern thrash/death, with very fast, almost grinding parts "decorating" every track. This is very intense listen, not for tender untrained ears...

Fuck It All Full-length, 1999
Lacerate the Betrayer Full-length, 2003
Total Laceration Full-length, 2009

OIL (USA)

This band was formed by the ex-Dark Angel singer Ron Rinehart and the guitarist Blake Nelson. The style very slightly reminds of Dark Angel (some of the songs possess the heaviness of "Time Does Not Heal") being more modern, groovy with a certain doze of power metal, and Rinehart's vocals taking a more pleasant, melodic turn.

Oil EP, 1997
Refine Full-length, 2000

OJOS NEGROS (ARGENTINA)

Cool classic speed/thrash metal of the energetic type with raspy semi-whispered vocals strictly belonging to the black metal camp. The music packs a punch carrying quite a bit of melody as well never going for the very fast extremes being up-tempo with several slower passages which bring the modern winds with them, typical for the time.

Lagrimas De Odio Full-length, 1997

OLD (CZECH)

This Czech trio offers old school thrash/death mixing brutal, sometimes black metal-based, fast sections with doom-laden ones not far from early Celtic Frost and their compatriots Root. The slow parts work better creating an ominous dark atmosphere also typical for the Americans Dream Death. "Transilvania" moves away from the pattern a bit with both more epic and more melodic crossover riffs.

...Tak Sa Neposer EP, 2007

OLD (GERMANY)

One more band who are fascinated by Celric Frost and Hellhammer; the music is raw, slightly unpolished old school black/thrash along the lines of the aforementioned bands, with some more up-tempo sections ala Beherit and Barathrum.

Nocturnal Ritual EP, 2005
Down with the Nails Full-length, 2006

OLD PAGAN (GERMANY)

Based on the "Tecknotschtiklan" EP, these guys practice primal vicious black/thrash metal of both the brutal uncompromising and atmopsheric semi-doomy type, both tendencies crossed well, although the raw sound quality is hardly the best support making the guitars too noisy, and the vocals put too much up front. The early Norwegian black metal scene (Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem, above all) is an obvious influence, plus an added dramatism ala early Cradle of Filth. Some of the guys also pull out brutal death metal in Beyond Serenity.

Old Pagan EP, 1998
Tecknotschtiklan EP, 2003
The Sign Of The Battle Dragon Full-length, 2006

OLD RAZOR (RUSSIA)

Brutal raw thrash bordering on death metal with rough chaotic vocals of the husky semi-whispered type; the overal approach strangely recalls Necrophagia's debut. The music is speedy without crossing any undesirable limits, but the sound quality is awful giving a big boost to the drums most of the time which stifle the guitars.

Demo Demo, 2010

OLDBLOOD (SLOVAKIA)

This is 3 tracks of evil raw black/thrash sounding like Motorhead after spending a week in hell spiced with the misanthropic proto-doomy "cold" of Khold ("This World Isn't For Us"). The guys take part in various other projects around the globe: the Czech-based black metallers Inferno, the pagan/black metal formation Slavigrom, the Slovakian-based black metal outfits Evil & Warmarch.
"Possessed By Metal From Hell" is only a bit more polished affair providing the same evil black/thrash which this time leaves the Motorhead influences behind for the sake a more aggressive, more blacky, sound. Still, don't expect anything along the lines of Impaled Nazarene here: this is a cross between the more laid-back delivery of Bewtiched and the blitzkrieg thrash of Toxic Holocaust, spiced with a few sincere speed metal "outbreaks" ("Metal is Metal"). Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost are aslo honoured with the heavy roller-coaster "Possessed by Metal from Hell". A touch of death metal comes as a finishing touch on the closing fury "Invasion of the Undeads", ending this cool diverse effort with a portion of genuine doomy exiting riffs.

This World Isn't for Us Demo, 2009
Possessed By Metal From Hell Full-length 2010

OLDSKULL (VENEZUELA)

A power trio from Venezuela who specialize in old skull... sorry, old school thrash of the fast early German kind (think Darkness, Necronomicon, Minotaur). The guys thrash with no remorse spicing things up with the odd melodic hook ("Matter Over The Mind"), plus the frequent screaming leads which may annoy a bit with their thin sound. The singer is suitably gruff, but is comprehensible and even attached at times.

Breaking Bones EP, 2009

OLETHRIO RIGMA (GREECE)

Based on "O Tromos Tis Eksousias", this act, who uses the services of a pretty female guitarist/vocalist (not the main one), provides atmospheric mid-paced thrashcore, which sounds strictly modern, with the boosted, noisy guitars and the modern production. The style may appeal at first, but soon wears thin due to the lack of more energetic "temptations" (the exception being the crossover enrgizer "I Prodosia Tis Anthropotitas" near the end), the whole melting into one big thrashy/cory fiesta of the pounding, quasi-gothic variety, and will inevitably recall the later-period of their compatriots Nightfall.

Rigma Olethros Full-length 1997
Fight For The Innocents Full-length 1999
M.G.D. (Cops Pigs Killers) Full-length 2000
Skotoste Ta Paidia, Foniades! (Kill The Kids, Murderers!) Full-length 2002
O Tromos Tis Eksousias Full-length 2004

OMAÏNEN (FRANCE)

Based on the demo, this French act plays heavy crushing power/thrash metal with doomy overtones and good mid-ranged clean vocals. They know how to speed up whenever they feel like it, like they show it very well on the galloping "Cosmic Maze", which also has a sudden aggressive faster mid-break; "Inner Space - Outer Void" begins in an intense fast-paced manner, too, but soon things get more intriguing with more complex riffage, not far from their compatriots Kragens or Communic, and a brilliant Oriental tune: a fascinating touch, could have been an excerpt from a bigger work, quite memorable. The guitars have a certain technical edge, which is more obvious on the hallucinogenic Nevermore-sque "Shifting Sight", which also boasts a cool bass play. This recording will surely arouse the fans' interest to track the full-length down; good hunting, although it's only 5 songs; not that it matters...
"The Death Of The Nations" is a fine slab of power/thrash metal with a semi-technical edge, faster than the music on the demo, but not as hard-hitting, and with a certain epic colouring: the opening "High Tide" which is a cool varied power/thrasher frequently changing the tempo recalling the Germans Psychotron, and Falconer on the mellower moments. "The Jewel" thrashes harder in mid-pace with sharp lashing riffs, but "Hate Has No Face/Rude Awakening" is just a tender acoustic ballad, and is more than just an interlude lasting for about 5-min. "Decay Of Souls" restores the speed/thrashy approach, but the closer "Parmenion" is the biggest winner here: an awesome steam-roller with a cool Oriental edge and a few death metal growls added to the clean mid-ranged singing. This effort is a good beginning for the band crossing several influences, but it could have benefitted from a more passionate singer and more technical guitar work.

The Death Of The Nations Full-length, 2006
Routes to Nowhere Demo, 2009

OMEGA (GREECE)

Classic speed/thrash metal with blackish overtones not too far from the Portuguese Alastor on the more intense parts, with a few inept moments ala early Razor. "Evil Rock n' Roll" is an "evil" nod to Motorhead, "Demon of the Night" is a mild heavy rocker, and "Hellhammer" is a nice twist towards, yes- you guessed right, folks: Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost, albeit a bit faster. The singer is a gruff black metal rasper who strangely suits the music, even its softer side.

Second coming, Second crucifixion Full-length, 2010

OMEGA CROM (CANADA)

Pretty good, unusual, melodic power/thrash metal mixing both classic and modern elements alternating between soaring epic-tinged numbers ("Battlefield") and more aggressive groove-laden ones ("Calling Of The Dead"). Still, the real highlights here remain the faster more thrash-based pieces: "The Passing Of Azazel", which is riff-fest at its best constantly thrashing hard with a very cool balladic break near the end; "The Prisioner (The Drawing)" which begins as a ballad before moshing out in a pretty intense speedy manner later offering a couple of more jumpy hectic riffs; the semi-technical speedster "Parliament Of Stone", which is quite a diverse affair including a furious blasting black metal break in the middle immediately followed by a very melodic, also fast, one with a folk flavour. The final "Metal Revolution" is not actually too far from creating a "metal revolution" being a superior song combining technical and speedy sections the whole time to a very positive, albeit slightly hallucinogenic, effect; make sure not to miss another great balladic "detour" near the end, this time lead-driven. And a few words about the vocalist who is all over the place, but in a good way, pulling out a very versatile performance ranging from piercing Halford-esque high-pitched screams, to fairly emotional clean vocals on the balladic parts, to brutal lower-tuned death-ish growls. This is an interesting encompassing listen which holds a few surprises along the way without losing focus and coherence, staying true to the thrash metal idea most of the time.

Blood, Steel & Fire Full-length, 2009

OMEGA TRIBE (USA)

Based on the self-titled debut, this act pulls out very heavy aggressive groovy post-thrash the aggression mostly coming from the scary death metal vocals, quite close to the ones of Don Cochino (Pungent Stench). Not a very cool addition are the much weaker clean vocals which accompany the more melodic alternative sections.

Omega Tribe Full-length, 2000
Necromegacon Full-length, 2004
No End Full-length, 2005

OMEN (HUNGARY)

One cannot help, but notice that many of the Hungarian metal bands: Akela, Moby Dick, Fekete Sereg, Pokolgep, are a symbol of longevity and endurance. This band fits perfectly into this list, too. Omen were formed by two members of Pokolgep with the intention to play harder and heavier music than the one of the other band. Well, they partially succeeded, especially on the first three albums where one could hear nice thrashing along the more standard speed/power metal sections. The band's music has apparently missed its age being clear classic power/speed/thrash, and although their later works adopt a more modern sound, they nowhere completely betray their 80's roots.

Feketében Full-length, 1991
Brutális Tangó Full-length, 1992
Anarchia Full-length, 1993
Jelek Full-length, 1994
Idegen Anyag Full-length, 1997
Tiszta Szívvel Full-length, 2003
A Hetedik Nap Full-length, 2006
Agymosás Full-length, 2006

OMEN (USA)

This legendary American power metal band's sole flirtation with thrash metal has the typical modern sound for its time with groove and angry vocals, but is not that bad, with catchy songs and heavy riffs, universally denounced by the Omen fans. It begins quite well with the heavy aggressive opener in the Pantera-vein "Chained", but the rest is slower, less angry, and openly groovy, clinging towards Metallica's Black Album on the better moments.

Reopening the Gates Full-length, 1997

OMENOMEJODAS (SPAIN)

Cool retro thrash sounding like many other bands from the 80's; the tempo is energetic, and the guitar work is quite good, albeit simplistic and direct. The singer is not really an asset with his hoarse hardcore-ish voice. There are cool touches present, like the short folk-ish instrumental ala Skyclad "Imber", or the also short hardcore outburst "R.I.P.". There is a shade of hardcore on other tracks as well ("Enajenación Mental"). "Thrash Metal" is a truly aggressive piece of thrash metal richly deserving its title. Its aggression is partially compensated by the jolly light-spirited closer "Omenomejodas".

Mundo de Locos Full-length, 2006

OMERTA (VIETNAM)

A blend of thrash and death metal recalling Six Feet Under, both their early and later, more intense, period. The more moderate playful elements dominate so don't expect many speedy moments; the sound is suitably mid-paced and groovy assisted by brutal low-tuned vocals which are less comprehensive than the ones of Mr. Chris Barnes.

Beginning Of The End Full-Length, 2011

OMISSION (SPAIN)

This band was founded by two members of the speed metal veterans Muro: one of the first acts on Spanish soil who started playing a more aggressive brand of metal. "Day Of Your Death Arrives" is black-ish speed/thrash with 80's spirit similar to Alastor from Portugal. "Yells That Destroys": after the imposing intro taken from "Star Wars" we are met with another slab of black/thrash, not a very distant departure from the debut demo, but with a better musicianship, leading to really cool intense speed/black/thrashers: "Legions of Youth". The only pullback would perhaps be the brutal blast beat-based, black-ish track "The Light in My Dark". "Shadow on the Wall" is a nice heavy/power metal hymn.
"V.P.A." doesn't betray the vintage band sound, and is another slab of fast-paced retro thrash, with slightly annoying screechy vocals. The sound is more aggressive, with a more clear black metal edge ("Northmen Wrath") on some tracks, boldly using blast-beats (the instrumental "Satanicspeed Thrash Metal") as well. The guys this time excel in the intro/outro department: the intro is an imposing orchestral/operatic piece, and the outro is a nice take on some epic/pagan/folk melodies with, again, an orchestral twist.
"Thrash Metal Is Violence" suggests a lot with its title, but does the music live up to it? Well, it's not as violent as the one on the preceding demos, despite the presence of 3 re-mastered songs from them, but is pretty decent old school thrash metal with black-ish overtones, quite fast at times, boasting bombastic titles like "Satanicspeed Thrash Metal", which is hardly the fastest song on the album (this song is taken from the last demo, but here it sounds more moderate without the blast-beats); this prize goes to "Questions", which is raging retro thrash, and is actually a cover of the Spanish act Postmortem. Actually, the less speedy variations seem to be the better side here: the interesting diverse "Satanic Feelings", a stomping melodic thrasher; the jolly crossover-laced "Traitor".
"Merciless Jaws from Hell" develops on high-speed from the get-go, but this can not be a complaint since the dynamics is commendable all the way through coming with a pinch of black metal again, those insertions supported by the vicious mean vocals. There is a jolly unpretentious aesthetics felt in the guitar department on some tracks ("Here We Stand", "You Can't Hide") bordering on the crossover; others are pure takes on the good old speed metal ("Day Of Your Death Arrives...") ala Tyrant and Atlain.

Day Of Your Death Arrives Demo, 2005
Yells That Destroys Demo, 2007
V.P.A. Demo, 2008
Thrash Metal Is Violence Full-length, 2009
Merciless Jaws from Hell Full-length, 2011

OMNITRON (SWEDEN)

This is the band known as The Krixhjälters previously. Unfortunately, with the band's old name a certain part of these guys' talent must have gone, too, because the music is not even half as good. It retains some of the crossover elements, but it mixes it with heavy-handed semi-technical thrash which leads nowhere. At times the sound acquires a very eclectic nature, aiming at the progressive metal realm, and these moments would be to the liking of those who enjoy albums like Voivod's "Dimension Hatross" and "Nothingface", but this is inferior. The album opener "The Power Line" starts with good energetic riffs, but soon introduces the offbeat elements which take over the few more aggressive guitars scattered throughout. The only other place where you can find yourself headbanging is "Torque Limit", but again for a while where there is even an attempt at singing in Russian. Of course, there are songs where thrash metal is nowhere to be heard: "I Am He", "Five in Four". To these ears the best song is the thousandth Motorhead cover of "Ace of Spades" at the end, done well in a brisk energetic manner with the vocals possessing the appropriate inebriated blend of Lemmy. Still, it's no wonder that the band disappeared without a trace soon after this only effort. Later some of the musicians continued their career playing death metal under the name Comecon, releasing three full-lengths before splitting up.

Masterpeace Full-length, 1990

OMNISPAWN (SWEDEN)

This is another act who prefer to stay true to their country sound, providing your average Swedish thrash/death metal, alternating fast brisk, even blast-beating at times, sections with slower mid-paced ones.

Darkness Within Full-length, 2009

ONAN (AUSTRALIA)

This is all-instrumental stuff on the heavier groovier side of things, a bit one-dimensional with doomy overtones and the odd more technical hook ("Umlaut"). There are a couple of good ideas thrown in, like on the more complex closer "Condition: Heliotrobe" which also speeds up a bit amid the jumpy hectic riffage which creates the necessary dynamics, "wrapped" in a robotic mechanized environment strongly reminiscent of Voivod's "Negatron".

Hell Is Other People Full-Length, 2010

ONCE BELOVED (USA)

Modern thrash metal, fast and dynamic, with both more aggressive death metal and much slower metalcore elements. The music is pretty derivative, though, using all the gimmicks of the genre: the melodic breaks, the gruff-clean vocal "duels", etc.

Once Beloved EP, 2006
Delusions of Grandeur Full-length, 2010

ONCE DEAD (USA)

After the unsuccessful experiment Die Happy the Vengeance Rising guys assisted by the bass metal guru Angelo Espino (Hirax, Reverend, Uncle Slam, L.S.N.) decide to give themselves one more chance with this new formation. The beginning looks fairly promising, showing this new project trying to stay true to the classic roots of thrash, providing the necessary headbanging numbers: "The Contract", "Devotion", etc. without forgetting about the heavier side of the genre: "Visions Of Hell", "Rise Above", where some groove inevitably sneaks in. Watch out for the short blitzkrieg killer "Feeding My Addiction" and the dynamic closer "Defy Man".

Visions of Hell Full-length, 2008

ONE (USA)

Good power/thrash with progressive touches sounding like a more aggressive and slower Fates Warning; the guitars are crushingly heavy for most of the time, but the meloidc relief is provided, in the form of good forceful clean vocals, and cool memorable choruses. Shades of both the ballad and doom can be felt, but the approach gets nicely dynamic on the longer, more elaborate compositions ("It's Dead"), if we exclude the overlong epic ballad "Noble Quest", and the finishing chords from the closing "One Vision", which are enchanting acoustic guitars with a dramatic pitch. Stylish technical riffs sneak on "Shattered", but overall the delivery is not very flashy, sticking to kind of predictable heavy patterns.

Scratching The Surface Full-Length, 1998

ONE BAD PIG (USA)

Jolly unpretentious thrash/crossover, with the shorter songs representing their faster and more attractive side; the slower ones are softer, with heavy metal taking the upper hand on some. The guys try to make things quite varied, including also a ballad and some funky moments, and as a whole the concentration is clearly on melody and good mood, rather than sharpness and intensity.

Swine Flew Full-Length, 1990

ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET (SWEDEN)

Apart from the long and pompous title (the debut), this band have something more to offer; this is actually Johan Lindstrand's (The Crown) new band. The style is also modern thrash, but unlike The Crown it's mostly mid-paced with good heavy riffs; one of the better bands from this over-saturated sub-genre.
"Grim Tales" is a cool turn to a more aggressive song-writing with faster tracks and good sharp riffage. The style is not too different from the previous recordings, but has more bite and is overall more satisfying. It's on the 5th song: "A Date With Suicide", when their more laid-back, staple galloping tempo can be heard, after which the guys take a break with the melodic balladic "Death Makes It All Go Away". Then the sound gets more intense, graced by a couple of nice melodic hooks on "Dominator Of The Flesh". Watch out for the short brisk thrasher "The Frisco Reaper" near the end.
"The Dark Epic" is the next chapter from the band's discography providing no surprises for the band fans who will be pleased to hear the trade mark modern thrashy riffs mixing fast and slow numbers keeping the balance well, except on the longer more serious compositions ("Dark Epic") which are heavier with more accentuation on atmosphere, contrasting with the more immediate squashers (the formidable steam-roling closer "How I Love To Kill You").

21st Century Killing Machine Full-length, 2006
Error in Evolution Full-length, 2007
Grim Tales Full-length, 2008
The Dark Epic Full-length, 2011

ONE OF THEM (BRAZIL)

This demo consists of 5 tracks of energetic classic thrash of the mid-paced pounding quality. The shorter numbers ("One of Them", "Hell") are direct takes on the furious Slayer approach, but the more moderate ones are not bad at all, either: the creepy semi-doomy "Suffering in Silence" carried by an addictive main riff. The singer does a good job with his gruff intelligible delivery managing to sound both angry and lyrical.

I Am One of Them Demo, 2010

ONKT (HOLLAND)

Modern dry mechanized thrash metal with unpleasant synthesized death metal vocals; the music is nothing special being heavy and abrasive, pretty groovy as well, with not much imagination put into the proceedings especially on the 11-min "Delerium" which at some point switches onto pure techno-industrial. The tempo is quite slow-ish with heavy repetitive riffs coming as an inferior Soulstorm (Canada).

Charge Full-Length, 2010

ONSLAUGHT (UK)

An essential British thrash metal band; "Power from Hell" is a cool, raw debut, sounding like a more aggressive version of early Venom; apart from the up-tempo thrashy tracks the band try something more melodic, in the form of the long mid-paced power/thrasher "Lord of Evil". The song "Death Metal" is far from the early attempts in the death metal genre, despite its title: it's actually a light speed metal number ala Motorhead; the next one is a much better effort: "Angel of Death", an intense speed/thrasher, almost touching the Slayer track of the same title (which hasn't been released at that time yet). Later on there is at least one more energetic piece: "Steel Meets Steel", but the majority is not really striking, showing a band still a long way from the better examples of the genre.
"The Force" saw the guys almost fully equipped to compete with the best: with tighter and better musicianship each of the 7 songs is a heavy, thrashy tour de force, great combinations of heavy, pounding riffs and smashing faster ones. Shades of their more melodic debut album could be found in a heavy/power metal hymn like "Metal Forces", but the rest is uncompromising thrash with a unique dark atmosphere, recalling another very good act from the UK: Deathwish. The tracks are long-ish, within the 6-8min sector, but to talk about something more technical would be too farfetched.
The band took a very premature decision to adopt a more commercial, accessible sound on "In Search Of Sanity" after which their fans abandoned them in draws. It wasn't completely bad, as a matter of fact; there were quite a few energetic thrashers present, and if we exclude the annoying overlong noisy intro, and the not very convincing cover of AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock", the rest was pretty decent, surrounded by the melodic, but cool soaring vocals of Steve Grimmett (Grim Reaper). The semi-ballad "Welcome To Dying" is one of the band's best songs, albeit a bit overlong. Not happy with the acceptance, the band folded soon after this release.
On their comeback album the guys took a step similar to Exodus: they added a more modern sound to their basic old school approach, and it was the right thing to do, because "Killing Peace" is a real winner. The album starts with no mercy, with the great headbanger "Burn", but later on the groovy, modern trends spring up on several songs, occupying the middle; they might stretch your nerves a bit, but if you have a bit more patience you'll reach the best, which comes in the form of another couple of nice retro thrashers ("Twisted Jesus", and especially the furious closer "Shock & Awe").
The fans of "Killing Peace" would be mildly entertained with the new offering "Sounds of Violence" which again blends the modern with classic trends, with the latter again given more preferences. The album expectedly begins with the energetic "Born For War", but the mid-pacers this time start too soon after that, and seldom leave making this album the less energetic, and consequently the less striking effort. A string of not as intense numbers occupy 80% of the playing time with not much happening in the speedy department (isolated sections from "Rest in Pieces"), until the coming of the closing "Suicideology" (which is actually followed by an 1.5-min outro: "End of the Storm", a quiet piano-based piece), which is a shattering thrash/proto-death lasher, a late comer which can hardly compensate for the workmanlike delivery encountered previously. The bonus track is a faithful cover of Motorhead's "Bomber" with Phil Campbell from the legendary act helping there along with the Sodom frontman Tom Angelripper. There's not much to write about this album simply because it brings nothing new to the well established classic/modern mix treading safely in well known waters, thus staying away from both the flop and the success department.

Power from Hell Full-length, 1985
The Force Full-length, 1986
Let There Be Rock EP, 1987
Shellshock EP, 1988
In Search of Sanity Full-length, 1989
Power From Hell / Angels of Death EP, 2006
Killing Peace Full-length, 2007
Sounds of Violence Full-length, 2011

OPEN FESTERING WOUNDS (AUSTRALIA)

These Tasmanian "devils" try to mix the more energetic side of 80's thrash with the modern 90's trends. The mixture tries to keep balance between the two styles, but finds it hard to resist to the modern "traps", and consequently the sound smells groove more often than the good taste allows. "Compromised" is a very cool up-tempo thrasher with a slight technical edge, and "Torn Within" is another more dynamic piece, with a steady galloping rhythm. The vocals are brutal low-tuned death metal ones.

Mindstates Full-length, 1994

OPEN FIRE (POLAND)

Apart from Turbo and Wolf Spider there was another band who played good speed/thrash metal in Poland back in the 80's. How these guys remained so obscure, is a mystery... The band owe more to the speed metal heritage of Helloween and Warrant than to their compatriots. The album is full with great lead guitar work ala Kai Hansen and speedy melodies, topped by nice high melodic soaring vocals.

Lwy Ognia Full-length, 1988

OPERATIVNOE VMESHATELSTVO (RUSSIA)

An obsure demo from the Russian underground, which shows a band specializing in an energetic blend of speed and thrash. quite similar to early Master (Russia). The musiciahship is all right, with a nice technical touch (check the German speed/thrash worship "Chetvertaia Chjast Zemli" at the end), except for the noisy pounding drums, and the mean semi-clean vocals, which are so typical for the Russian scene. The fast assault is interrupted by the tender balladic instrumenal "Poslednii Put", but it doesn't sound awkward, showing the guitarits in a brigh tlight. It's a pity that the guys couldn't last longer: their apporach was intense enough to be translated well later for the oncoming thrash/death metal hybrids.

Operativnoe Vmeshatelstvo Demo, 1989

OPHIDIAN (LUXEMBOURG)

Based on the demo, these guys play heavy mid-tempo modern power/thrash metal quite close to the works of 90's Chastain, resemblances with the aforementioned act aggravated by the cool female vocalist. The music is dark and brooding, and the girl does a good job mixing more aggressive manly singing with a more emotional lyrical one. There are a few balladic sections where the singer shines even more, but the sound gets much more melodic, and after that it takes more than the required time for it to get back on track. The other problem is that all songs flow in the same vein without speeding up beyond the mid-pace, except for the final "Roads", which offers more dynamic up-tempo riffage at some stage.

Demo Demo, 2003
The Awakening Full-length, 2004
Suffering/Dreaming Full-length, 2006

OPHYDIAN (ITALY)

Modern power/thrash metal of the more melodic type with slight alternative elements; the vocals are good, but are too melodic for the style, and the more peaceful moments are a bit overused, and consequently the ballad "Snake Eyes" appears to be the best song here.

The Perfect Symbiosis Full-length, 2007

OPHYRA (ITALY)

Generic modern thrash/death metal of the Swedish school which comes with plenty of melody and fast-paced rhythms, and will remind you of the Danes Withering Surfaces (the early material) and Night In Gales, although the guy overdoes it a bit in the vocal department with these hysterical black metal shrieks.

Post Mortem EP, 2010

OPOSSITOR (CHILE)

The ambitious opener titled "Thrash Invasion" shows a band who tread the path of retro thrash, and do it the hard, aggressive way, but with a really bad sound quality, and even worse shouty death metal vocals. The music is fast, but the noise created by the guitars is hard to be disguised, despite the effort put with the inclusion of a few melodic hooks. "Dominados (Por La Maldad)" is a more moderate speed/thrasher ending up being the best song, a sure leftover from Paradox's "Heresy", with a good lead section and forceful headbanging rhythms. Well, if it wasn't for these terrible vocals...

Dominados EP, 2011

OPPORTUNITY (THAILAND)

Modern thrash of the more melodic type, still having its edge ("Throne", "Fire") whenever necessary, but often relying on the groovy patterns as well ("Grudge", "Unleashed"). "Dog Nation" is quite a good combination of the two, and on top of that we have nice melodic lead guitars.

Plewpatapi (Fire) Full-length, 2007

OPPOSITION PARTY (SINGAPORE)

Based on "Zombified", these Singaporeans come up with a very enjoyable blend of energetic classic thrash metal and punk. Yes, punk-that's right! It will probably not appeal to punk fans too much, though, because the sharp thrashy riffs dominate, but the inimitable punk spirit of the late 70's/early 80's is all over the album.

EP Ver. 1.0 EP, 2000
Chaotic Years 1989-1995 Best of/Compilation, 2005
Zombified Full-length, 2005

OPPRESSION (SWEDEN)

A great unsigned band; I hope this mistake will be soon corrected. All their efforts are of consistent high quality as the style is more of the fast, intense classic thrash variety, along the lines of Vio-Lence's "Eternal Nightmare".

Violence Will Dominate Demo, 2003
Left To Perish Demo, 2004
Deep Vein/Bloody Sign/Oppression Split, 2004
Extinction Agenda / Oppression Split, 2005
T.P.A.S Demo, 2005
State of War Demo, 2006

OPPROBRIUM (USA)

The Incubus guys are back in the game, but under a different name, since during their absence from the music scene another band with the name Incubus was founded (the alternative pop-rock clowns). "Discerning Forces" is a great way to start their career under the new name: fabulous old school thrash/death, not having much to do with the style of Incubus, staying quite close to the music of the old masters Death and Pestilence (their early works). The guys unleash hell on smashing pieces like "Ancient Rebellion" and "Digitarp", but also discover their more technical potential on slower, more controlled compositions, like "Dark Entanglement" and "Drowning". A slight drawback might be the middle, which is occupied by a string of not very energetic numbers, and the great speed from the beginning gets forgotten. "Merciless Torture" livens up with more up-tempo riffs, but the real revelation comes with the explosive "Moments of Despair": "Spiritual Healing" of the new millennium. "Blood Conflict" is very cool technical thrash despite the considerable loss of dynamics once again. The closer "Awakening to the Filth" is a heads-down thrash/death metal aggression, a really nice way to finish this strong comeback from one of the pioneers of the death metal genre.
All of you who thought that the band only had the energy for just one album, will be surprised to find out that the guys have been alive and well, waiting for the right time to release "Mandatory Evac". The abrasive guitar sound might pull back some, but as a matter of fact this is not far from the music displayed on the first two Incubus recordings: relentless thrash/death, this time blasting more brutally at times ("Never Found", "No One At My Funeral"), and overall the tempo is very fast, without the slower side of the previous effort. The songs are shorter, and the technical leanings heard on "Discerning Forces", which some could have expected to be developed further here, are almost nowhere to be felt. Numbers like "Daily Stress" go well over the good taste, bashing viciously and brutally, to the point of sounding more black metal-ish. To talk about thrash metal on this one would be a bit farfetched, but "Sick of This" and "Incident" are quite good intense thrashers, as though directly taken from the Swedes Merciless' debut album. It's debatable whether this effort is a worthy follow-up to the debut, but those who were looking for a direct continuation of the uncompromising assault offered by Incubus during their first period, will by all means rejoice.

Discerning Forces Full-length, 2000
Mandatory Evac Full-length, 2008

OPTIMUS PRIME (USA)

This band were formed after the split-up of Deadly Blessing by some members of that band. The music is not as speedy, and has already managed to acquire modern elements, not miles away from the Metallica Black Album ("Stand in Line"). Still the classic sound dominates, and what we have here is good power/thrash metal with excellent powerful vocals and heavy riffs.

Demo Demo, 1991

OPUS DEAD (SPAIN)

Thrash/crossover, quite fast and aggressive at times, but with cool melodic leads; style-wise close to early D.R.I., maybe more simplistic and with worse vocals.

Perros De Presa Full-length, 2002
Control Full-length, 2003

ORACLE (INDONESIA)

Based on "No Truth...No Justice...", these guys pull out cool retro thrash/crossover spiced with more aggressive Bay-Area moments with faster and slower songs taking turns throughout. The final comes in the form of three covers: Testament's "Over the Wall"; Sepultura's "Dead Embryonic Cells"; and Metallica's "Master of Puppets", all done faithfully with good musicianship, except for the thin guitar sound on the last one which lacks the hardness and the dark ominous atmosphere of the original, including lapses in the vocal department where the singer delivers in an unrehearsed higher-pitched semi-hardcore manner.

Warna dan Dimensi (Color and Dimension) Full-length, 2001
Darkness Within Full-length, 2007
Judging the Sleepers EP, 2008
No Truth...No Justice... Full-length, 2010

ORACLE (USA)

This band's short career crosses paths with Iced Earth as two of their members had played in the more renowned band. This is a strong progressive power/thrash metal album which draws comparisons to Nevermore and Eidolon. The songs are long (some of them go over the 9-min range), but never sound boring even for a split second with dark, almost gothic atmosphere and nice crunchy, heavy riffs. The tempo is mid-paced with a very few exceptions. The softer moments ("Paradise (on the Edge of the World)"), which are not too many, will bring you back to the time of Queensryche's debut mini-album. The man who steals the show here, is Kent Smedley: the guitarist, who is truly one of the finest to ever grace the metal scene, and one of the least known. His performance is simply amazing: melodic, fast, but at the same time very technical leads decorate every track, and although on the longer ones he's been given quite a room to display his talent, you will hardly complain, since his pyrotechnics are just breathtaking. It's too bad this man never recorded anything else; could have been a very valuable addition to the Shrapnel catalogue, and certainly one of its most prominent representatives. The other person worth mentioning, is William Wren: a great singer whose passionate powerful clean vocals will haunt you long after this album is over; he later joined the progressive power metallers Mystic Force.

As Darkness Reigns Full-length, 1993

ORB OF CONFUSION (USA)

This formation provides a curious blend of modern post-thrash and stoner/doom, which hits some progressive heights on the longer opus "Forecast Of Vengeance". Otherwise the album flows in a more predictable manner, with an abundance of carefree mid-tempo rhythms which are not very imaginative, but will engage the listener due to the sudden interruption of faster sections and a couple of more spacey riffs involved ("Penultimate Nullificator") akin to early-90's Voivod. Some of the band members don't break too many stoner/doom rules with their other act Hazzard's Cure, where the style is pure high-octane stoner/doom.

Orb of Confusion EP, 2011

ORCHRISTE (SWEDEN)

This band was founded by members of Seance who wanted to keep themselves busier, one of them Patrick Jensen: the guitarist who has also taken part in Witchery, The Haunted, Brujeria, and other acts. What we have here is 2 songs which stylistically are not too far from the Seance output, with a more thrashy edge. Maybe the guitar work is more technical, especially on the long dark thrasher "Blessing of Death". "Open Grave" is an aggressive bashing thrash/death metal piece.

Necronomicon Demo, 1989

ORDAINED FATE (USA)

The debut: a cool female fronted, slightly progressive power/thrash metal band; at times the music loses its edge and descends into classic heavy metal territory, but there are enough hard-hitting riffs to keep the thrash metal fan satisfied. The music alternates between more simplistic tracks and more complex technical ones. The singer has a cool mid-ranged tember coming as a mix between Doro Pesch and Leather Leone. The problem is that the tempo is too one-dimensional: mid to slow, with a few timid attempts at more energy ("The Election", which is actually the only full-blooded thrasher).
"Glimmer of Hope" is way inferior to the debut being a meditative balladic version of the 90's post-thrash, with groove and ballad taking turns, with doom metal taking over near the end on the closing trio which are potent powerful takes on heavy seismic doom with a few faster insertions.

Ordained Fate Full-length, 1992
Glimmer of Hope Full-length, 1995

ORDER OF THE BUZZARD (AUSTRALIA)

A 4-song EP of heavy modern death/thrash metal which doesn't lack energy, and suddenly breaks into a more intense material ("Skyscraper"). The other tracks are mid-paced with a certain amount of groove and hoarse semi-death metal vocals ala early Ville Laihiala (Sentenced).

Haunt the Cross EP, 2007

ORDEN SVOBODNYH (RUSSIA)

This Russian act plays melodic retro power/thrash with doomy overtones sounding like a more aggressive version of their more renowned compatriots Aria. The lead work is quite good, and the melodic licks are not too bad, but the singer is again not on par with the music with his indifferent clean tember with a drunken blend, and definitely suits better the heavier doomy numbers ("Shabash"). He's gone for the closing instrumental "S Luvobiu" which is melodic lead-driven heavy metal.

Orden Svobodnyh Full-length, 2009

ORDNANCE (CHINA)

Based on "Rock City", these Chinese rockers provide steam-rolling post-thrash with abrasive hardcore cuts, which breaks the settled mid-pace with the raging piece "I Am Opposed To" bordering on death metal, and the following number is not bad, either, being an ultra-heavy proto-doomster ("This Is Our") with a cool speedy outro. Be also prepared for classic heavy metal tunes on the closer "There Is No Excuse".

Struggle Full-length 2005
Rock City Full-length 2008

ORDRENEKT (NORWAY)

The Norwegian metal scene has been trying to show in the past few years that apart from black metal acts it could also provide bands for other metal genres. Based on the full-length debut, Ordrenekt play thrash/crossover recalling quite a few veterans from the 80's; the songs are mostly energetic and up-tempo, but are longer (3-4 min) than what usually goes with this style, and with a decidedly more thrashy edge ("Anatomy Of Pain" is a nice example of the more thrashy nature of this band's music).

Rød Himmel, Rød Jord EP, 2002
Guddommelig Incest Full-length, 2006

ORGAN (USA)

Based on the debut: a pretty wild mixture of very heavy, modern groovy post-thrash, sludge/doom not too far from Eye Hate God and Acid Bath, grindcore moments (but not too many), and a certain amount of hardcore. I'm not sure whether it would appeal to the regular thrash metal fan, but it's really worth hearing. The closest soundalike would probably be Lair Of The Minotaur, but these guys here care less about pure thrash metal.

Install The Underground Full-length, 2003
Volume of Hate Full-length, 2005

ORGAN DONOR (USA)

Members of the retro thrashers Betrayel entertain themselves here playing groovy modern post-thrash, providing some nice catchy choruses along the way. The riffs weigh, but the approach is not very hard-hitting, albeit cool, not without the odd faster crossover deviation: "Six Feet Deer". The overall style recalls a more thrashy Helmet on the jumpier sections, and mid-period Machine Head on the more direct ones.

The Ultra-Violent Full-length, 2001

ORGANIZED KAOS (CANADA)

Cool heavy, semi-technical thrash, sometimes almost doomy, sometimes more up-tempo, with a couple of original ideas resembling Nasty Savage's "Ignorance", but a bit more diverse and slower.

Reconditioned Demo, 1988

ORGONE (MEXICO)

Based on "Taco Hell", this band pulls out heavy groovy post-thrash clinging towards doom metal on the heaviest moments mixed with quite a few faster surprises, like the dynamic thrash/crossover piece "Designed By The Devil", the energetic headbanger "Super Soldier", and especially the raging thrashers "Death Day" and "What You Can't See", the latter a barely controlled number with a proto-death shade. Another one could be the gothic-tinged "Death Day" for the more romantically-inclined, which boasts great lead guitar performance nowhere else to be "encountered". The diversity of the material could attract a wider audience than the regular thrash metal one, including a punkish untitled joke as a finishing touch, but the not very original guitar work and the drunken hoarse hardcore-ish vocals pull this effort down.

Taco Hell Full-length, 2002
Straight To Hell Full-length, 2005

ORGY OF FLIES (BRAZIL)

A classic fusion of thrash and death metal; the band don't play too fast or aggressively, but the music packs a punch, being up-tempo most of the time, recalling a more thrashy Benediction at times, with deep growls ala Karl Willets (Bolt Thrower).

Rehearsal Fuckin' Tape Demo, 2003
Orgy Of Flies Demo, 2005

ORIGINAL CHAOTIC ADDICTION (FRANCE)

A 4-track demo of semi-technical thrash/death, which starts quite promisingly, actually, with the multi-layered speedy instrumental "Chaos Engine", but later on the music loses intensity relying on hectic jumpy patterns and sudden blasting passages ("Paranoiac Wandering") which don't work very well together, although there is a potential here, and with a more controlled delivery the guys could leave a more lasting impression on the scene.

Origins Demo, 2008

ORIGINAL SIN (USA)

An all-female thrash metal band; the music is actually more in the speed metal camp, not too far from SA Slayer or early Overkill, or even Exciter, with some occasional thrash riffs; nice work although it shows its age.

Sin Will Find You Out Full-length, 1986

Vibrations of Doom

ORION (MACEDONIA)

Based on the "Execration Behind The Walls" demo, these Macedonians offer cool thrash/death metal, mixing fast and slow sections, but a couple of scary ultra-fast passages are placed on the least expected places ("Execration Behind The Walls"); that same track is actually full-fledged death metal, an excellent track, fast and furious, with great leads and Oriental "decorations". "Convinced Through The Ages" is not far behind, but is more diverse with a grinding section, immediately followed by a doomy Bolt Thrower-like one. The last two songs are "obsessed" by speed in a way not far from the early Morbid Angel "temptations" in this trend.

Dreams Of Reality Demo, 1990
Banishing Souls Demo, 1991
Execration Behind The Walls Demo, 1992

ORION (PAKISTAN)

The stylish lead-driven opening instrumental "Alpha Orionis" promises something technical, even progressive, but the continuation is all over the place, mixing 90's grooves with furious thrash/death sections to a not very impressive effect ("Bloodshrine"). Later the music degenerates to bland post-thrash ala The Black Album, the "idyll" being nicely "broken" by the edgy mid-paced stomper "In The Mouth Of Madness". Nothing spectacular after it, all this finished with the frustrating 10-min uneventful doom/blues opus "The Final Sign" (this "final sign" could have been more carefully chosen at least...).

Angel of Dust Full-length, 2007

ORION CHILD (SPAIN)

Edgy sharp modern power/thrash metal also with a good sense of melody, both sides well reflected on the intense thrashing opener "Slave Of The Dark" which cuts like a knife topped by good semi-high clean vocals. The energy gets well translated on the next "Out Of The World" which speeds up a bit those attempts aggravated by "Faraway", a prime brooding gothic thrasher with a good speedy ending and a stylish use of church-like operatic keyboards all over. "Ilmariel" is a heavy stomper with a cool baladic interlude; here the keyboards are not very appropriately implemented, though, kind of overused. The pounding continues for another two songs before "Nightmare" starts galloping in a formidable scary manner with heavy crushing riffage assisted by more brutal deathy vocals; watch out also for the excellent melodic lead section in the middle which also springs up towards the end with a great classical edge. "Eclipse" brings the heavy proto-doomy riffs once again, only for them to disappear partly on "Revenge" which is a varied composition alternating fast speedy moments with dark creepy ones to a very atmospheric effect. The closer "Tragedy Of Soul" is the staple intense mid-pacer with keyboards and leads "duelling" throughout suddenly intercepted by a short brutal blasting section. This is a job well done with a good consideration of the present currents on the music scene finding the perfect balance between melody and sharpness surrounded by a dark gothic setting.

A New Dark Apology Full-length 2010

ORLAC (SPAIN)

Based on the debut: this band play dark thrash/death metal with gothic and doomy overtones, not far from the Dutch Asphyx, or early Cemetary. The music has its energetic moments (the furious death metal hammer "Undamaged", which will hardly leave you undamaged, like the title suggests; "Fascist Doctrine"), and "Beginning Of The End" nicely brings the winds of black metal: a nice varied instrumental, but for most of the time the guys rely on heavy pounding riffs and melodic hooks ala Bolt Thrower (the closer "Ritual of Blood").

Ashes to Ashes... Dust to Dust Full-Length, 1997
Firthcoming Death Full-Length, 2000

ORLOK (SWEDEN)

Based on the "Soul Resurrection" demo, Orlok are a melodic modern thrash metal band with a somewhat gothic edge reminding of Rotting Christ's more sophisticated period ("Dead Poem", "Sleep Of The Angels") if we exclude, of course, the hardcore-tinged vocals. This is not sharp edgy thrash, but is far from dull, with tasteful melodic riffs present all over.

Behold The Darkness Demo, 2002
Soul Resurrection Demo, 2004

ORMUS (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)

Based on the 2005 demo: this is moody modern thrash/death metal which surprisingly doesn't follow the Swedish patterns, but comes with an individual sound being heavier and mostly mid-paced, and not as fond of speed. Some gothic leanings can be discovered ("My Private Heaven"), but the brutal death metal vocals ruin those moments.
"Transmission..." offers very similar stuff, thrash/death metal on the moody side, mostly mid-tempo with sudden spasmodic fast outbursts the latter slightly compensated by the doom/gothic breaks. The guitars have an edge, and rise up for a couple of cool headbanging moments ("Black Lightning"; the nice galloping "Something Beside"), although now they carry a clearly audible Gothenburg flavour making the music sound more derivative this time.

Demo Demo, 2005
Live in Zenica Demo, 2006
God's Grief Full-length, 2007
Demo Demo, 2008
Promo Demo, 2009
Transmission... Full-length, 2010

ORSINI (SPAIN)

Fast intense old school thrash/crossover; references to their compatriots Storbais and Su Ga Tar are inevitable, the main difference being that these guys are more hardcore-prone, branching out in more unbridled pogos quite often, including the isolated grindy outrage ("Burguesia Putrefacta"). The music is pretty fast, but also jolly (check out the merry-go-rounder "Anarquistas"), but the lead guitarists do their best to sound more stylish, and succeed with a few interesting melodic variations, which are a nice contrast to the hoarse shouty vocals.

Hasta La Total Extinción De La Burguesía Full-Length, 2011

ORTHODOX (ITALY)

Classic thrash/death metal mixing fast raging songs with doom/gothic hymns ("Killing Time") the latter losing the thrash metal idea completely. The sound quality is quite good, and the brutal death metal vocals are quite intellgible.

Deadly Obsession Demo, 1993
Psycho Human Demo, 1994

ORTHRUS (USA)

This EP is whole 8 tracks long, otherwise this is vicious, occasionally blasting, thrash/black metal with melodic epic/viking elements. The thrashy riffs at times cling towards the Swedish scene, but they are often broken by the hyper-black passages ala Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, except on the nice epic thrasher "The Summoning". "Onward to Valhalla" even adds happier tunes from the power/speed metal scene into the already overdone picture. A cool touch, though, are the several orchestral/ambient short instrumentals: an intro, an outro, and an interlude.

Tyrants of Deception EP, 2008

ORWELL (USA)

Based on "Endeavors", this band plays your average melodic thrash/death metal of the Swedish type, with loads of melodic riffs and energetic up-tempos. Nothing exceptional if we exclude the sparce stylish acoustic insertions including one short instrumental ("Anticipation") in the same vein.

The Undying Full-length, 2006
Summer Sampler 2007 EP, 2007
Endeavors Full-length, 2009

OSAMENTA (ARGENTINA)

Fast, occasionally intense, thrash metal reminiscent of Sepultura's "Beneath The Remains" on the more aggressive sections. Despite the big number of the compositions (14), the band stretch at least half of them beyond the 5-min range, "Osamenta" reaching 10-min, and is quite a diverse track in itself, easily going from short furious blast-beats to heavy doomy sections. "Heridas del Futuro" is not too far behind in terms of length (9.5-min), but is more consistent, without too many extremes boasting sparce, but cool Oriental tunes. The album is not constant bashing, on the contrary, it offers quite a few slower atmospheric passages, as well as attempts at a more lyrical balladic play ("Camino al Destino", where the sharp guitars are well intertwined with the background piano melody; "Lágrimas de Dolor"; the excellent short closing instrumental "Atardecida Soledad").
"Libertario" is more controlled with less extreme stretches, generally slower and more melodic, and consequently much inferior to the very cool debut. The classic sound of the first album has been tempered with, with a couple of more modern inclusions here and there which further deepen the not very pleasant impression from this sophomore effort which this time comes as a more edgy version of the trend from their homeland (Horcas, Hermetica, Lethal). It only sparcely thrashes hard offering for most of the time an ordinary semi-classic/semi-modern mix with very few highlights clearly concentrating on melody more rather than hard aggressive riffage.
"Subversivo" is more consistent than its predecessor, and is consequently the better effort thrashing in a way not too far from the debut itself at times. The opening "Hambre de Revancha" thrashes with conviction in up-pace followed by moderately dynamic, proto-modern, pieces which are not anything extraordinary, but deliver with good meaty riffage. The middle is preserved for a half-min acoustic instrumental ("El Camino"), and the slamming speed/thrasher "Cuando Estalle La Rebelion" which invigorates the album influencing the rest of the songs the closer "Armados Hasta Los Dientes" being another major thrasher with crisp sharp guitars. This is a cool release although it would hardly make a revolution back home, but is still a good example of the classic and modern trends' co-existence.

Sueños Sin Final Full-length, 2004
Libertario Full-length, 2008
Subversivo Full-Length, 2011

OSIRION (FRANCE)

Based on "Reconquista", this band plays vicious black/thrash metal which in the beginning is pure blasting black metal, surprising pleasantly at times: the atmospheric slower dreamy The Kovenant-styled "Sadomaniac", after which the album loses all the speed, opting for more atmosphere instead, and winning in the long run, since the guys really deliver when they keep it softer, breaking out in a genuine Dimmu Borgir fashion near the end, on the excellent progressive "And Lucifer Fell", which in its turn is followed by the very cool Sodom cover of "Baptism of Fire".

Har Sabbat Full-length, 2005
Reconquista Full-length, 2008

OSIRIS (HOLLAND)

Very complex progressive thrash recalling Watchtower at times; the songs are relatively long, which shouldn't come as a surprise, but contain the necessary aggressive moments, some of which come out of nowhere, and those would make you scratch your head quite a bit: the opening "Futurity (Something to Think About)" develops in a calm power/thrash metal direction before it starts thrashing quite intensely in the middle; then another shift into a more laid-back style follows suit, this time with a cool twisted passage at the end. "Mass Termination" will shoot you at close range, a relatively short (6-min) for the band's standards aggressive thrasher, which leaves the technicality a bit behind, but nails mercilessly steel riffs one after another. "Inextricable" begins in a tender balladic manner, but the fast riffage quickly takes over, this time combined with quite a bit of a technical play as well, which later turns into very mazy hectic passages, the only way out of which is the song's end. "Out Of Inspiration" is more abstract laid-back progressive thrash metal which never leaves the mid-pace during its nearly 9-min, and is a bit boring, also well deserving its "uninspired" title. "Inner Recession" is not faster, but the guys excel in twisted meandering riffs which change all the time flowing into one another, seldom repeating themselves, recalling past masterpieces like Deathrow's "Deception Ignored" and Sieges Even's "Life Cycle". The album's opus "Fallacy (The Asylum)" closes on 10-min, and is another sprawling composition, the slowest one here, containing several overlong semi-balladic passages alternating with somewhat clumsy unfocused mid-tempo guitars. The uneven impression is partially smoothened with the very cool closer "Frozen Memory", which is a solid cross between Psychotic Waltz's "Social Grace" and Watchtower's "Control & Resistance", not fast, but elaborate and quite sharp, with another balladic deviation, this time placed at the end, and a lot more appropriate. This album is a good addition to the high quality Dutch technical scene, despite its several not very convincing overdone moments on the longer compositions, where the guys have apparently fallen into oblivion, forgetting that they have to finish them eventually, and those same compositions could have benefitted from a more compact less stretched delivery.

Futurity and Human Depressions Full-length, 1992

OSIRIS (USA)

Nothing more than the very typical for the time groovy post-thrash in mid-tempo trying to follow the Black Album models, but when the guys give those up, they manage to come up with more interesting headbanging riffs ("It", which ironically also contains crushing doomy riffs, the heaviest part of the demo). The singer is not too bad being clean, a bit high-pitched, sounding quite dramatic and attached most of the time.

Respectfully Stuck it in the Doorway Demo, 1993

OSMIUM (USA)

A very good mix of classic and modern thrash metal with good sharp riffs and heavy tracks in the mid-tempo recalling early 90's Sepultura (a mixture of "Arise" and "Chaos AD"). Catchy short modern thrash metal hymns await you here ("Drifting Away", "The Last Good-Bye", which also comes served with a great retro thrash section in the middle), as well as more melodic, but quite effective numbers ("Jesus Lover").

From The Ashes Full-length, 2003

OSSUARY (SINGAPORE)

These guys stick to the dry mechanized side of the genre where the works of early Meshuggah belong. The music of the Singaporeans is not as technical, and will also remind you of Pantera and Machine Head, and is not bad, despite the unnecessarily big amount of groove present. "Nothing but Lies" is a cool undustrialized semi-ballad, and "The Birth of..." is a nice short atmospheric instrumental. "Voracious Pigs" is the best song here: a stomping riff-fest which nicely adds more technicality to the proceedings, and the closer "Endangered Nation" exits this album with dignity being a fairly interesting technical thrasher also recalling late-80's Metallica.

Ossuary Full-Length, 1998

OUR DYING CONCEPT (UK)

Based on the 2006 demo, this band plays modern melodic thrash/death metal with metalcore leanings; pleasant, albeit predictable, stuff with energetic speedy riffs and really cool leads.

Demo Demo, 2006
Pre-Production Demo Demo, 2007

OUR GRACE (FRANCE)

An unknown act providing 5 songs of atmospheric death/thrash metal not too far from Amorphis' "Karelian Isthmus". This is interesting stuff, not very fast, with cool technical moments ("Blame of Existence") at times, but also a lot of doom which comes with plenty of melodic tunes those sections partly ruined by the brutal low-tuned vocals.

Journey Between Flesh and Mind Demo, 1992

OUROBOROS (AUSTRALIA)

These are the same guys who released an excellent demo of classic technical thrash under the name Dred in 2006. The only member missing from the Dred line-up is the talented guitarist Denis Vlachiotis who concentrates on his solo career at the moment (although so far he has only one EP released in 2007 of pretty good technical power/thrashy shred mixed with classical and latino rhythms). The style presented here is quite similar to the one on the Dred EP, and the new guitar players are doing their best to fill in Vlachiotis' shoes by giving truly inspired performance with great Oriental and Latino motifs which are present on almost every song to a great effect: think flamenco played with technical power/thrash metal tools. "Black Hole Generator" concentrates on those Latino elements being a nice atmospheric mid-pacer with suggestive technical undercurrents and beautiful melodies. "Lashing of the Flames" is a wild technical thrasher in the best tradition of Helstar's "Nosferatu", which is again the main influence on the band, with fine Shrapnel-like lead performance and an even finer quiet acoustic mid-break. More puzzling rhythms come served on "Animal, Man... Machine" which tones down the intensity settling for not as fast jumpy approach. Dramatic spiral-like guitars aplenty will one encounter on "Sanctuary", as well as a breath-taking melodic doom/balladic interlude, beautiful stuff; but "Sea to Summit" thrashes harder with a few turbulent speedy crescendos present. The technical virtuosity takes more progressive proportions near the end, on "Edifice of Tyranny" which is complex power/thrash metal in mid-pace; and on the closing "Absent from Entity" which is a sweeping galloping number, a sure leftover from "Nosferatu", to which this strong effort is the best possible tribute so far. Like with the Dred case, the singer is a letdown, his guttural death metal antics failing, by a long shot, to match the magic created by the music.

Glorification of a Myth Full-length 2011

OUT OF ORDER (GERMANY)

This is another very good power/thrash metal band of the old school. Out Of Order combine long epic power metal songs with fast razor-sharp thrashers. The style is close to contemporary Agent Steel and the Polish Hellfire on the faster moments. "Powered by Aggression" is the more melodic affair with a bigger doze of power/speed metal elements and epic moments. The songs are longer and more complex freshened by shorter more immediate thrashterpieces ("Dead End"). Some of the longer numbers also try to keep speed and intensity longer: "Terror Rules", and succeed most of the time.
"Back in Hell" is the more thrashy effort boasting great sharp riffs, making even the slower, calmer numbers ("God of Misery", "Back in Hell") sound intense. The base of the album, however, is the speedy tracks, and they crush in a major way as well: "Seven", "Blue Eyed Tornado", etc. The songs are shorter, except for the album closer "Invisible Empire", which is a great speed/thrash metal opus in the best tradition of the aforementioned bands.

Powered by Aggression Full-length, 1999
Back In Hell Full-length, 2002

OUT OF THE LAIR (GREECE)

Thrashy power metal similar to the Germans Brainstorm or Manticora from Denmark; there are cheesy moments (in the choruses mostly), but there are, on the other hand, enough thrashy breaks scattered throughout the album to satisfy the average thrash metal fan. Another minor complaint would be the vocals, which sound quite strained at times, especially when the guy goes for the high tones. Things would become really interesting if the band vote to concentrate for the future on their "dark", thrashy side.

Psychotears Full-length, 2003

OUTBREAK (CANADA)

One of the better kept secrets from the Canadian ungerground, Outbreak offer pretty cool power/thrash metal which is obviously influenced by their more renowned compatriots Anvil, andt these guys perform equally as well, if not even better. The opener "Master Stroke" is a great galloping power/thrasher in the vein of Omen, Attacker and, of course, Anvil. "Uberalles" carries in the same vein, but speeds up, and the guitars take a more aggressive, thrashy edge. "Hell on Earth" is a brilliant technical power/thrasher, with overwhelming haunting riffs and superb melodic leads; for this song alone this album is a must. "Mein Kampf" is an all-out thrasher, fast and merciless. Then comes the odd hard'n heavy number "Love", something which sounds as though directly taken from the Anvil debut. This lyrical, romantic song is followed by another awesome galloping thrasher: "Spy Killer", again graced by some fascinating guitar work. "Leader", with its leaden super-heavy riffs strangely reminds me of the Candlemass' venture in thrash "Cry from the Crypt". "Triumph" is a really triumphant end to this masterpiece: a great up-tempo thrasher with a very memorable main headbanging riff. The singer is an acquired taste, though; high-pitched, screamy, but kind of fitting to the music.

Master Stroke Full-length, 1986

Vibrations of Doom

OUTBREAK (USA)

Based on the "Madman's World" demo, this act serves noisy hardcore-ish thrash, which comes with an awful sound wuality, and very bad synthesized vocals, which create even more noise than the guitars. There is a certain amount of crust introduced as well, but apart from the more clever exercise in heavy, stomping modern thrash "The Silence Within", and, partly, the more decipherable death metal approach on "Doomsday", there is not much to be distinguished from this not very easily digestible wall of noise.

Madman's World Demo, 1997
Awaken the Night Demo 1997

OUTBREAK RIOT (JAPAN)

Based on the "Outbreak Riot" demo, these guys offer speedy retro thrash metal with harsh hardcore synthesized vocals which simply don't serve right the much better music. Apart from the all-out thrashers a few more crossover-inclined tunes can also be caught ("Axis Of Evil"), although the approach doesn't really change much, remaining fast and tight the whole time.

Act One Demo, 2007
No Control Demo, 2008
Escape from reality Demo, 2009
Outbreak Riot Demo, 2010

OUTBURST (FRANCE)

The word "thrash" is frequently present on the band's works' titles. Based on the "Pure Thrash" demo, this is really pure old school aggressive thrash metal in the Slayer and Vio-lence vein.

Fuck the Engineers Demo, 1986
Demoniac Outburst Demo, 1987
Pure Thrash Demo, 2003
Thrashback Demo, 2006

OUTBURST (HOLLAND)

One of the better modern thrash metal bands; perhaps this is because their music has something from the classic school, too. On "Fair and Balanced" the band waste no time, starting with the intense headbanging instrumental "220", which is pure retro thrash delight, thrashing intensely for a little more than 2-min. The modern sounds come with the next "Freddy's Song" (after all, all needs to be "fair & balanced"), along with more melodic than the main vocals, mixed with more brutal, death-ish ones. The classic thrash tunes come back for another furious piece: "The Beast Will Strike Again", followed by the more technical exercise "What The Eyes See", which is a great thrasher, with a slight twist. "Slaughterhouse" is a more ambitious track, longer and more elaborate, but fails to deliver the goods in a way the others did. So the guys are quick to bring back the more successful, simplistic intense thrash formula, with "The End" and "My Own Hell". "Attack Of The Overfiend" is an awesome mix of speed, thrash and a bit of death metal, a larger-than-life opus (not very long: 6-min), with great melodies and crushing riffs.
The debut is more in the Swedish thrash/death metal hybrid camp, but delivers as well with its fixation on speed providing six explosive pieces of thrash/death metal with razor sharp riffs and swirling leads. The vocal mix is again between the slightly thin clean and the vicious death metal ones both given equal space to perform. Classic thrash takes over on the last two numbers: "Attack Of The Overfiend" which is an intense speed/thrashfest, and the bonus track "Victory For A Soul", which is more diverse crossing raging aggressive riffs with more laid-back galloping ones.
The guys were previously known as Acrostichon under which name they started a while ago in 1990 with a couple of demos, and later managed to release two full-length albums and two EP's of classic death metal reportedly not far style-wise from their compatriots Gorefest. At that time they had a girl behind the mike, the name Corinne van der Brand, who didn't survive long enough to sing in Outburst. The band also have ties to the thrashers Crustacean with whom they share two guitarists.

Overfiend Full-length, 2003
Fair and Balanced Full-length, 2006

OUTBURST (JAPAN)

Very good aggressive retro thrash (based on "Aggression", which deserves its title on all counts) with fast-paced riffs and tasteful proficient leads, topped by not very convincing declamatory semi-clean vocals. The songs kind of flow in the same speedy vein, occasionally breaking the mould with slower, softer tunes: "Over the Edge", but it's good that these moments are kept to a minimum, since this is when the music loses steam and edge, straying considerably away from the initial delivery. Fortunately the intense thrashing carries on after this one, although the music becomes more laid-back, mixing speed and thrash metal: "Dealt Hand", "Dehumanization". The last couple of tracks recapture the more aggressive atmosphere of the beginning, with "The Road" being a graceful headbanging closer.

Flesholic Souls Full-length, 2003
Aggression Full-length, 2008

OUTCAST (CHILE)

This is retro thrash with Germanic overtones and an updated modern production, which makes the guitars sound too buzzy and chainsaw-like. Otherwise the guys try hard, and manage to concoct something along the lines of more recent Kreator (think "Enemy of God", rather than "Hordes of Chaos"), alternating fast and slower songs, the former by far the better side: check out merciless speedsters like "OS-7" and "Mayhem to the World". "Dethroner Of Gods" is a cool, more thought-out piece with progressive pretensions and fine melodic passages, the only composition which betrays the time of release, smelling the Swedish school a bit. The singer is a good forceful semi-shouter, quite close to the more recent Mille delivery.

Vendetta EP, 2011

OUTCAST (FRANCE)

Excellent aggressive classic thrash reminiscent of Slayer’s “Reign in Blood”, Devastation’s “Idolatry”, Atomica’s “Disturbing the Noise”, etc.; there are death metal blasts thrown in for good measure, and as a whole the music is really fast and relentless except for the odd acoustic, ambient instrumental “Deus Ex Machina” serving as an intermission, and a short break before the next assault. The leads are superb, but the riffs are not far behind, hitting hard, leaving marks all over you (a joke!). “The Same Face From Passion To Hatred” is a magnificent technical thrasher, the only one of the kind on this album (sections from “To What I Belong” sound too technical, too), with great twisted riffs in the Coroner vein, quite brutal as well near the end: surely the highlight, and hopefully more of the same will be heard on the band’s next efforts. This is one of the most impressive releases to come from France for quite some time, and a sure top ten pick for the thrash metal fan for 2005.

"Self-Injected Reality" fulfills all the promises for a full-blooded technical album, and goes well beyond that. This is outstanding technical thrash/death metal, mixing the complex twisted riffage of Coroner with the labyrithine arrangements of the Canadian school (think Martyr, early Gorguts, Norfixion). The result is a hectic, occasionally chaotic, very dynamic sound switching constantly from very fast to slower sections, and from thrash to death metal. "Denial of Elapsed Time" adds some progressive aesthetics into the proceedings, in the best tradition of Atheist and Cynic, and "Reversal" is not too far behind, providing a jazzy break, accompanying the aggressive precise technical riffage which here is nothing short of amazing. Some blasting moments ("Fragmented Memories") will remind you of Suffocation, and the American school in general, but at this stage the listener has already realised that this work would sum up all what is viewed as high-class technical thrash/death metal. "Collapsed Into Oblivion" slightly betrays the pattern, but in a good way, being slow, dreamy, recalling Fear Factory and Coroner's "Grin". "Materia Prima" is a quiet peaceful instrumental followed by the very contrasting ultra-aggressive "Hysteria", which is 2.5-min of very technical brutal death metal. "Feelings Transgression" is a very diverse composition mixing quite a few influences, even coming up with a hyper-blast black metal part at some point. The closer "Deviance" is probably not the best decision to finish the album with its more conventional Gothenburg-like approach, but may be a welcome shift for those who have gotten headache from the neverending whirlwind of time and tempo changes provided up to this point. This is another strong addition to the French scene of 2008, and a major rival to the band's compatriots No Return for "album of the year".

First Call / Last Warning Full-length, 2005
Self-Injected Reality Full-length, 2008

OUTLAST THE SUN (UK)

Thrash/crossover of the meaty thrashy type with good emotional clean vocals; there are a few more carefree punkish tunes ("The Unknown") scattered around, but one can not ignore the visceral power of the dark thrashterpiece "Marching Into Hell (Hell Part I)", a heavy hypnotic number in the best tradition of the guys' compatriots Deathwish.

Into Hell We Gaze EP, 2011

OUTRAGE (AUSTRALIA)

A very good demo of mid to up-tempo classic thrash in the Anthrax vein with nice riffs, not very hard-hitting, but enjoyable: three of the songs. The last one "Fear No Fear" is a marvellous turn to technical/progressive thrash (could be written at a different stage of the band's career?) metal resulting in a feast of smashing technical riffs and tempo changes closing on slightly over 9-min.

Songs For A Romantic Evening Demo, 1991

OUTRAGE (CANADA)

Based on the "Outrage" demo, these guys pull out several styles, all of them in a fairly good fashion: "Cabalistic Rites" is a fast, aggressive track with a certain proto-death flavour; "Horror Night" is a cool, more restrained speed/thrasher; "The Terminator" is clearly the highlight here, featuring a fine combination of slower, almost doomy riffs and very fast ones topped up by a few nice technical licks; "The Rapist" is another excellent aggressive thrasher. With 5 demos released within a relatively short period of time, it was clear that the band wanted to make an impact on the scene, and judging by the talent displayed on this demo, they definitely deserved to be better known.

Outrageous Tapes Demo, 1984
Demo Demo, 1985
Devastation Demo, 1985
Bones of War / Buried Pieces Demo, 1986
Outrage Demo, 1986

OUTRAGE (FINLAND)

This band is a further elaboration on the short-lived Mayhem, who released one demo a year earlier. The music is in the same vein: intense thrash/proto-death in the early Kreator tradition with throaty shoty vocals, carrying the vicious blend of early Mille quite well. The guys play fast'n tight, the guitars ably boosted by the good bass bottom, and a cool balladic break can also be heard on the final "S.T.O.P.".

At the Edge of Hangover Demo, 1990

OUTRAGE (GERMANY)

Unfortunately, from this impressive discography I am only in the possession of the first demo, based on which these guys were surely one of the most extreme acts on the European metal scene in the mid-80's. This is a brutal mix of black and thrash, with nods to early Celtic frost and Hellhammer ("Go to Hell"), and Burzum (the monotonous and vicious "Death from Behind"). There is no much variety in the guitar approach, but this creates a somewhat hypnotic effect which might be appealing to some, and was later used by many, mostly black metal acts: Beherit, Barathrum, Khold, late period Satyricon, Mayhem, etc.

"Back for Attack" shows the band having matured beyond the black metal influences, and on this effort they come up with cool speed/thrash metal in the early German tradition with, from the black metal acts, only shades of early Bathory remaining here and there. Among the speedy antics, which by the way come with a very abrasive buzzy guitar sound, some stomping Venom-esque "poisons" could be found (check also the song-titles): "Go To Hell", "Warpaint". The band knows no mercy on vicious thrashers like "Pact Of The Wicked" and "Slave Trader", but in the second half the music loses steam, and becomes much slower, although the 9-min sinister black/thrasher "Sails Of Charon" (which is not a Scorpions cover) is quite an experience, meandering from fast aggressive riffs to cool melodic inclusions. The thrashing in that 2nd half is more laid-back, not as edgy, with an early Exciter vibe: "The Book Of The Seven Seals", "Name Your Poison". Well, the closing 2-min thrashing madness "Preseus Rules" will make you jump from your seat, and is quite a satisfying ending to this diverse, but enjoyable release. The singer is an unholy black metal rasper, but this is probably the best choice.

Demo I Demo, 1985
Demo II Demo, 1985
From Nightmare To Myths Demo, 1986
The Book of the Seven Seals Demo, 1987
Back for Attack Full-length, 2004
A Mute Reminder Full-length, 2005
7 Is 1 Take One Full-length, 2006
Tales Of Counted Sorrows Full-length, 2006

OUTRAGE (ITALY)

This band are probably the first speed/thrash metal band in Italy. The music is fast recalling both Agent Steel and the speedy heroes from Germany Iron Angel and Warrant. Another Italian band, Creepin' Death, might have been influenced by this band. The second demo comes with a better sound and nice deviations from the speedy pattern in the form of abstract semi-technical thrash metal strangely reminding of Voivod's same year's "Killing Technology": "Acid Brain". Unfortunately, the band's potential was never fully realised.

Smile of Death Demo, 1986
Outrage Demo, 1987

OUTRAGE (JAPAN)

One of the longest running, and best Japanese metal bands; "Black Clouds" is a good speed/thrash metal debut with a clear Metallica influence. "Curtains of History" is not a very convincing opener, hesitating between a more technical and more accessible, faster style. The technical style "wins the battle", as the other songs become longer, increasing the complexity; the problem is that the guitar sound is very thin and abrasive, and irritating; the other flaw is the hoarse semi-hardcore vocals which are anything but suitable to the much better music.
"Blind To Reality" offers excellent heavy technical thrash metal with long, but interesting tracks, along the lines of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All". It's not a very distant departure from the debut, but the guitars are much better heard, sharper and heavier; it begins with the good headbanger "Blind to Reality", but later the music takes a more technical approach, and the speed decreases, springing up here and there ("Name Your Poison"). The guys perhaps overdo it on the last song, the 11-min "Lockin' At Time", which is nothing more than a veeery long, and boring ballad, which tries to "apologize" for the wasted time with a cool speedy outro, but it would rather serve to wake up the listener.
"The Great Blue" is a transitional album showing the band gradually acquiring the modern elements: the songs have become shorter and more light-hearted, but the staple razor sharp riffs guarantee another thrash entertainment. It's actually a satisfying listen, keeping good speed for most of the time, although the abrasive guitar sound of the debut kind of comes back. Cool headbangers like "Days of Rage" and "The Truth" stir the mood in a major way, and even more melodic experimental numbers, like "Clay Liner", sound appealing. The pullback is again, in the form of a ballad, again quite long and dragging (9-min this time, thank god!), although at least the lead guitar work this time is cool.
"The Final Day" is the "final" attempt of the band to stay true to the classic patterns, and surprisingly leaves the modern tendencies, which have sneaked into the sound on the previous recording, undeveloped concentrating on slassic thrash with a more melodic edge, quite crossover-sounding at times, keeping the tempo up with the first 2 energetic thrashers "My Final Day" and "Madness", before the doomy "Follow" "follows" providing some gloomy atmosphere recalling Metallica's same year's Black Album. "Wings" is jolly thrash/crossover, but the next "Sad Survivor" hardens the course, thrashing more intensely. "Visions" is a heavy stomper, strangely reminding of the Black Album opener "Enter Sandman" (this effort was released earlier), but "Veiled Sky" beats everything, mixing tender balladic moments with fast-paced thrash to a quite positive effect. If those of you who thought relieved that this song would be all they would hear from the guys' infatuation with the ballad, will have to wait for the following "River": the full-blooded ballad here, not bad actually, the softest composition the band ever produced. The closing "Fangs" is quick to correct the impression with raging riffs and fast tempos, and is the most speedy number. If we exclude the 2 slower tracks, which have this proto-modern "colouring" typical for the already mentioned Metallica album, the rest shows no sings of compromise with any modern tastes; maybe the guitar sound is kind of dry, akin to the one of the Voivod releases from around the same time, and the singer sings in a less emotional, semi-indifferent manner, a technique later fully epitomized by the industrial metal acts. The future works of the band are modern groovy post-thrash which also have their interesting moments, but one has to listen with care in order to find any references to their past.

"Outrage" sees the guys opening up for more classic thrash metal, albeit not all the way through, and this can only be good news since the band remain the finest practitiners of the style (after Ritual Carnage, perhaps; and alongside Aion) in Japan all these years despite the modern mutations they experienced during the 90's and beyond. This self-titled comeback to their roots is so good that one can easily forgive them the "sins of the past". The opening "Rise" will "rise" you high with its rapidfire headbanging delivery, retro thrash to the bone, a tendency gracefully continued on the next "You Care? I Don't Care", another major lasher. Two more laid-back mid-tempo semi-groovers follow suit, before the jolly thrash/crossoverer "Fists Full Of Sand" hits you with more fast riffage. Later on the two sides take turns intercepted by the very cool soulful ballad "Shine On", showing again a strong Metallica influence with an excellent vocal performance; the brilliant short lead-driven balladic instrumental "Tor"; but the final damage is almost irreparable in the form of the raging thrasher "Terrorizer" which closes the album the way it started. The guys find it hard to leave their infatuation with Metallica aside, and this effort sounds very close to the Americans' "Death Magnetic" serving a very similar cocktail of modern and classic thrash metal (with more references to the latter) finding the balance between them almost as well.

Outrage EP, 1987
Black Clouds Full-length, 1988
Blind to Reality Full-length, 1989
The Great Blue Full-length, 1990
The Final Day Full-length, 1991
Spit Full-length, 1993
Life Until Deaf Full-length, 1995
Who We Are Full-length, 1997
Volume One EP, 2001
Play Loud EP, 2002
24-7 Full-length, 2002
Deadbeat EP, 2004
Cause for Pause Full-length, 2004
Outrage Full-Length, 2009

OV DUST (USA)

Two folks are behind this project, which is a display of retro black/thrash which covers all ealier influences: Bathory ("Duality Of Light"), Celtic Frost/Hellhammer ("Eternal Return"), Burzum ("LXVI: Matanza De Tiburon"), Venom ("King Rat; Affirmation Of The Ignoble"); with a bigger, death metal, intensity added on "As The Crow Flies". Most of the tracks are lenghty, with various tempos covered, some of which are interesting exercises in more thought-out metal ("Black Decay"); others are total takes on funeral doomy dirge ("Dreams Turned Rancid") ala Skepticism and Thergothon. And, of course, a cover is needed here, of one their many influences: Celtic Frost's "Dethroned Emperor", done well without any experiments.

Resurrection of an American Heretic Full-length, 2011

OVER FAITH (ITALY)

A good demo of classic 80's thrash metal with slight death metal overtones; the tracks are lengthy (within the 5-7min range with one epic massive 9-min track: "Fear (Darkness Embrace)"). Apart from the aforementioned track, the rest is cool speedy music offering some nice headbangers: "Madness Stole My Life" is perhaps the finest representative of the latter.

Depths Of Madness Demo, 2005

OVER REACTION (COLOMBIA)

A 4-song demo of good classic thrash of the fast headbanging type, with slightly annoying declamatory indifferent vocals; the music packs a punch with sharp speedy riffs, touching Germanic speed metal ("Gobiernos de Terror") on the fastest parts. "Farzas Militares" is a brutal short Slayer-esque number.

Lobotomía Virtual Demo, 2007

OVER THE TOP (USA)

Based on the full-length, this act specializes in cool retro thrash with a nice Bay-Area shade, and stylish technical arrangements, which have an interesting, individual sound dominated by the good bass performance. The guys mix fast, blitzkrieg sections with more relaxed, pounding ones on almost every song, as there is enough room for that, since the tracks easily stretch beyond the 6-min mark. The lead guitars are pretty good, and the vocals are on the semi-clean, expressive side, avoiding the annoying shouty stereotypes. In the 2nd half the songs become shorter, some surprisingly slower (the mid-paced sleeper "Estranged World", and the more dynamic closer: the Sacred Reich-esque "Here to Stay"); others merrier ("Never Again") with a pinch of crossover.

Lighting Of The Pyre EP 1989
Here To Stay Full-length 1991

OVER US EDEN (GERMANY)

A standout progressive power/thrash metal band with the former Living Death drummer Rainer Schmitz on board, and a female singer whose voice resembles the legendary Doro Pesch from Warlock; she doesn't change the pitch too much, but her levelled delivery contains the necessary emotional charge. The style is not far removed from the bands of the progressive thrash metal wave characteristic of the German metal scene during the early/mid-90's, and more particularly Depressive Age and Lost Century. There is not much technical show-off, if at all, and the music is mostly mid-paced, very heavy at times, seldom going for all-out up-tempo thrashing: "Night Time". Over Us Eden are maybe less adventurous than the lot with a thicker monolithic guitar sound which at times also recalls Nevermore and Eidolon.

Over Us Eden Full-length, 2002
Fahrenheit Zero EP, 2003

OVERCAST (GREECE)

Along with Crucifier and Released Anger, this band are doing a good job to establish the Greek thrash metal scene as one of the better ones in Europe nowadays. The guys' music is a confident mix of Tankard and some Bay Area riffage (think early Testament). The singer doesn't hide his fascination with the Andreas "Gerre" Geremia (Tankard) vocals, but they fit the music just fine. Cool Oriental touches could be heard on the smashing album opener "Middle East Terrorist" as well as death metal blast-beats on "Angels in Fire". The tempo is quite fast and intense with nice slower crushing breaks.

Under The Face Of Chaos Full-length, 2003

OVERDOSE (BRAZIL)

Overdose are one of the first Brazilian metal bands, having started at the same time with Sepultura, but having failed to achieve the same level of success and popularity. The band's style is less aggressive than the one of their renowned compatriots, with their earlier works being more power metal-based, and their later ones opting for a modern, groovy sound. Still, "Conscience" is a pretty cool debut concentrating on American power/speed metal in the vein of Griffin, Jag Panzer, and the Nasty Savage debut. Heavy pounding riffs, intercepted by numerous melodic lead guitar "intrusions", the latter culminating on the fascinating 10-min instrumental "Kharma", are the base used by the band to produce some really powerful pieces of music: the epic progressive opus "The Day After", in the best tradition of Manilla Road; the exuberant progressive/technical power/thrashterpiece "Prison Of The Conscience"; the dramatic steam-roller "Rebellion".
"You're Really Big!" is a heavier affair, with not as complex guitar work, but is still a fairly steady slab of forceful power metal, relying on formidable gallopers like "Big As The Universe", short bursting speedsters like "Fight For Our Dreams", or pompous, operatic instrumental pieces, like "Age Of Aguarius", the latter clearly a precursor to the numerous virtuoso, neoclassical works which flooded the scene a few years later. The lead guitar work is simply stunning here, the guitarist Cláudio David proving himself as one of the most talented musicians to ever come out of South America.
"Addicted To Reality" switches onto a more aggressive, proto-thrashy sound, the tendency well reflected on the edgy opener with the "sweet" title "Sweet Reality". "Night Child" is an invigorating speed metal cut, but later on the epic power metal "infatuations" return for the production of not very impressive songs with banal choruses and cliched musical decisions, the leads saving the situation most of the time, with excellent passages of inspired, Shrapnel-like performance. Still, this album is inferior to the previous two, seeing the guys reaching a creative cul de sac, at the same time not willing to get on board the thrash metal "ship", which was already sailing away.
"Circus Of Death" could be considered the band's most thrashy release, arriving at a time when the genre was way beyond its zenith. The opening track "Violence" starts the album in a very aggressive way, but the rest is mostly in the mid-paced department, and the band's power metal roots could clearly be heard on many of the songs. As a whole this album can be rightfully put among the better power/thrash metal efforts of the Brazilian metal scene of the 90's. On later works the band embraced the modern groovy metal idea tight also adding industrial overtones on "Scars" in a way similar to Prong's "Rude Awakening".

Conscience Full-length, 1987
You're Really Big! Full-length, 1989
Addicted To Reality Full-length, 1990
Circus of Death Full-length, 1992
Progress Of Decadence Full-length, 1993
Scars Full-length, 1995

OVERDOSE (FRANCE)

Despite the bad sound quality, one could recognize decent power/thrash metal close to the guys' compatriots Killers. The guys try to reach more progressive metal waters with "an overdose" of longer numbers like "Cendres de Liberté", but the simplistic one-dimensional delivery would make the listener tired quickly. Hard'n heavy numbers like "Princesse De l'Enfer" do not make things any better. The 2nd half (the demo is 8 songs long) is the better one with the heavy power/thrasher "Condámne A Mort" and the melodic, but cool instrumental "Légende".

Chasse à l'Homme Demo, 1988

OVERDOWN (SPAIN)

This is jumpy, choppy modern post-thrash with technical pretensions, topped by rough death metal vocals, which are at times replaced by better clean ones (check out the nice melancholic ballad "A Trace For Eternity"), mostly on the more moderate passages. Otherwise the music is not stale at all, and the band shred with competence despite the sterile, mechanical feel of the guitars. Quiet, balladic sections are intersperced between the cold riffs, recalling both Behold The Octopus and Meshuggah on separate parts of the album. Things take a more ambitious, progressive turn on "Rain", but the overall hectic, mid-paced shred never gets interrupted for long, and reaches its climax near the end, on the brutal mechanizer "Don't Let Us Fall", which even introduces the odd death metal signature. And this should have been the end, a worthy one at that: alas, the band have decided to finish the album in a downnote, with the very calm ambient piece "Gliese581c", which is a meditative cut, and may put you to sleep if you're not careful.

Ethereal Full-Length, 2012

OVERDRY (SPAIN)

A more dynamic form of the good 90's post-thrash (accentuating on the "thrash", rather than on the "post" side), spiced with brutal deathy vocals with semi-shouty tendencies and sudden faster breaks ("Sangre De Mi Sangre"). The music is not that stale, because of that, and some cuts even come with a touch of proto-death ("Miseria"; the sweeping speedster "Catarsis"), leaving the groove frequently scattered never lasting for one whole track.

El Último Camino Full-Length, 2008

OVERFAITH (ITALY)

This is cool classic thrash with a not very even vocal "duel" between husky death-ish vocals and clean dramatic ones. There is a thin progressive "fibre" going through the album ("Im Ho-Tep"; the very diverse thrash/black/death metal opus "Fear (Darkness Embrace)"), but the guys are kind of better when sticking to direct ripping riffs ("Another Dead Hero"), although the guitar tone is generally not very hard-hitting, preferring to lay out nice melodic landscapes on almost every song.

ORA (Our Regretless Awakening) Full-length, 2009

OVERHATE (VENEZUELA)

Modern thrash metal mixing mellow and aggressive moments on a strange alternative base, coming also from the forceful semi-shouty vocals which are at times served with a clean soulful blend. Still, there is quite a bit of thrashing here, even providing a nice, classic Slayer-esque shade (the killing "Killing Show"), or acquiring more brutal proto-death ("One Word") dimensions. "Blow" is a very cool semi-technical thrash/deathster, and it's a pity that after it follows the less impressive, less energetic, material consisting of repetitive heavy-handed riffs with a strong groovy domination.

God In A Trench Full-length, 2007

OVERKILL (USA)

This seminal band started greatly with "Feel the Fire", which remains one of the highest achievements of the 80's American power metal scene. "Taking Over" hardened the course a bit, but was still in the speed/power metal field. The movement to thrash metal was finally completed on "Under the Influence", which featured forceful sharp riffs slightly recalling their colleagues from Anthrax. "The Years of Decay" saw the band moving away from all influences, and forging their unique, heavy sound, on this one expressed by longer, more complex song-structures, with a healthy pinch of doom (check out the monstrous, 10-min "Playing With Spiders / Skullkrusher"). The improvement in every aspect inevitably led to the band's crowning achievement: the incredible "Horrorscope", which was one of the last great works of thrash metal before the genre's zenith.

Then it was time for modern thrash metal to come to the fore, and the guys wasted no time picking the modern tendencies, well displayed on "I Hear Black", which was quite a step down from the band's last couple of albums, flirting with no fear with all the gimmicks of the 90's. Then "W.F.O." came crushing lashing out awesome riffs from the past, showing the guys not completely willing to bid farewell to the 80's. But after that followed a string of modern thrash efforts, which weren't so bad, including an all cover-album ("Coverkill"). "Killbox 13" was a good return to form, containing the band's strongest material in quite a while, but instead of continuing in the same vein, especially when the time was just perfect for the good old school thrash metal sound, they came back to the safer groovy formula with "ReliXIV".
"Immortalis" is a mixed bag, and not a very impressive one as such, with half of the songs recalling the band's heydays, and the other half staying closer to their more modern sound.
Just when one is about to cross an old veteran off the list, these veterans come back with full force to show him how wrong the fan was to treat them this way. "Ironbound" is classic thrash as classic thrash can possibly get nowadays; it begins in a splashing manner with the 8-min of non-stop retro thrashing "The Green And Black". It only gets better later on, however, first with the blitzkrieg speed/thrasher "Ironbound" which brings the band's staple catchy choruses and the sharp lashing riffs from the past, showing a little mercy in the middle with a quiet lead-driven mid-break; and second with the speed metal delight "Bring Me The Night" which will remind you both of Diamond Head's "Helpless" and the Metallica interpretation of the same song. The speedy downpour is nicely broken with the heavy pounder "The Goal Is Your Soul", before the faster carefree "Give A Little" brings forward a certain crossover flavour to the fore. "Endless War" is heads-down galloping thrash with a great speedy dual-guitar ending ala Iron Maiden (remember "The Trooper"). "The Head And Heart" is another relative break with its dark heavy stomping riffage, but "In Vain" thrashes brutally with no mercy, fast and sharp. "Killing For A Living" calms down a bit, a diverse semi-technical number with a pinch of stoner/doom recalling the guys' flirtations with that genre (remember (so many memories today!) "Playing With Spiders" from the "Years of Decay" and quite a bit from "I Hear Black"). More energetic headbanging thrash as a finishing touch with the closing "The SRC", after which one can not help but have high hopes for 2010 after such a headstart for thrash metal. The guys play with so much enthusiasm and gusto as though they have been missing from the scene for a whole decade and more; especially "Blitz" Ellsworth who delivers one of the greatest performances of his career. This album easily beats everything the band have created since "Horrorscope", making the fans feel like the "dark ages" of the 90's never happened.

Overkill EP, 1985
Feel the Fire Full-length, 1985
Taking Over Full-length, 1987
Fuck You EP, 1988
Under the Influence Full-length, 1988
The Years of Decay Full-length, 1989
Horrorscope Full-length, 1991
Live to the Core EP, 1992
I Hear Black Full-length, 1993
W.F.O. Full-length, 1994
Wrecking Your Neck promo EP, 1995
The Killing Kind Full-length, 1996
From the Underground and Below Full-length, 1997
Necroshine Full-length, 1999
Coverkill Full-length, 1999
Bloodletting Full-length, 2000
Killbox 13 Full-length, 2003
ReliXIV Full-length, 2005
Immortalis Full-Length, 2007
Ironbound Full-Length, 2010

OVERLOAD (CROATIA)

Melodic power/thrash metal is on offer here coming with great melodic lead guitars; will not be the first choice for the average thrash metal fan. The sound quality is too muddy for one to appreciate this stuff fully, but energetic tracks like "Sumrak" and "Kroz Noc" are too good to be completely buried without a trace in it.

Odlazak U Mrak Demo, 1990

OVERLOAD (FRANCE)

This obscure act plays thrash/crossover of the more laid-back type with frequent references to Motorhead and Rumble Militia. So expect cool melodic hooks, up-tempos and hoarse semi-growly vocals. The approach is kind of one-dimensional with the guys sticking to the up-pace the whole time, and the simplistic riffs seldom change from one song to another. "Nuclear Trash" is a strange composition, including very good acoustic guitars developing as a ballad for at least half of the time before the closing "Au Clair" exits the album with the most aggressive riffage and cool funky experiments.

The First One... (Won't be the Last One) Full-length, 1992

OVERLOAD (HUNGARY)

Based on "Zsarnok/Under the Heel", this band specializes in modern dry post-thrash which is mostly mid-tempo, but the riffs bite and scratch at times, and the overall delivery recalls the Germans Runamok. There are whole 18 songs here, so expect ballads, heavy/epic metal hymns, pure groovy delights, and the energetic power/speed metal cut "Vedge of Extinction" at the end.

Inkább Hõs... Full-length, 2005
Magányos Hõs EP, 2007
Zsarnok/Under the Heel Full-length, 2009

OVERLORD (CHILE)

A classic mix of thrash and death metal ala Massacra and Merciless; the singer shouts in a not very pleasant semi-hysterical manner, but the music packs a punch offering dynamic riffs and a few nice balladic passages ("Viaje A La Locura") which are cool "calms before the storm" since the dominant approach is pretty intense. The end comes in the form of a cover version of the heavy rockers Bloodgood's "Black Snake", done pretty faithfully, the major detraction, of course, being the unsuitable vocals.

Overlord EP, 2010

OVERLORD (PARAGUAY)

Based on the "For Metalmaniacs Only" demo, these guys pull out fairly cool early Germanic speed/thrash (for metal maniacs only, of course!) metal with mean Schmier-like vocals, which at some point take a rougher shade ala Uwe Dießenbacher (Toxic Shock). The tempo varies, as the dominant one is fast, and the mellower ones, ably helped by the nice melodic leads, which try to follow on the steps of Kai Hansen, could easily find a place on Helloween's "Walls of Jericho" or the two Vectom efforts: "The Omen". The majority, however, are all-out speed/thrashers along the lines of Exumer's debut and Toxic Shock. This is actually a compilation of the 1st demo and another rehearsal demo, but the style is the same: nice headbanging speed/thrash, which delivers the goods, despite the raw sound quality. The guys have another band: The Force, named after the Onslaught sophomore album.

Aggressive Assault Demo, 2002
For Metalmaniacs Only Demo, 2004

OVERTHRASH (BRAZIL)

Reportedly the band's first 2 demos were more in the hardcore/crossover spectre, not far from the style of their compatriots Ratos de Porao and early Prong, but the 2 songs on "Reality In Black" show more serious musicianship with mid to up-tempo riffs and clever semi-technical implements, reminiscent of MX's "Mental Slavery" and Dorsal Atlantica's mid-period. Too bad those songs are only 3/3.5-min long and leave these interesting decisions unfinished.

Demothrash I Demo, 1988
Demothrash II Demo, 1989
Reality In Black Single, 1991

OVERTHROW (CANADA)

Excellent fast, aggressive thrash metal with good technical riffs; early Sadus would be a good reference point, or perhaps Gammacide. The songs come together as one big relentless attack on your ears, and although you won't be able to remember much from the album later, the pure aggression of it will make you go back to it over and over again.

Within Suffering Full-length, 1990

OVIF (CANADA)

Two guys stand behind this energetic hardcore-ish modern thrash metal offering which nicely gets technical on occasion (the stylish Voivod-esque "Notik", a compelling abstract piece). "Mastery" is a cool wink at the Bay-Area bringing the classic spirit to the fore partially ruined by the sterile synthesized guitar sound. The rest is intense fast shred of the crossover/hardcore type ably supported by dramatic semi-clean vocals. The guys tear it loose at the end moving onto all-out thrash with the semi-technical galloper "Superieur", and the maddening Slayer-esque closer "13" (it's the 13th song).

Devast Full-length, 2008

OXIDATION (USA)

A blend of classic amd modern thrash, mostly heavy and mid-paced, slightly resembling Cerebral Fix, but with a more modern, somewhat mechanical sound. The vocals are a problem, though, being very screamy at times, with awful shouts, which should be avoided for the future if the band want to make a bigger impact on the scene. The lead guitar work is quite good, but somehow doesn't fit the otherwise not very impressive music.

Demo Demo, 2007

ÖRK BASTARDS (RUSSIA)

Based on the "Final Price" demo, this band plays gruff abrasive speed/thrash of the retro type with mean black metal vocals which are semi-whispers most of the time, and are hardly intelligible. The music is fast with several shades of hardcore/crossover, with simple samey guitars without any gimmicks.

Demo Demo, 2008
Ork Bastards / Meti Bhuvah Split, 2009
Final Price Demo, 2009

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