Copyright (c) 2007-2010 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE
0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 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.
Lucifer Master Full-length, 2002 Official Site 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.
From This Day Forward Full-length, 1990 My Space 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 (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 (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 vocal 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 My Space OBSCENE GESTURE (USA)
A band formed by two ex-members of Agent Steel (Chuck Profus 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 My Space 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 My Space 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 My Space 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 Official Site 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 My Space 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, blendig 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 OBSESSOS (BRAZIL)
A 4-song demo of really brutal thrash/proto-death, 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 sank 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'h heavy numbers ("Negligence").
Obskur Full-length, 1994 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 bad either (lol).
Obzidian EP, 2007 My Space OCCULT (HOLLAND)
A black/thrash metal band; their debut is mostly furious black metal with slight hints of 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 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.
Prepare To Meet Thy Doom Full-length, 1994 My Space 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 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 My Space 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 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.
Już 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 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 ODIOUS (GERMANY)
Modern groovy 90's thrash, 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 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 nice 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 Official Site OF RYTES (GERMANY)
The band where Mem Von Stein (Exumer) stopped for a while before his departure for the USA. "Without..." is by far one of the best 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; this is very moody, mostly mid-paced, technical/progressive thrash metal which has no precedent on the scene. 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", but surpasses it in musicianship on the best moments. 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 to mid-90's.
Without... Full-length, 1991 OFFENSIVE (JAPAN)
This is modern, groovy 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 some cool faster thrashers.
Existence Full-length, 2002 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 Official Site 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 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 way from the pattern a bit with both more epic and more melodic crossover riffs.
...Tak Sa Neposer EP, 2007 Official Site 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 My Space 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.
This World Isn't for Us Demo, 2009 OMAĎNEN (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 Full-length, 2006 Official Site 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 blsating 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 the whole time.
Blood, Steel & Fire Full-length, 2009
Unholy, Unwholesome and Evil Full-length, 2006
"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.
Nemesis Full-length, 1993
Cybervoid Full-length, 1995
Planet Claire EP, 1998
Carnivore Mothermouth Full-length, 1999
Dead At Dawn EP, 2003
Living in Profanity Full-length, 2007
Curse the Course Demo, 1991
Non Existendi Cultus Demo, 1992
When Darkness Comes EP, 2009
Promo Demo, 2009
Damnations Pride Demo, 1987
Damnations Pride EP, 1997
Ovations to Death EP, 1997
Damnations Pride Best of/Compilation, 1998
"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.
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
Agathocles/Occult Split, 2007
The New Prometheus 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
Lacerate the Betrayer Full-length, 2003
Total Laceration Full-length, 2009
Refine Full-length, 2000
Down with the Nails Full-length, 2006
"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 growls added to the mid-ranged clean 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.
Routes to Nowhere Demo, 2009