Copyright (c) 2007 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE

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R.A.M.B.O. (USA)

Thrashcore of the fast intense type, without completely missing in the melodic department; the problem is that from the whole 19 songs included there are barely two which slow down a bit to bring a change from the very one-dimensional, quickly wearing out delivery.

Bring IT! Full-Length, 2009

R.A.V.A.G.E. (USA)

This is the early incarnation of the legendary Atheist. Traces of technical death are, of course, nowhere to be found. On "Rotting in Hell": if we exclude the vicious, harsh vocals of Kelly Shaefer, there is nothing too aggressive or brutal here, although the music is quite intense: definitely thrash, but quite raw, with few moments of good musicianship, not miles away from early Hallows Eve, or Slayer's "Hell Awaits". The guitar sound is very thin, and sticks out of the other instruments to the point of annoyance.
The 1987 demos show a band ready to do some damage on a larger scale; the music is much better, with some cool aggressive parts, smelling death metal in a way similar to the Death debut, and these efforts are clearly some of the first full-blooded attempts at death metal, along with this album. "Undefiled Wisdom" is one of the first death metal pieces, a furious and violent number. "Hell Hath No Fury" is not too far behind, boasting some great guitar work, suggesting at bigger things to come in the near future. There are not too many technical deviations, but it was clear that these guys were having a lot more up their sleeve.

Rotting in Hell Demo, 1985
Raging Death vol. 1 Split album, 1987
On They Slay Demo, 1987
Hell Hath No Mercy Demo, 1987

R.A.W.W.A.R. (CANADA)

This is the band from where Alex Vachon (Quo Vadis, Cryptopsy) started his career in metal. He shows his infatuation with more technical play on this 5-song demo, which is fast furious thrash/death, not very far from the early exploits of Hellwitch. This is clearly one of the earliest attempts at pure death (check out the bombs "Rawwar" and "Delirium"), as the concentration is strictly on speed and aggression, with a few semi-technical licks present here and there. The bass work is quite good, overshadowing the amateurish screaming leads, and the singer does a good job with his vicious semi-death shouts.

Delirium Demo, 1988

R.I.P. (MEXICO)

Based on "Las Damas De Salem", R.I.P. are a power/thrash metal band with nice melodic guitar work. Their style is similar to the Argentinians Hermetica. Don't expect lashing, sharp thrashy riffs- tracks like the intense killers "Cirrosis" and "Arsenico" are not too many; the other material offered is mid-paced, melodic power/thrash, with numerous nods to the classic heavy metal scene.
"Demencia Extrema" is uneventful groovy 90's post-thrash which suddenly livens up with more aggressive riffage, but these switches are awkward and not that frequent. Still, this effort doesn't lack energy and sharpness although the latter asset is mostly due to the buzz-like guitar sound. Near the end the guys "lose" it, and start thrashing in a furious Sepultura-sque manner with the merciless "Berfagor" which remains the only pleasant surprise.

Placer Insano Full-length, 1990
Las Damas de Salem Full-length, 1992
Demencia Extrema Full-length, 1996

R.I.P. (PERU)

This Peruvian trio unleash quite brutal, death-tinged thrash, which is constantly fast, both on the longer and shorter compositions. The constant blasting makes the tracks merge into one another, and some more variety would only be beneficial for the future, but not in the form of mellow, heavy metal numbers like "Minotauro 2". "Reaccion Cadena" is a cool attempt at a more complex song-writing, and has its moments, switching from super-fast parts to better slower ones, where the guitars sound atmospheric, supported by the strong bass work.

Ejecución sin Misericordia Demo, 2008

My Space

R.I.V. (BRAZIL)

Aggressive, fast-paced thrash, a direct take on Ratos De Porao's "Brazil"; short, blitzkrieg tracks, with scattered touches of grind and hardcore. Sometimes the speed goes over the line, in a way similar to Wehrmacht, but these moments sound even better, as sheer aggression is the order of the day here.

Is This a Modern World Full-Length, 1993

R.O.T. (USA)

American power metal meets thrash; the result is not bad, mid-tempo, reminiscent of the Savatage debut and early Laaz Rockit. "Fight" richly deserves its title, speeding up admirably, being a nice little headbanger. "War Stories", on the other extreme, sounds almost epic, but comes up with cool guitar melodies, and war-like choruses.

War Stories Demo, 1987

RABBATH AMMON (JORDAN)

The second band from Jordan to grace these pages after Ajdath; black/thrash metal with a slightly monotonous feeling, modern sounding, with a use of a drum computer which creates a somewhat artificial, mechanical atmosphere. There are a few stylish atmospheric, gothic-tinged moments, but generally this is not something really worth checking out, at least from a thrash metal point-of-view.

Rabbath Ammon Demo, 2005
Ammonites' Knights' Nights Single, 2006

Fan Site

RABBIT JUNK (USA)

Modern post-thrash, melodic stuff, with alternative and metalcore borrowings, and a couple of vocal styles quarreling within; the odd brutal track is certainly here ("Black"), but those moments are very rare.

This Life Is Where You Get Fucked Full-Length, 2008

RABBIT'S CARROT (SWEDEN)

The Swedish metal underground is full with demos like these: typical late 80's thrash of the aggressive variety with some fast, proto-death moments and some attempts at a more ambitious song-writing ("My Own Leprocy").

Question Of Pain Demo, 1989

RABID (USA, California)

Based on the "Led to the Gallows" demo: despite the bad sound quality, this effort pulls out well done speed/thrash metal, reminiscent of the Whiplash and the Agent Steel debuts, with some nice attempts at a more technical play ("Deadly Obsession").

Demo Demo, 1985
Led to the Gallows Demo, 1986

RABID (USA, New York)

The band's early demos have nothing to do with thrash metal, being brutal death/grind. On their only official release so far they have suddenly switched to thrash, and have done quite a good job, with a sound reminding of many veterans from the 80's- Razor, Kreator, Destruction, among others. The band play fast and tight most of the time, with only "Metal Massacre" being a slower, but also a nice heavy thrasher. This is definitely one of the more impressive debuts from the thrash metal field in 2007.

Annihilation Full-length, 2007

Official Site

RABID CAPTOR (USA)

A 3-song demo of aggressive proto-death/thrash metal reminiscent of Slayer's "Reign in Blood" and Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends".

Last Rites Demo, 1990

RACE WAR (GERMANY)

Based on the debut: melodic thrash/crossover which, along with the more energetic, jolly numbers features some heavier, but slower ones ("Helliger Krieg"), which work better, because it's where the guitars sound sharper. There are a few tender ballads as well, and a few punk-ish tracks. "Stimme des Blutes" is a soft hard rock affair, mixed with a huge doze of punk; no shades of thrash whatsoever, although some may find the melodies inside catchy and singalong.

Kingdom Of Hate Full-Length, 2004
Stimme des Blutes Full-Length, 2005

RADAR (RUSSIA)

This Russian duo comes up with very good classic instrumental thrash, often reminiscent of the Metallica instrumental pieces of the 80's; actually this is the "child" of only one musician, going under the pseudonim Ravendark, who uses the services of a singer (Britva), whenever needed. This is really music worth hearing: sharp, straight thrash, in various tempos and moods, but never too technical or complex; the approach is not too distant from the one of another one man project: The National Cemetery Orchestra, or the Canadians Mastery, on the faster compositions (the excellent energetic "V"- all the tracks are numbers, without titles). There is some nice keybord background to be heard, and the closing "VII" is an impressive combination of doom and thrash, with nods to Metallica's "To Live Is To Die". The sound quality is crystal clear, and a full-length of the same material would be definitely worth checking out.

Shemhamfothrash! Demo, 2008

RADIATION SICKNESS (USA)

Based on the "Elvis Ain't Dead" demo, this band play thrash/crossover which recalls Cerebral Fix's "Life Sucks...and Then You Die!", maybe more brutal and hardcore-ish at times, with clear grind-core pretensions (Elvis Ain't Dead"). Reportedly on the later efforts the guys have increased the intensity by adding some death metal-styled guitars.

We are All the Victims Demo, 1988
Elvis Ain't Dead Demo, 1989
More Than Death - Volume I Split, 1990
Bounds of Reality EP, 1990
The Other Me - A Journey Into Insanity EP, 1990
Circle of Sickness (1988-1990) Best of/Compilation, 2005

RADICAL (URUGUAY)

A modern, and not really striking version of thrash/crossover do these guys play, with a shade of hardcore on the shorter tracks, and some occasional brutal tendencies, where they get obsessed by grind even ("Pelea"). Among the speedy thrashers, there are some more moderate ones ("Kerosene"), but the problem is that they try to imitate Pro-Pain and other 90's acts. Others, on the other hand, are bland alternative experiments, pale copies of what bands like Tool or Helmet offer ("Milagro"). The industrial death/thrasher "Salvame" is the only song, which matches the very cool Slayer-esque opener "Technosis".

Radio EP, 2005
Perfecto Infierno Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RADIOLOKATOR (CZECH)

The guys have just two songs released so far showing an act capable of pulling out pretty decent early Germanic speed/thrash also not far from the early efforts of their compatriots Kryptor to whom half of their discography so far is dedicated: "Rychlost Vitezi".

Nunslaughter / Radiolokator Split, 2009

RAGE (GERMANY)

One of the most respectable and most prolific German metal bands, earlier known as Avenger (one full-length and one EP were released under that name), Rage's beginnings are firmly rooted in thrash metal boasting some energetic, technical riffs and great memorable songs. Their thrash metal past jumps up here and there on their later works, but the style is full-blooded power/speed metal: one of the finest of its kind, and also recommended for thrash metal fans.
"Reign of Fear" is a sure-handed debut, with their style almost fully shaped. The music is energetic and sharp, and here one can easily hear all the trade marks of the band: the very catchy memorable choruses, the forceful semi-clean vocals of Peter "Peavy" Wagner, the fast-paced semi-technical guitar work, etc. The guys here provide some blistering, speedy thrashers: the excellent "Deceiver", the opening "Scared to Death", the speed metal killer "Hand of Glory", the speed/thrashing furies "Echoes of Evil" and "Machinery". The more melodic side is also here, in the form of the softer, slower "Reign of Fear", "Raw Energy", and the fine heavy metal hymn "Chaste Flesh". The closing "Scaffold" fortunately comes at the end, otherwise it would have spoiled the fun, being a very long heavy, and a bit boring, ballad.
"Execution Guaranteed" is a strong follow-up, with tighter, and heavier guitar work. The album starts with a great speed/thrashing trio ("Before The Storm", "Deadly Error", "Down By Law"), before "Execution Guaranteed" slows down with smashing riffage, being a very satisfying heavy technical thrasher. "Grapes Of Wrath" is a marvellous technical instrumental, one of the band's finest achievements. The album loses speed and intensity after that, and "Streetwolf" could be considered the analogue to the long balladic closer of the debut: it's heavy, monotonous, partially saved by the more up-tempo final section. The last song "When You`re Dead" is a revelation, finishing the album the way it started: in a brisk speed/thrashing manner.
"Perfect Man" is the band's best work, along with "Trapped" (1992). All the 14 tracks are utterly compelling power/speed/thrash anthems, although thrash metal steps down, playing a secondary role. Speed/thrash metal hymns ("Wasterland", "Supersonia Hydromatic", "Don't fear the Winter", "A Pilgrim's Path", "Betweeen the Lines") take turns with more laid-back power metal ones ("Death in the Afternoon", "Time and Place", "Sinister Thinking", "The Darkest Hour"). There's no way you won't fall in love with this magnificent stuff- simple, direct, catchy metal at its best, which marked the end of their aggressive, early period.

Reign of Fear Full-length, 1986
Execution Guaranteed Full-length, 1987
Perfect Man Full-length, 1988

Official Site

RAGER (UK)

A good 4-track demo of classic aggressive thrash in the vein of Slayer (both their more aggressive, and more laid back period) and Sepultura ("Arise"). The songs are fast and intense, with the exception of "Idiot Circus", which is an exercise on heavy, crushing riffage.

Pray For Death EP, 2007

My Space

RAGING FURY (JAPAN)

With their first demo released in 1986, Raging Fury are actually the first real thrash metal band from Japan. Based on the "Wolf Spider" demo, these guys pull out good fast thrash metal tunes with a slight crossover element ("Donald Duck"); a really good start for the Japanese thrash metal scene.
The "The Rattlesnake Rules" is only 2 songs, both of which show the band carrying on in the same vein, moshing out crossover-laced speedy thrashers, this time longer, but without too many ados.

Raging Fury Demo, 1986
Wolf-Spider Demo, 1987
The Rattlesnake Rules EP, 1988
Raging Fury Full-length, 1992
Deal you a fatal Blow EP, 1999

Official Site

RAINSPAWN (ITALY)

One of the promising young Italian thrash metal bands, Rainspawn really pull it out with some really good technical thrash similar to mid-period Megadeth on "No Escape". However, the whole album is not sustained in this vein, and at times one can hear some more uninspired moments as though the guys didn't quite trust themselves that they could come up with a masterpiece like "Rust In Piece". "Buried Alive" is an impressive opener, setting the Megadeth influenced tone of the album, being quite an energetic technical thrasher. But then comes "The Execution", which at least in the first half features some more melodic, slightly funky guitars, and the listener already has something in mind. But after it the music accumulates a lot of inertia, and the dull moments are few; maybe "The Time Warp" is one, with its speedy riffs ala early Scanner and the catchy happy chorus; it's just a joke song, I guess. What follows, however, is the album's highlight: an excellent instrumental, which boasts great lead guitar work, and the long complex, but very satisfying "Two Month Sleep", which will remind you of several tracks from Megadeth's "Rust in Peace" put together (you sort them out).

Messenger Of Death EP, 2000
No Escape Full-length, 2004

Official Site

RAISE CAIN (SWEDEN)

One of the first bands from Sweden who followed on the steps of Pantera and Machine Head; this is heavy groovy 90's thrash, mixed with some hardcore in the Pro-Pain vein. There are both some hard-hitting and some more light-hearted moments; for fans of the genre these guys are well worth tracking down.

Call It Whatever You Want EP, 1994
Stench Full-length, 1995

RAISE HELL (SWEDEN)

Having started as a pure black metal band on their debut, the guys quickly jumped on the more fashionable thrash wagon with the follow-up which was still not cleared of all the black metal "remnants". "Babes" sounds like a leftover from Kreator's "Outcast", but the intensity increases later on with the pounding "Back Attack", and the aggressive "Soulcollector". The band don't aim at the very fast and brutal dimensions of the genre, and some melodic, pleasant, black-ish songs are also around: "Devylin".
"Wicked Is My Game" is a great work, with very sharp, cutting riffs; although often citing Destruction as their idols, the band's music is not a very close soundalike to the Germans. The music is mid-paced, with very timid attempts at more speed ("Deathrace" is an example of the latter), infused with melodic hooks and good choruses. "Hellborn" uses the theme from the cult horror film "Halloweeen" as a base for a fine sinister thrasher, the highlight of the album.
"City of the Damned" is a real disappointment, a U-Turn from the band's biting thrash style, into a more melodic variation of modern thrash, similar to what The Haunted did on "The Dead Eye".

Holy Target Full-length, 1998
Not Dead Yet Full-length, 2000
Wicked Is My Game Full-length, 2002
To the Gallows EP, 2006
City of the Damned Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RAISE THE DEAD (UK)

A modern blend of thrash and death metal, with cool guitar work, and some occasional technical implements. The guys vary the tempo from mid-paced to faster: check out the nice headbanger "Cloak of Mist".

Hymns of War EP, 2005

Official Site

RAISING FEAR (PORTUGAL)

Aggressive thrash/death sounding like a more deathy "Beneath the Remains", with moments also reminding early Death; this is fast music, never brutal, with deep death throaty vocals and straight sharp riffs. "Gone Mad" is obviously a leftover from some early demo, being mellower early thrash ala Slayer's "Hell Awaits". The guys concentrated more on their other project Genocide, with whom they released 2 full-lengths and 3 demos of brutal death/grind.

Raising Fear Demo, 1994

RAMMER (CANADA)

One of the new Canadian thrash metal bands of the new millennium, Rammer offer a very potent mixture of old school thrash, black and death metal (mostly on the band's new album). The German thrash metal scene is an obvious influence on the band's sound- Kreator and Sodom, in particular, the latter especially in the vocal department (think of a more vicious version of Tom Angelripper). Apart from some occasional metalcore moments ("Rammer"), everything here is done with style and competence.

Incinerator and Krusher Full-length, 2002
Suffer EP, 2003
Cancer Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RAMMING SPEED (USA)

The full-length is an energetic simplistic slab of classic thrash/crossover, owing much to acts like Ludichrist, The Accused and Leeway. The guys thrash with conviction, relying mostly on speed and catchiness, adding the odd sense of humour in the song-titles: "Shane Embury Is the Brad Pitt of Grindcore". The surprise comes at the end, with the closing heavy metal hymn with the very appropriate title "Heavy Metal Thunder", which sound as though directly taken from some of the 80's works of Saxon or Diamond Head.

Full Speed Ahead EP, 2007
Brainwreck Full-length, 2008

My Space

RAMP (PORTUGAL)

"Thoughts" is one of the finest thrash metal albums which the Portuguese metal scene ever produced, a classic thrash masterpiece, fast and technical at the same time, bringing to mind Death Angel's "The Ultra Violence", but with a more technical edge. The vocals are of the clean type, with some adherence to high-toned rough shouts. The sound runs away from the thrash formula into epic heavy metal fields in the middle- "The Last Child", and "Try Again", which is a cover of a rock'n roll number, which author I don't know; Tankard have the same cover made on "The Morning After" (could be a Tankard cover?). But the guys gain speed again on the last three songs-awesome trashers gracefully finishing this great album. The band's future career follows closely on the steps of Pantera and Machine Head, and is not that bad, with some really aggressive, but derivative approach.
"Visions" brings some more life into the band's rigid approach, adhering to some more brutal riffage, still far from the classical standards, but entertaining enough, when it comes cleared of the groove and the Black Album-like leanings. The guitars hit hard on quite a few times, and for fans of the angry, modern side of thrash there is a lot to be enjoyed.

Thoughts Full-length, 1992
Intersection Full-length, 1995
Evolution, Devolution, Revolution Full-length, 1998
Nude Full-length, 2003
Planet Earth EP, 2005
Visions Full-length, 2009

Official Site

RAMPAGE (AUSTRALIA)

This band was founded by two members of the Australian thrashers Hobb's Angel Of Death, after they left their previous band. The style here is more ambitious, with some slight technical tendencies, not too far from Liege Lord's "Master's Control", but with a more aggressive attitude, and a worse sound quality. The band show skill at thrashing with more intensity- "Acid Storm", "Producers' Edge", but their slower, more technical side is kind of more appealing: "Sinister at Sunrise", "Satrap". The guys were surely going somewhere, but they never recorded again.

Veil of Mourn Full-length, 1988

Vibrations of Doom

RAMPANT DECAY (USA)

Brutal thrashcore with grind-y overtones, not for the faint-hearted; the guys relieve the pressure by inserting the odd heavy break, but most of the time they bash with no mercy in a not very intelligible half-The Accused, half-Cryptic Slaughter manner with an updater modern sound.

Antisocial Death March EP, 2008

RAMROD (USA)

This band were supposed to be the continuation of the mighty Liege Lord, after a lengthy, 6-year break. Well conformed with the 90's tastes, this 3-song demo also has a slight classic flavour, but is more along the lines of Flotsam & Jetsam's "Cuatro" and 90's Overkill, rather than the early works of Liege Lord. This is the reason, I guess, why the guys continued their career in Overkill after this solitary effort, and some of them were also later seen in other famous American metal acts (Annihilator, Anvil, etc.).

Promo Tape Demo, 1994

RAMSES (MEXICO)

Based on "Guerreros del Metal", this band pulls out melodic speed/thrash with virtuous lead guitar performance which beats by miles the other instruments. The style is a sure-handed forerunner to the 90's power/speed metal scene, with the sing-along choruses and the soaring clean vocals. The album is a mix of slow and fast tracks, with the slower material carrying a stronger thrashy "colouring". But the speedy songs are really a wonder to listen to, with the great melodic hooks and leads. "Adicto A La Velocidad" is a mighty speed/thrasher which goes away with all the "laurels" in both departments. "Sedientos De Poder" adds some technicality to the speed, but the closer "Necropolis" will shoot you at close range, with its machine gun-like riffage and galloping tempo.

Apocalipsis Full-length, 1985
Guerreros del Metal Full-length, 1988
Pon Tu Cerebro A Remojar EP, 1991
Delirio De Desastre Full-length, 1992

Fan Site

RANCID DECAY (USA)

Based on the Best of Compilation, which contains almost the whole discography of the band from the 80's, this act plays violent aggressive thrash/crossover quite close to Wehrmacht, and those 3 demos could well be placed right beside Slayer's "Reign in Blood" and Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" as one of the early extreme works from The States. The music here is less serious perhaps, with nods to hardcore as well, but "Silent Scream" on the other hand could easily pass for one of the first takes on brutal proto-death metal.

Decaying Stench Demo, 1986
You Had to Be Eliminated Because You Are Breathing Our Air Demo, 1986
Rancid Decay - Live at Hung Jury Pub Demo, 1986
Presumed Dead Best of/Compilation, 2004

Official Site

RANCOR (SPAIN)

This is cool classic power/thrash metal: mid-paced, with some occasional fast moments and some nice melodic guitar work. The overall style recalls Ultimatum or early Imagika.

Death Is Everywhere EP, 2006

Official Site

RANDAGI (ITALY)

Based on "Seismic Area", this act play jolly funky crossover-tinged thrash, quite melodic and happy to be taken seriously by most thrash fans. Some tracks are too bland and toothless to keep your attention, a situation worsened by the weak vocals, sounding like an impotent mix between Ozzy and Denis "Snake" Bélanger (Voivod). The better moments are those where speed steps down for the sake of some power heavy riffs ala 90's Flotsam ("Seismic Area"), but they are so few that at first listen one may completely miss them, and a second listen is not very likely to take place...

Hard States of Conciousness Full-length, 1990
Seismic Area Full-length, 1991

RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE (USA)

The full-lengths provides a wild frenetic mixture of thrash, hardcore, punk and even grind. The songs are not very short, developed well beyond the spontaneous outburst. The apporach is predictably fast, and the vocals are suitably hoarse and shouty with a gruffer death metal flavour at times. The guitar work gets occasiional technical dimensions on some tracks which shouldn't be a surprise having in mind that Phil Dubois-Coyne (Cryptic Warning, Revocation) is responsible for them.

Unleashing Full-length, 2003
Cathartes Aura EP, 2005

Official Site

RANDOM DAMAGE (CANADA)

Modern power/thrash metal close to 90's Flotsam & Jetsam; this is heavy, mid-paced stuff, spiced with quite a few slower, almost doomy parts, including one acoustic ballad as a finishing touch: "Calm Before The Storm", (again a reference to the Flotsams (their 1990 album), although nothing really stormy comes after this one. It sounds appealing, when it speeds up ("Shut Your Mouth", "Broken Mirror"), but this doesn't happen that often.

Random Damage Full-length, 1995
Human Flytrap Full-length, 1998

Official Site

RANDOM MULLET (FINLAND)

Based on the "Lifeless" demo: this is very technical/progressive stuff, which at its best comes close to the Canadians Electro Quarterstuff. This is not all-out thrash all the time, but has its furious thrashy moments: "The Statement", "Penetrated Skin" and "Infected" are fine examples of the latter, but the guys never settle for something more ordinary, and all compositions are filled with various tempo changes and atmospheric, semi-balladic passages, where the guitars lose their cutting edge, and then come the clean, melodic vocals which give the sound a distinctive, but not very desirable semi-alternative edge. There is a lot happening here, especially on the 9-min epic "Waters of Shame", which is an impressive work of progressive, thought-out metal. The thrash metal fan should give this band a listen; those who like their metal more complex and non-conventional, would certainly be not disappointed.
The demo is 3 songs of technical/progressive modern thrash, but the clean vocals, which are more clearly accentuated here, and the melodic breaks kind of leave something more to be desired. "Transmission" is the best song, quite dynamic and edgy, whereas "Alive Six Feet Under" is a bit heavy-handed Meshuggah-esque mechanical affair, and "A Moment in Nowhere" is a cool semi-ballad, with the initial quiet balladic parts sounding much better than the closing groovy noisy tunes.
"Remission" is 3 tracks of more ordinary semi-progressive modern post-thrash having almost nothing to do with the band's excellent debut demo, except for the more intense passage from "Asshats"; the rest is not really worth your attention being a very typical for more recent (and not so recent) times attempt at "injecting" a more technical/serious doze of music to the already tired 90's groovy patterns.

Lifeless Demo, 2005
Infection EP, 2007
Remission EP, 2009

Official Site

RAPED APE (USA)

With a name like this, one would expect hard or even grind-core. Well, there's nothing like that here; this is some very good classic Bay Area thrash, with quite stylish guitar work, akin to Exodus and Testament, with a dual vocal attack: rough death metal growls and more typical thrashy ones ala more aggressive Max Cavalera. The music is quite hard-hitting, having also shades from Sepultura's best period ("Beneath the Remains", "Arise"): "Land of Promises". The concentration is not on speed, but on heavy, crushing riffage with a nice semi-technical edge. Unfortunately this work is only 6 tracks. Later some members continued their career under the name Paingod.

Terminal Reality Full-length, 1993

Official Site

RAPED GOD (MEXICO)

A promising new band from Mexico who play death/thrash metal with more emphasis on death, but with some good semi-technical thrash riffs, too. The sound is quite heavy and pounding, accompanied by sparce furious blast-beats, with a very occasional use of the lead guitar.

Raped God Full-length, 2004

My Space

RAPED GOD 666 (MEXICO)

This is the same band, known as just Raped God previously (see the review above), who had to change their name because of the clash with the former singer for the old name. The style here is pretty much the same, but more thrash-based, and to these ears better sounding. The new singer does a very good job, with a semi-clean, rough voice, close to Katon W. DePena (Hirax). The music is fast and intense, combining the German thrash trends with some Slayer-esque parts. Actually death metal-like intensity is almost nowhere to be found, with very few exceptions: sections from "The Eyes Of Hate", "The Hellbeast", etc. "Metal, Muerte, Destruccion" is a smashing thrashterpiece; a raging instrumental, which starts in a calmer, softer way, before it turns into a ball of fury later on.

The Executioner Full-length, 2008

My Space

RAPID DECAY (USA)

Based on "Thrashin' Undead", this is good 80's thrash with some slight crossover elements, reminiscent of Suicidal Tendencies' more thrashy releases. The production is slightly dull, putting the drums too much forward. The tracks are fast and short except the last one- "Commanding Legions Of The Walking Dead", which is a nice deviation from the straight formula.

Rapid Decay Full-length, 2003
Thrashin' Undead Full-length, 2004

Official Site

RAPID FIRE (POLAND)

Quite cool classic thrash, with a few modern implements, mid-paced, not very aggressive, with nice melodic guitars, and good mid-ranged, semi-clean vocals. Some tracks have a more modern, also alternative shade, including two ballads, where the singer is by all means the star of the show (the 2nd demo), as opposed to the more hard-hitting numbers, mostly in the 1st demo.

Demo Demo, 2002
Demo 2 Demo, 2003

Official Site

RAPID FORCE (SERBIA)

This band were founded by a former guitarist of another Serbian thrash metal band- Heller. Based on "Apotheosis Of War", Rapid Force's style is not pure classic thrash like the other band; their sound is heavier, with more modern tendencies, reminding of 90's Overkill. There is also a certain 80's spirit here, recalling late 80's Metallica. The musicianship is particularly good, with some impressive solos and a great bass bottom.
"Burst Under Pressure" sees the band having grasped the groovy tendencies much tighter, following on the steps of early Machine Head and Pantera closely. Some successful attempts at stoner/doom ala Down can one hear as well ("Eyes For An Eye"), as well as a very good thrashing up-tempo closer ("A Song For Me").

Apotheosis Of War Full-length, 1993
Burst Under Pressure Full-length, 2008

My Space

RAPTOR (ARGENTINA)

Modern groovy post-thrash made by the same guys who have a much more consistent career under the name A.N.I.M.A.L.; one can hear some faster classic riffs from time to time, but these are more of "remnants" from a previous formation rather than a suggestion for a future direction to be taken.

Raptolandia Full-length, 1995

RASPATUL (SINGAPORE)

A typical for modern times mixture of thrash, black, and death metal. It has its moments, though, and at times the music takes a nice technical turn, or comes up with a cool headbanging riff, or descends into atmospheric gothic/black ala mid-90's Rotting Christ; there are also some ultra brutal death metal passages.

Devils In Renewed Birth Full-length, 2007

Official Site

RASPUTINS (DENMARK)

3 tracks of modern groovy post-thrash; stoner/doom, alternative and even grunge are also covered; how did they manage to do that within just 3 songs... but, please, don't bother to check out! You're going to hate yourselves...

Skull Hurts EP, 1995

RATOS DE PORÃO (BRAZIL)

Although this band boast one of the longest running careers on the Brazilian metal scene, it's the albums featured here that are of importance to thrash metal. The band's hardcore past is obvious on "Dirty And Aggressive", but "Brazil" smashes everything in its way with its uncompromising, hard-hitting thrash and short, straight-in-your-face tracks. "Anarkophobia" is another very strong release, with a more serious song- writing, but with the same direct, take-no-prisoners attitude. Their next work is less thrashy, paving the way for the return to a more hardcore-based sound.

Cada Dia Mais Sujo e Agressivo / Dirty and Aggressive Full-length, 1987
Brasil / Brazil Full-length, 1989
Anarkophobia Full-length, 1990
Just Another Crime in Massacreland Full-length, 1993

Official Site

RATTLEHEAD (USA)

Melodic speed/power/thrash (based on the debut), strongly recalling Meliah Rage, Destructor, and other 80's American acts; there is not much thrash to be heard here, but the catchy melodic hooks will keep you entertained ("Devil's Workshop", above all, where the guitar work is really impressive). The intro and outro are awkward silent tracks, with barely anything to be heard.

Responsible Moshing? Full-Length, 2004
Step Inside for the Slaughter Full-Length, 2008

RATZINGER (CHILE)

This is typical groovy thrash, the way it used to be played in the 90's; if you like mid-period Prong ("Beg to Differ", above all) and the last two Accuser works, there's no way you won't like this. There's a few moshing parts in the vein of Pantera and Machine Head, but mostly this is minimalistic music, with little variety offered.

Under Attack EP, 2005
State Enemy Full-length, 2007

Official Site

RATZKRIEG (USA)

This band really deserve to be more known, because their only demo is a good example of an early thrash/death blend. The style draws comparisons to Benediction, but the British band haven't been founded at that time yet. The vocals are also similar to Dave Ingram's. In the slower parts one could hear shades of the other British death metal giants- Bolt Thrower. So what is this band doing here? Like I already wrote, this is not entirely death metal; songs like "Retribution" and "A New World" carry the Slayer-esque thrash spirit pretty well. A very rare item, but well worth the time to track down.

Black Reality Demo, 1989

RAVAGE (GERMANY)

A nice fusion of death and thrash metal with both technical and fast guitar work involved at times; there are two vocal styles on the albums: one is low death growl, the other is higher-pitched snarl close to Kelly Shaefer from Atheist. Music-wise the band are similar to Defleshed from Sweden or the Dutch Thanatos (more technical than the former, and less technical than the latter). "Infernal Devastation" is more thrash/death metal-based, with more frequent brutal outbursts (parts from "Infinite Hate", "Execution Call" and elsewhere), whereas "Get Fucking Slaughtered" clings more towards thrash metal, with nods to Destruction in the guitar department. The songs are short, direct, speedy smashers, except for "Blazing Chaos", which is longer, and more complex.
"Violent Offense" offers another thrash/death mixture, but this time the sound is clearly on the modern side, with the Swedish school more than just slightly hinted at. There is more concentration on the death metal side in the beginning with the 2 raging openers where the guys spare no speed, but then they slow down, for the dark stomping "Systematic Anguish", and the excellent more melodic instrumental "Marooned". Death metal steps aside after those two, and the continuation is in the form of fast brisk thrashers: "Disposer Of Cruelty", "Apocalyptic Raid". Near the end the aggression comes back; death metal shows up, and the blend delivers, with "Christian Deception" even trying to sneak something technical into the album. Although in terms of speed this recording may even surpass the previous two ones, the reliance on trite modern patterns makes it a less interesting listen in the long run.

Infernal Devastation Full-length, 2003
Get Fucking Slaughtered Full-length, 2005
Violent Offense Full-length, 2008

Official Site

RAVEN BITCH (USA)

American power metal meets thrash; the style is similar to a more aggressive Attacker.

Tear Down the Walls EP, 1987

Official Site

RAVENOUS (AUSTRIA)

The finest Austrian thrash metal output so far, this one-album-wonder will make your day with its sure-handed technical riffs and fast energetic pace. The vocals are a bit of a letdown, with their rough, low-tuned delivery, closer to death metal rather than thrash. The overall style resembles quite a lot Mandator's "Perfect Progeny", with the steel riffage and the aggressive delivery. The energetic play is seldom interrupted; the songs are speedy, and are not really complex experiences, except for the great multi-layered technical opus "Welcome Terrible", and the shorter, but equally as intriguing instrumental "Psycho Trilogy". "H.O.G." slows down to mid-pace, but comes up with some nice crushing guitars, and is the only deviation from the speedy formula.

Book of Coventous Souls Full-length, 1991

RAVENSTHORN (USA)

Few are the bands nowadays which pay such a great tribute to the 80's American power/thrash metal scene. The debut is massive slab of classic power/thrash, summing the best from the 80's works of acts like Helstar, Manilla Road, Liege Lord, early Overkill, Meliah Rage, Anvil, etc. "House of the Damned" is a sprawling power/thrash metal composition with an epic feeling in the best tradition of late 80's Manilla Road, mixing fast-paced sections with heavy, almost doomy ones. The singer is a great asset, delivering dramatic mid to high-ranged vocals, always keeping a nice melodic blend throughout. "Lament Configuration" thrashes more intensely, with great steam-rolling, sharp riffs, in a fine up-tempo, and a cool lead-driven outro. "Lust for a Vampire" carries on in the same spirit, maybe a tad slower and more power metal-based, and with higher-pitched vocals. "Ouija" could be annoying in the beginning, with the overlong 1.5-min intro of an ouija ritual, but then the guys start lashing without mercy, and this track is a thrash delight of the highest order, also boasting fine lead performance. "Possessed By Evil" again starts with a slightly long-ish intro, but this small gem is all-out speed/thrash at its uncompromising best, reminding me of the Flotsam & Jetsam debut, among others. "Up from the Crypt" is a very cool heavy mid-tempo number, with samey, but catchy pounding riffage. "Walk with the Undead" is highlighted by superb bass performance, followed by a slab of first class headbanging thrash, interrupted by a couple of slower, more melodic sections, one of which is a breath-taking acoustic guitar-driven one. "Wolf Witchery" is energetic speed/thrash, which never slows down for a split second, providing some of the finest headbanging moments on this very strong debut.
"Hauntings And Possessions" is a commendable follow-up, but can not rank as high as its predecessor. it's more power metal-sounding, acquiring at times softer heavy metal tendencies ("Buried In The Basement", the cool haunting theme on "Buried In The Basement"). "The Ring" introduces some up-tempo dark thrashy riffage, paving the way for "Lost In Darkness": smashing fast-paced thrash, but the gained inertia is lost on the next "Hand of a Killer". "Possessed By Evil" thrashes like there's no tomorrow again: who cares that this is actually the same song from the debut. "Bloodthirst Of Dracula" is the analogy to the "House of the Damned" from the debut: a long, progressively-laced composition, opting for some more technical play, without forgetting about the faster, more aggressive side of the style. This is by no means a very big step down for the guys, who remain true to their roots, giving their music a wider appeal, with a cool nod to other genres apart from thrash.

House of the Damned Full-length, 2002
Hauntings And Possessions Full-length, 2004

My Space

RAVING MAD (SWEDEN)

Based on the "A Dazzling Display" 2-song demo, this is power/thrash similar to Manninya Blade (the band from whom Hexenhaus originated), and early Laaz Rockit.

Expirience II Demo, 1986
A Dazzling Display Single, 1987
Master Mind Demo, 1989
Lethal Greed Single, 1990
Pure Existence Demo, 1991

RAW ENERGY (USA)

One of the least successful attempts at crossing traditional metal with thrash from the American metal scene; the band incorporate some thrashy riffs, but they get buried in the mish-mash which also includes power, heavy metal, doom and even something more. This could have sounded better on a full-length, but in an only 4-song EP such a mixture is awkward, to say the least.

White Stallion EP, 1988

Vibrations of Doom

RAW HIDE (PARAGUAY)

A really awesome start for the guys who later went on to form the excellent act Corrosion. The music here is less adventurous, but equally as effective, being more aggressive thrash, very similar to Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains" (could have been an influence on the Brazilians, and it was released earlier- kidding, of course! But... you never know), but with a more technical edge. The tempo is fast and relentless, with some interesting guitar moments which later found full realisation on the Corrosion album.

Caceria Humana Demo, 1989

RAW IN SECT (GREECE)

A 3-song demo of very cool technical thrash/death metal of the heavy, mid-paced to up-tempo variety; at times the music might remind you of Bolt Thrower ("The IV Crusade", "For Victory"), but with a more technical and thrashy edge. Shades of mid-period Death ("Human") could also be heard as well as some slight jazz-y moments ala Cynic on "Meeting My Ecstasy". Mixing all that together, this band manage to come up with their own style which, hopefully, will develop further on their official releases.

Demo Demo, 2007

Official Site

RAWHEAD (USA)

Based on the first demo: these guys come up with very cool, stylish technical thrash, which is hectic and jumpy, but never too fast, strictly in the classic mould which, when it takes more chaotic and frantic proportions ("Stillborn"), sounds even more compelling, recalling such greats in the technical thrash camp, like Savage Steel and Terrahsphere. The untitled track at the end is a more direct, heavy thrasher in the Bay-Area vein.

Something Crushes Spine Demo. 1991
Bones of All Men Demo, 1993

RAWWAR (CANADA)

This is the band from where the Cryptopsy guitar player Alex Vachon started his career. The music is very fast and brutal, with Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill" the prime target for worship. Some happy, crossover moments can also be found here ("Razzle"), but the rest is relentless, devastating thrash which would please most fans of the genre.

Delirium Demo, 1988

RAYDEAD (AUSTRIA)

One of the very few thrash metal bands from Austria; this is more of a death/thrash mixture; fans of Protector will enjoy this. Some shades of Benediction could also be heard in the faster parts.

Raydead EP, 1991
End In Sight Full-length, 1993

RAZA DE ODIO (BRAZIL)

A very good band playing modern technical death/thrash with some flamenco melodies; among the band members one can see names who are also a part of some more renowned bands like Necrodeath and Sadist. The style is slightly reminiscent of Necrodeath, their slower moments, but is more choppy, and slower. The acoustic guitars are perfectly embedded in the sharp riff wall of sound; a unique band who are yet to show their best. Although this is not fast and aggressive stuff, the frequent change of tempos create quite a dynamism, aggravated by the sudden, but stylish insertions of the acoustic flamenco guitars. Surprisingly, there are no pure flamenco songs, except for the most of "Vente pa Madrid", and the short tracks are clearly hardcore-influenced ("Odiados"), including the cover version of Cryptic Slaughter's immortal hymn "United Forces" at the end.

La Nueva Alarma Full-length, 2004

Official Site

RAZOR (CANADA)

Canadian thrash metal legends, Razor's beginnings were not that impressive with its murky, messy sound and uninspired song writing. With "Custom Killing" the band made a huge jump forward, and never looked back since. All their subsequent works are very well executed thrash, with "Shotgun Justice" being the peak of their career. Their comeback release- "Decibels", is also quite good, despite its more modern sound and the synthesized vocals.

Armed And Dangerous EP, 1984
Executioner's Song Full-length, 1985
Evil Invaders Full-length, 1985
Malicious Intent Full-length, 1986
Custom Killing Full-length, 1987
Violent Restitution Full-length, 1988
Shotgun Justice Full-length, 1990
Open Hostility Full-length, 1991
Decibels Full-length, 1997

Official Site

RAZOR FIST (USA)

Based on the full-length debut, this band play power/speed/thrash metal the way it used to be played in the 80's in the USA- think Destructor, Agent Steel, Attacker. This is an entertaining mix of forceful speed/thrashers ("Demon Christ", "Death's Head Revisited") and heavy American power metal tracks ("When The Witches Ride", "Razor Fist Force"). The singer is really a find with his high-ranged voice, reaching almost Rob Halford-like heights at times.
"Metal Minds" is a faithful follow-up, concentrating on speed metal a bit more, well expressed on the "furious" opener "Fury of the Warrior". The next "Metal Minds" misleads with calmer riffage developing in a milder power metal fashion, but there's lots of moshing on this one later. Saddle the horses for the galloping "Runner", before a few reminders of the more recent power/speed metal scene ("Cosmic Hearse Driver", "The Seer"- this one is more thrashy) hit the speakers. Ultra-speed/thrash this way comes with "Thirst for Disaster" and "Breath of Fire" and the more controlled "Silver Howler". The song length increases for the closer "Loud into the Night", but the fast energetic pace remains, and this track would be another no-brainer for the speed metal lovers. All the guys, except the singer (who wouldn't possible fit into the other picture), try their hands on something quite different, playing a melodic brand of black metal with their other band Tower of Babel.

Rage of the Black Blade EP, 2005
Razor Fist Force Full-length, 2006
Metal Minds Full-length, 2009

My Space

RAZOR OF OCCAM (AUSTRALIA)

The line-up includes two members of Destroyer 666, but the music lacks the death and the epic metal elements of this band's later releases, and concentrates on pure black/thrash assault of the old school; fast and intense most of the time, but offering some pleasant variations with a slower, doomy sound. "Homage To Martyrs" is way more brutal, often sheer black hyper-blast madness, but the thrashy breaks can be come across more than now and then, and those which come with an epic, mid-period Bathory shade ("Heat Of Battle"), are quite compelling; the other highlight is the intense riff-monster "Pattern On The Stone", where the guys shred like crazy. However, the high speed on the other material might come as too much for the more conventional thrash metal fan.

Diabologue EP, 1999
Pillars Of Creation EP, 2003
Homage To Martyrs Full-length, 2009

Official Site

RAZORMAZE (USA)

The demo is vintage 80's speed/thrash, well done, mostly in the early German tradition; good sharp riffs, mean, enjoyable semi-clean vocals, screaming leads, fast tempo, some nice melodic tunes ("Annihilator"), and some mid-paced heavy riffs ("Lobotomized") thrown in in the end.
"The True Speed of Steel" elaborates on the sound from the demo, starting with the smashing speed/thrash instrumental "Dawn of the Shred". No speed lost on the next "Annihilator", which lashes riffs from all sides like there's no tomorrow. "Slaughterotica" even acquires some proto-death tendencies for a while, before "Desperado" calms the tempo down with galloping up-tempo riffs, also offering a cool interpretation of Ennio Morricone's main theme from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". No mercy, however, on the thrash delights "Bleed on Command" and "Lobotomized". "Dipsomaniac" is the other "catalyst", providing slower mid-paced guitars with a power/thrash edge. The closing "Slave to the Maze" brings back the all-out attack, pulling out quite cool technical moments ala early Testament, along with a couple of more melodic hooks taken from the Metallica debut. The band is the continuation of the 90's thrash act Aggroculture, who is still active, by the way, with a demo released in 2007.

Slave to the Maze Demo, 2008
The True Speed of Steel Full-length, 2009

My Space

RE-ANIMATOR (UK)

The band had a fairly impressive start with their first two works showing a lot of promise with its forceful, crunchy and somewhat original sound. "Deny Reality" was a good way to "test the soil": a cool little slab of energetic, semi-technical thrash, with nods to the Bay-Area scene (Testament, in particular), picking more aggression at times ("D.U.A.F."). "Condemned to Eternity" is not a very distant departure, but the presence of several longer, more complex tracks, makes it the more ambitious effort. The guitar work is more proficient and pounding, and the sound has shifted towards late 80's Metallica on those longer songs, but the rest is good, more straight headbanging thrash. Unfortunately, the band's desire to give a more original edge to their sound threw them all over the music spectre on their next releases (including the notorious funk tunes) with the final result being quite unsatisfactory, to put it mildly; a sad example of a sheer talent gone wasted.

Deny Reality EP, 1990
Condemned to Eternity Full-length, 1990
Laughing Full-length, 1991
That Was Then... This Is Now Full-length, 1992

RE-ANIMATOR (USA)

An excellent demo of aggressive, fast-paced thrash, sounding like a more controlled, and a more technical version of Slayer's "Reign in Blood", or Vio-Lence's "Eternal Nightmare". The songs are longer, and some more complex arrangements are present ("A Product Of The State"), reducing the speed a bit. The rest is great speedy stuff, with mighty steel riffs, occasionally impressive lead work ("Nuclear Devastation"), and forceful, semi-clean vocals.

The Final Stage of Evolution Demo, 1988

REACTOR (CANADA)

This is the band where Dave Galea, who later played for Cryptopsy, started his career. Based on the self-titled demo, these guys pull out heavy, mid-paced thrash, which on its best moments might remind you of Celtic Frost ("Nosferatu"), but there are moments where the music becomes very fast, like on "The Plunge". The mixture, however, is quite uneven, and the final impression is mostly on the negative side.

Reactor Demo, 1988
Dangerous Music by Dangerous People Demo, 1989
Matches Demo, 1990

REAL ANIMAL (MEXICO)

Based on the demo, this band offer vicious, brutal thrash/death metal, with a bad sound quality, and some more peaceful sections, recalling the early Messiah attempts in this direction, but these are more dodgy. "Escape de la Realidad" is an utterly surprising "oasis" amidst this aggressive, fast-paced bashing, being a very cool acoustic ballad, with great guitar performance.

Real Animal Demo, 1990
Divine Perfection...? EP, 1991

REALM (USA)

An essential progressive/thrash metal band; the debut is the weaker effort with its slightly unfocused sound mixing straight thrashers with more ambitious, progressive songs. The vocals are in the high range, and quite screamy at times, but at least to these ears are well-suited to the music. The music is quite speedy, and less technical compared to the follow-up, and on the best moments comes close to the same year's Toxik's "World Circus". Well, moody slow pieces like "Eminence" could have been avoided, as they by all means have no place on an album like this. Watch out for the excellent speedy cover of one of The Beatles' finest songs "Eleanor Rigby".
"Suiciety" is a classy progressive thrash work, which might take time to fully grow on you because of its quite complex and technical nature. The guitar sound is heavier, and at least half of the songs still retain the speedy rhythms of the debut: check out the brilliant fast-paced thrashers "Final Solution" and "Energetic Discontent". The tracks, albeit more technical, are shorter, with the sole exception of the album closer "Suiciety", which lasts for 10-min, although after the 7th min what one hears is just thunder (accompanied by lightning, I guess) and some quiet acoustic guitars. This is by far one of the finest entries into the progressive thrash metal field from the USA.
The demo contains 2 songs, one of which is a King Crimson cover: "One More Real Nightmare", and the guys' effort to preserve its weirdness has resulted in a melodic progressive coposition, with no shades of thrash. "Cast the First Stone" saves the day, being a nice fast technical thrasher, with the staple for the band's sophomore effort twisted time signatures and excellent lead guitar work.

Endless War Full-length, 1988
Suiciety Full-length, 1990
Demo Demo, 1992

My Space

REANIMATOR (CANADA)

This EP is a mixed bag: in the more energetic thrashers these guys bring their compatriots Razor to mind, but some of the songs lack intensity sounding like uninspired heavy/rockers. Well, let's not forget that the Razor beginnings were pretty humble, too...
"Ignorance Is No Excuse" doesn't rely on a material from the EP, but offers brand new songs of better, more thrash-focused stuff. A song of the title "Thrashin' The Neighborhood" finally appeared, since there was no track of the same title on the EP, and it really may help one thrash his/her neighbourhood. Here the sound has moved towards another notable representative of the Canadian scene: Sacrifice. The opening trio is vintage old school fast-paced thrash, until "Maximum Overdrive" reminds in the middle of the EP's boring softer material. "The Desolator" remains more mid-paced, but "Ignorance Is No Excuse" smashes everything in its way: aggressive speed/thrash with some clever semi-technical implements. The next two songs are less intense, and the final "Speak No Evil" is a 10-min thrash opus, more melodic, with a cool balladic mid-break, and some hooks reminiscent of the power/speed acts of the 80's, including the leads which are proficient, albeit too melodic.

Thrashin' The Neighborhood EP, 2007
Ignorance Is No Excuse Full-length, 2009

My Space

REBELLION (VENEZUELA)

Thrash/death metal close to Protector and the French Agressor, with a dark, gothic atmosphere; some songs are sprawling, long-ish, and are placed in the beginning, creating the impression that this would be a progressively-laced experience, but later come the more immediate aggressive thrashers, which are by all means the more appealing side of the band's style. The guys have a good sense of melody ("Beyond the Reality", etc.), which makes even ultra-fast and brutal sections sound cool. Seldom do the band adhere to pure gothic numbers ("Night of Terror").

Land of Hate Full-length, 1996

REBIRTH (URUGUAY)

A 3-song EP of more classically sounding thrash/death metal, with some atmospheric touches (keyboards, slower breaks, etc.); the guys have a good sense of tempo, and the mid-paced moments are quite well integrated, although at times the gothic flavour comes a bit over the top ("Black Garden", which also comes epic decorated in the Amon Amarth vein).

Blood Dimension EP, 2007

RECALCITRANCE (USA)

Very well executed aggressive thrash metal bordering on death, similar to Recipients Of Death and Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends", on the first demo; the songs are longer, though, and the guitar work is more engaging, although hectic and chaotic at times ("Craving Death"). The band play fast and aggressively, trying to insert stomping, slower elements all of a sudden, those coming accompanied by some short, but good lead guitars. "Fragmented Reality" is even more hectic and jumpy, not as aggressive, but the guitars are more technical. "Fragmented Origins" is a nice, "lead-meets-bass" instrumental piece, laid-back and peaceful, but then comes the very aggressive, death-laced "Self Perpetuating Fury", which also boasts some very stylish riffs and fast, screaming leads: a really nice example of the band's flamboyant, original style.

Demo Demo, 1989
Fragmented Reality Demo, 1990

Official Site

RECENTLY VACATED GRAVES (USA)

This is a mix of some well-crafted classic thrash and some brutal death-metal outbursts. There are also gothic/black metal passages accompanied by organs and keyboards where there is an inclusion of some declamatory vocals, too, in addition to the "duel" between the deep growls and the black-ish vicious snarls. You wouldn't be surprised if I tell you that quite often the thrashy sections get lost in the rest which is sad, since when they're there, the music really takes off.

True Zombie Metal Full-length, 2004
Former Human Sergeant Full-length, 2005

Official Site

RECIPIENTS OF DEATH (USA)

The band's sound is an impenetrable wall of brutal, violent thrash metal, rubbing shoulders with Slayer's "Reign In Blood" and Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends"- a truly impressive debut. This is one of the best bands from the more extreme side of thrash. Apart from the relentless bashing, some heavier, slower sections are also included ("Seizure"), again in the Slayer mould (their late 80's period), as well as super-fast, proto-death ones ("The Aftermath"). "Final Flight" tones down the aggression, but the music remains in the thrash metal realm, this time coming with some more varied guitar work (Democratic Life"); as a whole the overall style is again close to Slayer (Seasons in the Abyss"): a nice combination of intense, speedy and heavy, pounding riffs.

Recipients of Death Full-length, 1988
Final Flight EP, 1990

Vibrations of Doom

RECKLESS TIDE (GERMANY)

Cool thrash from the old school, but with a very modern production which makes them sound like some of the modern thrashers at times. There are two vocal styles here- the one is clean, the other one: shouted. The music is pretty good, with very sharp riffs and nice dual melodic solos recalling Iron Maiden. For fans of modern day Kreator and Testament this band are well worth tracking down.

Repent Or Seal Your Fate Full-length, 2005
Helleraser Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RECLUSION (SWEDEN)

A band who mix the two modern trends in thrash metal: the 90's aggro sound of Pantera and Exhorder, and the fast-paced thrash/death hybrid of The Haunted. Fans of modern thrash will definitely like this band, who are actually quite good musicians, adhering to some cool technical play at times.
The demo is a bit of a step down, offering less adventurous music, slower and softer, kind of moving in a direction similar to the more recent The Haunted works, but without losing the groove completely. There's no speed, or intense riffage here: just mid-paced pedestrian modern thrash.

Shell of Pain Full-length, 2001
Inventory of the Morgue Full-length, 2005
Demo Demo, 2006

Official Site

RECRUCIDE (CHILE)

Based on the full-length, this band play aggressive, very well executed modern/classic thrash of the old school, along the lines of Dew-Scented. Some leads will strike you as being quite stylish for the otherwise more ordinary straight delivery ("Fear Injected", and elsewhere). "Generhate" is the odd slower, semi-groovy track, and "Coronation" goes over the top, with some ultra-fast death metal riffage. The closer "Rebellion" goes away with all the laurels, being a fine furious mix of the two aforementioned styles, again more death metal-sounding.

Gamma EP, 1997
Rebellion Full-length, 2005

Official Site

RECTIFIER (TURKEY)

A very promising promo of classic 80's thrash metal; the music is heavy, mid to up-tempo with crushing riffs which will remind you of Heathen's "Victim of Deception", but Rectifier's approach is more straight-forward. "United Killers", on the other hand, introduces some Slayer-esque aggression, whereas "Monopolizing Violence" with its galloping rhythm brings to mind the Germans Pyracanda's great anthem "Top Gun". In other words, you get a classic headbanging delight which will come in bigger dozes with the band's full-length, which is in the makings.

Promo Promo,2007

RECTUM (FINLAND)

A very obscure, but highly worth tracking down 6-song demo of brilliant technical thrash/death metal; music which will keep you guessing what follows next with no much success. The tracks are short (2 to 3-min), but they are full with tempo changes and stupendous riffs, which leave enough room for some great melodies and solos, too. The music is full of energy, without being too fast or aggressive. But, when the guys unleash some aggression, they could easily beat even masters like Hellwitch ("Golden Gates"). This is probably how the follow-ups of Atheist's "Unquestionable Presence" or Coroner's "Mental Vortex", or Pestilence's "Testimony of the Ancients" should have sounded, if these bands hadn't taken a much more experimental approach on their last efforts...

Enforced Prick Demo, 1992

RED HARVEST (NORWAY)

These extreme industrial metal wizards started their career as thrash metal practitioners. Their only venture into thrash metal shows them as quite well capable of pulling out some fairly cool intriguing technical riffs, spiced with numerous influences. "The Cure" is an awesome opener, a great progressive thrasher, with a more aggressive death metal edge, and some brilliant flamenco tunes; it sounds like something the Brits Acid Reign could have written, if they were a level up the music scale. The guys concentrate more on the aggressive side of their style on the next "Righteous Majority", but "Acid" is a wonderful short abstract technical thrasher in the best tradition of mid-period Voivod. "No Next Generation" is another fine progressive thrasher, which will remind you of the Germans Depressive Age, who released their full-length around the same time. "Machines Way" thrashes intensely, with dry mechanical technical guitars, and some impressive leads, followed by the excellent "(Live & Pay) The Holy Way", which is another impeccable exercise in technicality, maybe a bit more straight-forward and more melodic, boasting probably the best guitar performance on the album. This song marks the end of the progressive aspect of this effort, leaving room for 3 shorter, less intricate (that's relative) numbers (the closer is a happy crossover hymn: "Wrong Arm Of The Law", and the only song which doesn't carry the technical charge) to close this masterpiece of progressive/technical thrash, which showed the band more than well equipped to play a more important role on the 90's thrash scene, and not only because it was deprived of its best performers.

Nomindsland Full-length, 1992

Official Site

RED NAILS (CANADA)

Excellent heavy, pounding thrash, very similar to Slayer's late 80's period; of course, there are the obligatory fast sections, some of which exceed the limits of thrash (a few seconds of blast-beats on "Ancient Blood"), but most of the time this is heavy, crushing music, ably supported by harsh, aggressive vocals ala Phil Rind (Sacred Reich), maybe less intelligible and lower-pitched.

Mutiny of a Small Group of Lemmings Demo, 1992

RED TO GREY (GERMANY)

A fine retro thrash metal band; the band's debut consists of 6 songs only, but is a commendable effort, with great, stylish guitars and mighty bass-bottom. The guys play energetically with heavy riffs, several technical and balladic breaks, jumping occasionally on the power/speed metal wagon: "The Phantom". The style is very similar to the one of the one album wonder Sardonyx, including the high, clean vocals; this band are better, handling the leads.
"Wrath of the Weak" is a much better work, with more technical and faster riffs, sounding well more aggressive than the debut. The music here is closer to the first two Forbidden albums, sharing both the technicality of "Twisted into Form" and the energy of "Forbidden Evil". The singer sings higher, and better. The only complaint is the inclusion of "The Phantom", which was the weakest song from the debut, here offered without any changes whatsoever. Fortunately it's followed by the awesome up-tempo piece "Total Cleaning"- a really nice song, with a great chorus, very cool tempo changes and swirling, melodic leads. There were rumours of a third album in the makings, including anouncements on the band's website, scheduled first for 2006, but they're all gone now...
"Admissions" is finally out, after numerous delays and cancellations, and shows the band in fine form once again. The album continues exactly from where "Wrath of the Weak" left off: the opener "Admissions" offers a nice combination of straight thrashing and some more complex passages. "Cast The First Stone" is an awesome up-tempo technical thrasher, in the Scariot, and even Coroner vein, if we exclude the catchy memorable chorus- a track, which the band put for download on their website a long time ago, here re-mastered and better. "Free" calms down, with slower heavy riffs, and a touch of power metal. "The Amour Piercing Dread" follows in the same spirit, adding some epic elements and very cool leads. "In The Darkest Corner" desirably returns the sound to the faster, thrashy territories, and the lashing riffs will make you jump around in no time. "Sweet Suffering" is a speed/thrash riff-fest at its best, again accompanied by a great chorus, and amazing guitar hooks from beginning to end- another song released for download on the band's site earlier, here coming almost unaltered. "The Fall Of God" is a more melodic power/thrasher, and "Celebration Of The Cult" adds some speed metal to this mix. "The Cheated One" is more than a worthy closer to this great album, being a stomping, heavy piece with smashing, punishing riffs. It was really worth the wait to see whether one of the biggest hopes of German thrash would manage to sustain their high status; they did, with flying colours...

Circle of Pain Full-length, 1998
Wrath of the Weak Full-length, 2000
Admissions Full-Length, 2008

Official Site

REDEEMER (AUSTRALIA)

Very good power/thrash metal akin to Helstar and Liege Lord; the short atmospheric, sinister introduction will impress you from the very beginning, although it has nothing to do with thrash, or power metal. The guitar work is heavy, and the pace is mid-ranged, but the guys know how to move things around, by adding some more intense riffs, like on the nice "Transmuter". "Metallic Frenzy" deserves its title, although this is not a very aggressive number, but combines a lot of energy with some cool semi-technical hooks, and is probably the best song.

The Light is Struck Full-length, 1990

REDIMONI (SPAIN)

If we exclude the hysterical part of the dual vocals used here, we'll be left with very good classic thrash along the lines of Darkness and Necronomicon. The full-length goes a few levels up the aggression scale, and offers high-octane retro thrash, again with a classic edge, but considerably faster. Certainly there are calmer moments: the steam-rolling "Shah Mat"; the crossover-laced "Wrath Wars"; the epic/power metal oddity "Hell's Ascension"; the galloping speed/power metal anthem "Irongoat", and, of course, the melodic Motorhead-sih, with an epic twist, closer “Riding To Battle”. Some of you may say that this list is quite long for a thrash metal album, but believe me, all those songs get lost among the rest of the material, since the album is whole 13 tracks long. And this is this rest, which will make your day, with its uncompromising high-speed approach, and a decidedly faster and more brutal sound than their 80’s counterparts.

The Onset of Chaos EP, 2005
Into The Coiling Arms Of Mayhem Full-length, 2008

Official Site

REDOX (SPAIN)

On the full-length these Spaniards pull out heavy mid-paced modern power/thrash, which hesitates sometimes towards the classic spectre (the excellent rifffest in the Overkill vein "Playing With Lies"), but not hard enough. So groove takes over on quite a few times, and the best song is a semi-ballad: "Fear Of Not Dying", with the short acoustic instrumental "Lullaby" a very close second. "Need Turned Into Addiction" is a cool pounding modern thrasher, which could have been well fitting into Flotsam & Jetsam's "Quatro".

Forgotten Nature Full-length, 2000
Sharpened Knives EP, 2002

Official Site

REDRUM (USA)

Very cool energetic 80's speed/thrash metal sounding very similar to Intruder; the music is quite speedy and the guitar work is heavy, with the leads being the downside: short and screaming (although on "Power Corrupts" they suddenly get too proficient for a while). The singer is quite good, not too far from Jimmy Hamilton (Intruder again), having the same tendency to high-pitch scream sometimes. Some riffs have the original and technical edge, but the concentration is clearly on pounding, crushing ones, with a small break near the end: "World War III", which is a more melodic crossover piece.

Power Corrupts Full-Length, 1989

My Space

REENCARNACION (COLOMBIA)

Based on the debut, this band play raw, brutal thrash along the lines of their colleagues from Brazil Sarcofago, Vulcano and Sextrash. The music is quite noisy with the drums put too much forward in the mix, and the overall sound is quite amateurish and undeveloped, typical for the early stages of South American thrash metal.

888 Metal Full-length, 1987
Acompa±ame A La Tumba EP, 1988
Egipto (1990-1995) Full-length, 1996
Visiones Terrenales Full-length, 2000
Mas Hombres, Menos Estatuas Full-length, 2006

REFLECTING BLACK (FINLAND)

A good mixture of progressive thrash and gothic; the music is on the modern side, and there are a few vocal styles used. The concentration is on the progressive side as the songs twist and turn in many directions, but the final result is quite satisfying. There are some elements of symphonic black metal used, too.

For Those Demo, 2004
Songanglion Demo, 2005
Progressively Aggressive Demo, 2006

REFLECTION (GERMANY)

Reflection hail from the same province where Kreator and Sodom come from. Their style, however, is not close to their renowned compatriots, but opts for a more ambitious, even proggressive at times, song-writing. The music is a cross between modern and classic (more classic than modern) thrash, with nice sharp riffs and some good technical licks. The pace is not fast, and the guys focus on mid to up-tempo songs, only slightly acquiring some speedy tendencies ("Made in Hell", "Everlasting Conflict"), where the sound recalls Paradox's "Collision Course". There are moments when the music slides down to slower, semi-balladic territories: "The Journey".

Made in Hell Full-length, 2004

My Space

REIFY (AUSTRALIA)

Heavy modern thrash, well conformed with the tastes of the time, with punishing rhythm section, but lacking the vigour and anger of Pantera. The music loses intensity at times, and generally the mid-pace is seldom crossed over, except on the cool faster thrasher "Where 4 Art Thou Soul". Another good touch is the closing acoustic instrumental ballad "Memory", very well done.

In Your Dreams Full-length, 1995

REIGN (UK)

Based on "Exit Clause": ordinary moden 90's groovy thrash along the lines of Pantera and Machine Head; the tracks are slow-ish to mid-paced in the best case with very sparce use of solos, and some hardcore touches.
I was wrong to avoid getting ahold of "Embrace" for so long, based on the not very good impression "Exit Clause" produced on me. The debut is a much better achievement; the music is still on the heavy, groovy side of thrash, but moments from the 80's scene are also present, and the tracks are more complex, much longer as well, and the guitar work is way better, even with some technical touches. The only complaint comes from the tempo, which is slow, doomy and this might create a somewhat monotonous atmosphere, although faster passages are featured on the longer numbers (most of which are within the 8-9min range), albeit not very long. The shorter songs are nice energetic thrashers: "Erosion", and especially the crushing "Infinity Within", which serve as a slight relief, before another epic heavy track comes over you. This is thought-out, dark stuff, which would perhaps find its fanbase among some doom metal fans as well.

Embrace Full-length, 1994
Exit Clause Full-length, 1995

RELEASE (USA)

This band boasts the presence of the ex- Metal Church singer Aaron Zimpel and the guitarist Gary Wendt (Sacrilege BC, Skinlab). Unfortunately they do not go over the conventional 90's groovy post-thrash, so typical for the time. This is dark, one-dimensional music, with doomy overtones, and dry, industrialized riffs; hardly the best collaboration of two famous metal heads.

End of the Light Full-Length, 1995

RELEASED ANGER (GREECE)

The band's line-up includes former and present members of another very good contemporary Greek thrash metal band: Crucifier. If these guys manage to keep the high quality displayed on this demo, the sky is the limit for them: perfectly executed old school thrash in the Kreator, Destruction-tradition. The singer impersonates Mille Petrozza quite well; another highlight is the tight, razor-sharp guitar work. If for all of you out there Flames have always been the leaders of the Greek thrash metal scene, you might have to think again very soon.
"Faces of Fate" fulfills all the promises given with the demo; the music is in the best German tradition, this time also recalling Tankard along with the aforementioned bands, and with a better, and faster guitar work. The riffs are still sharp, but more melody has been introduced, which is a very positive change here, making the band's sound more appealing, but without completely ignoring the more aggressive numbers: "Parasite", and especially the great "Shadows of Insanity"- a masterpiece of raging thrash. A cover of Whiplash's "Power Thrashing Death" is thrown in the middle.

Violent Instincts Demo, 2005
Faces of Fate Full-length, 2007

My Space

RELENTLESS (USA)

Early Exciter and Savage Grace brought to you in 4 energetic tracks, which are deeper rooted in the power/speed metal scene, but up-tempo numbers like "Storm The Gates" and "Wait For The Lightning" will make you raise your fist in agreement.

Wait for the Lightning EP, 2000

My Space

RELIGIO MORTIS (ITALY)

Based on the "Varcata La Soglia" demo, these guys offer a mixture of thrash and death metal with a few black-ish implements. This is intense stuff, quite diverse as well ranging from fast delights ("La Prima Qliphot") ala Dissection to vintage traditional doomsters ("Bitch Torment"). Blitzktieg fierce death/thrashers like "Lingua Di Serpi" may scare the unprepared, but fans of the those genres will find quite a bit here to enjoy, if we exclude the rough sound quality which gives the guitars a certain screamy edge.

Before Christ...After Death Demo, 2008
Varcata La Soglia Demo, 2009

My Space

RELLIK (USA)

Based on the "Deceive the Deceiving" EP, these guys offer fast intense thrash ala Kreator's "Pleasure to Kill" and the Swedes Hypnosia. They break the pattern for the longer heavy "Die As I Say (Not As I Do)", but the other 4 tracks are speedy exercises in vicious 80's thrash, occasionally carrying a hardcore shade ("Means To An End"). This band can be considered the continuation of the Philadelphia thrashers Violemosh, who released one EP in the distant 1989.

Deceive the Deceiving EP, 2004
Devoured In Sin EP, 2007

Official Site

REMORSE (HUNGARY)

Modern/classic thrash metal; the band's first two efforts, considering the time of their release, are modern thrash, and are not really anything special. "Harc!" is a nice turn to classic thrash with just a few remains from their more modern-sounding releases. This album is a great headbanging feast in the first half; the opening track "Valosag" is slow-ish, heavy number, but every subsequent song adds more and more speed into the proceedings. The second half is less impressive, and the album loses steam little by little, despite the presence of some stylish technical riffs ala Jeff Waters: "20/40", as well as some classic heavy metal hymns: "Miert van Csesd?" (the title is obviously some question in Hungarian); what follows until the end is mid-paced, more modern thrash, which still delivers the goods, but the compositions acquire some groovy, even aternative tendencies.
"D.Ü.H." thrashes with full force, providing numerous delights for the headbangers, without completely forgetting about the more lyrical side of the genre, with the cool semi-ballad "Amikor Vége II.". Watch out for "Jég", which comes straight after that: the ultimate speed/thrash metal experience, played with the speed of light. After this hyper-intensity, the guys take it easy, and this ease stretches onto whole 6 tracks, leaving a solid aftertaste in the mouth, which the closing "Kin" tries hard to erase, with another portion of speedy thrash riffage. Not a bad album at all, this work could have had more appeal if the band had chosen to thrash their souls out, instead of taking a very long break, dissipating the excellent impression left by the start.

Lmatlansßg Full-length, 1996
S÷tÚtsÚg Full-length, 2000
Harc! Demo, 2003
Harc! Full-length, 2005
D.Ü.H. Full-length, 2008

Official Site

RENEGADE (AUSTRALIA)

A very good, but forgotten thrash metal band; their style is quite close to the first Onslaught albums or Hallows Eve: dark, evil thrash, quite energetic with some shades of black metal. The album is a cool mixture of more light-hearted speed/thrashers and vicious, more aggressive ones. Some slower, more power/thrash-based numbers are also here ("Threshold of Death"). You won't find any technical play here, but the intensity of the material will satisfy even the more pretentious thrash fans.

Total Armageddon Full-length, 1987

Vibrations of Doom

RENFIELD (GERMANY)

A band who refuses to lay to rest the classic sound from the 80's, and mixes it with the typical groovy trends, resulting in occasionally interesting music which at times lightly touches the German progressive/technical thrash metal wave (check out the avantgarde Depressive Age-sque "Rain Will Fall") which at that time had almost completely disappeared. "Renfield’s Dream" is a cool galloping technical speed/thrasher, and "Hate Song" is a more aggressive thrash/crossover outbreak; don't ignore the closer "It’s Greed", which is another dynamic piece of up-tempo technical power/thrash. The early speed metal scene from the same country is paid tribute with "Burnout" and "Someday".

PolyToxicoMania Full-length, 1997

RENTGEN (RUSSIA)

Based on the "Lost Castle" demo, this act, which consists of two members only, plays very stylish technical all-instrumental thrash metal, mixing the pace the whole time, the predominant one being mid with dark overtones, but there are outbreaks of raging speed ("Obsessed Devil") as well as great Oriental implements ("Other Worlds"). "To Stars" is a brilliant progressive thrasher with the lead guitar playing a major role, but the riff-driven "Blood On Sand" makes up with plenty of sharp heavy guitars, also quite brutal at some stage, again graced by some of the finest Oriental motives around. "Lost Castle" is another display of progressive instrumental brilliance, an impeccable mix of virtuoso guitar parts and straight cutting riffs. "Poured The Whole" is creepy minimalistic thrasher with a nice closing balladic lead-driven section. A true underground gem, which will inevitably raise the interest in tracking the band's other catalogue.
"Intrusion From Hell" is a more brutal affair staying closer to death metal in the beginning, and is less technical, except for the leads which are again on a high level. The thrash returns towards the middle with the Bay-Area smasher "Judicial Psychiatry"- vintage early Testament following closely Alex Scholnick in the lead department. "My Grave Became Tight For Me: is a no-brainer with its seamless mix of technical thrash, speed and death metal the latter occupying a small space near the end. "Post-Mortem Autopsy" is heads-down thrash aggression ala Slayer with both a more technical and a death metal twist. "Angel's Fall" is a heavy speed/thrash fest offering a slower approach which carries on on the next melodic lead-driven "Black Sunset". There is one vocal bonus track as a finishing touch: "Epidemic", intense thrash ala Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains" with very brutal low grunting vocals.
"Black Sunrise" shows the guys in a much more simplistic form with an abrasive guitar sound, and with vocals. The music has almost no shades of technicality, but is decent retro thrash/death metal in mid to up-tempo, a bit one-dimensional and uneventful, finished with a cover of Sepultura's "Troops of Doom".
The "Armageddon" EP is a big improvement over the debut demo, serving 5 songs of more proficient thrash/death metal, more brutal than the one on the debut now being pure death metal for most of the time, still preserving the vocals, also adding a considerablt amount of leads which were completely missing from the demo. The technical performance is still not on a very high level, if we exclude the excellent lead guitar which is omnipresent creating haunting atmospheric landscapes which starkly contrast to the frequent blast-beats and the very low brutal growls. Seriously, this guy is probably the finest shredder on the Russian scene right now, his style not far from the one of his compatriot and peer, the guitar maestro Valerii Gaina (Kruiz).

Black Sunrise Demo, 2002
Armageddon EP, 2003
Lost Castle Demo, 2004
Intrusion From Hell Demo, 2005

REPENT (GERMANY)

A rising star from the German metal scene, Repent started with a nice mix of modern and classic thrash with some technical tendencies; the opener "Feel Your Pain" is a really good initiation in the band's intense, semi-technical style, being a great intense thrasher. What follows is no less aggressive, but the tracks get longer, and the technicality increases. The last composition: "Never Fallen Tear", comes as a complete surprise, being slow, industrialized doom, sounding as a very good mixture between Saint Vitus and Neurosis, and lasts for whole 8-min.
Contrary to the expectations, instead of developing their interesting style further, on "Disciple of Decline" the guys moved towards aggressive, direct, blitzkrieg thrash metal along the lines of Slayer and Sepultura, which also worked great. Only time will tell what the next album from this very talented band would sound like...
The Promo sees Jürgen "Eumel" Aumann from their compatriots Final Breath taking over the mike, and offers 4 tracks of direct retro thrash pretty much in the vein of "Disciple of Decline". A few sparce proto-modern sections can be caught, but this would hardly turn into a dominant tendency with these purveyors of the old school sound.

Escape From Reality Full-length, 2000
Disciple of Decline Full-Length,2004
Promo Demo, 2010

Official Site

REPLIKA (HUNGARY)

Based on the debut, this is modern 90's thrash, obviously influenced by Sepultura ("Chaos AD" and "Roots", in particular), so this is not a total waste of time. Fans of those two albums will find a lot to like here.

Nem Leszek Áldozat Full-length, 1996
Ima Full-length, 1998
Másik Világ Kapujában Full-length, 2001
Testbe Zárt Lélek Full-length, 2001
Acoustica Full-length, 2003
Durva Élet Full-length, 2004
Nem Hiszek Full-length, 2007

REPRESION (VENEZUELA)

A calmer, more melodic, but also toothless version of the modern thrash sub-genre, with cool semi-clean vocals, mostly in mid-tempo, reminiscent of mid-period Machine Head in many ways; in other words, don’t bother...

Sobrevivencia Full-length, 2006

My Space

REPRISAL SCARS (FINLAND)

Typical melodic thrash/death metal with a strong Gothenburg influence in the guitar work; the vocals shift from the pattern, being low death metal growling ones. "Killing Art of Self-Deception" is a bit more of the same, no surprises, maybe the tempo this time is not as fast, sticking more to mid-pace, with the occasional more intense headbanger ("Grand Assertion of Hate!").

Dead End Road EP, 2008
Sobrevivencia Full-length, 2006
Killing Art of Self-Deception Full-Length, 2008

Official Site

REPTIL (MEXICO)

Good power/thrash in the vein of Deadly Blessing, Aftermath and Destructor; the demo starts with two cool speedy numbers, before it settles down for heavier, mid-paced riffage on the next two.

Basta Ya! Demo, 1988

Fan Site

REPTILE (PORTUGAL)

Groovy, hard-hitting, and fairly energetic thrash, which keeps a respectable mid-tempo for most of the time, seldom degenerating into blatant groove ("Consequence"), which would have been a sure winner some 12-15 years ago. At times one might find himself headbanging on some of the more edgy tracks ("Criminal Power", "Dark Memories", which speeds up quite a bit; the pounding "New Face"). Few are the albums nowadays which can capture the unbridled energy of the early woks of Pantera and the Machine Head debut, without sounding derivative and trite.

Reptile Full-length, 2008

My Space

REPUGNANT (SWEDEN)

Based on the full-length: a good fusion of old school death metal and heavy thrash ala Celtic Frost; the tempo varies, but seldom stays on the faster side opting for heavy, crushing sound with twisted riffs in the Morbid Angel-vein. Too bad these guys called it quits soon after the release of their only full-length.

Hecatomb EP, 1999
Premature Burial EP, 2004
Epitome of Darkness Full-length, 2006

Official Site

REPULSA (USA)

Based on the demo, this band, which were named after their female singer, play a blend of crossover/thrash and pop-metal; if you can imagine a "marriage" between Lita Ford and Excel... "F.T.W." (aka "Fuck the World") is a cool thrashy headbanger, though, but that's all about it.
"Sex Pig" is a better offering due to the presence of two guys who later on played for Exodus, including the drummer Tom Hunting (also Angel Witch, and the Jason Newsted side-projects Sexoturica & IR8). The 3 songs from the demo are here as well, but the other material is superior being pure thrash for at least half of the album, sometimes thrashing with gusto ("Big Lady") ala Anthrax, sometimes crushing in a heavy mid-pace ("World Gone Mad", the gritty steam-rolling closer "Fuck Yourself" which starts thrashing with force near the end, too). Although this is hardly the headbanger's paradise, this effort should be paid respect for its reluctance to lay the classic spirit to rest.

Demo Demo, 1992
Sex Pig Full-length, 1994

REQUIEM (GERMANY)

Derivative, unimpressive groovy post-thrash, which sounds like a very poor and toothless version of Pantera and Machine Head.

Soulmachine Full-length, 1994

REQUIEM (USA, Nevada)

Based on the "Christ Has Risen" EP, this band play energetic hardcore-ish thrash ala early Prong. These guys' music is more thrash-fixated, coming up with some really intense pieces: "Stuck in Society", the opening fury "Christ Has Risen".

Grave Full-length, 1996
Dawn of Souls EP, 1997
Christ Has Risen EP, 1998
U.$.$.A. EP, 1999
Volume 6 Full-length, 2001
Lock the Dead EP, 2006
Retrowar EP, 2007

Official Site

REQUIEM (USA, Washington)

This band are probably one of the first ones to introduce a slight doze of groove in their music ("World Peace"), but only on one track. The music on the rest of the album is pure classic thrash, recalling Anthrax in the guitar department mostly. The delivery is quite hard-hitting most of the time, and somewhere in the middle it introduces a couple of original technical elements ("Mind Escape", which features some more abstract Voivod-ish sections, and "Peace Child", which boasts the finest guitar work on the album). The following three songs bring back the aggression from the beginning, but the technicality remains, resulting in a really great sound. The last two tracks are less-serious, crossover numbers, played just for fun.

Earthquake Full-Length, 1991

RESIST

Hardcore/thrash of the more moderate variety, nor very fast, with numerous references to the 80's punk movement (think The Exploited), and a couple of more aggressive riffs ("See It Through") in the tradition of early Prong and D.R.I.

We Want Our World Black Full-Length, 2008

RESISTANCE (FRANCE)

A new band from France who offer some very cool retro thrash; they play fast with intensity, and a great sense of melody, especially in the lead department. The riffs cut like a knife, supported by a great bass-bottom, sometimes coming with an Oriental touch ("Considered Dead", which is a smashing speed metal killer). "Necropolis" is a very cool cover of Manilla Road's, from their album "Crystal Logic" (1983), with the gruff death metal-ish vocals taking a nice melodic tember, which still is not close to Mike Shelton, but gives the song the necessary epic feeling. After this softer moment the speed/thrash rage returns, but more controlled this time, on the up-tempo "Rage" and "Fist of Fire", and unbridled on the complex, multi-layered "Soul Devourer", which also boasts some low-tuned operatic, gothic vocals. "Satans Call Through The River Styx" is a progressively-laced, 9-min long opus, which is not that intense, if we exclude the beginning, but by no means less impressive, featuring sprawling epic moments, where the leads rule with full force, followed by a nice acoustic outro. It's guaranteed that you will spend quite a few moments banging your fucking skull with this one...

Bang Your Fucking Skull Full-length, 2008

My Space

RESISTANCE (USA)

Based on "Lies In Black", this is modern power/thrash metal, close to the works of 90's Overkill. There are some classic leanings in the guitar work, but not enough to put it in the classic camp. The music is dynamic, with nods to both faster, and slower grounds, packing a punch most of the time. "Patents of Control" is a lot more classically inclined, and the better achievement. It's still a combination of various tempos, the mid-tempo being the predominant one. Near the middle the sound gets more aggressive and sharp ("Paternal Shift"), softened by some peaceful, balladic sections. Then the music brings back the speed, reaching some more aggressive heights ("The Cleansing"). There is actually only one track, which has a more modern, groovy shade ("The Alpha & The Omega").

A Certain Sorrow EP, 2002
Lies In Black Full-length, 2004
Patents of Control Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RESISTANT CULTURE (USA)

Based on the "Resistant Militia" EP, this band offer a very mixed bag of styles: the base is by all means thrash, but one could hear hardcore, heavy riffs akin to early Messiah, and pure vicious grindcore. When the band concentrate on just plain thrashing, they come up with some cool energetic music and, fortunately, this is what they do for most of the time. Reportedly later their style incorporated elements from genres outside the metal field and, combined with their furious thrash/grind mixture of old, makes up for an entertaining, albeit quite unusual listen.

Resistant Militia EP, 1987
Living by Law EP, 1989
Ancient Future Full-length, 2003
Welcome to Reality EP, 2004
Welcome to Reality Full-length, 2005
Innate Rebellion Split album, 2005

Official Site

RESISTENCE (USA)

A really good demo which combines the aggression of Slayer with the dark, brooding atmosphere of the Brits Deathwish which means that, apart from the fast intense parts, you'll come across some slower, brooding moments.

Veil of Mystery Demo, 1987

RESPAWN (GERMANY)

This band fit nicely along the better representatives of the thrash metal renaissance in Germany- Red to Grey, Psychotron, etc. Their style is similar to those two bands, being a technical mixture of power and thrash metal, but whereas the aforementioned bands are firmly in the classic camp, Respawn show occasionally some more modern tendencies in their sound akin to modern day Exodus and Onslaught ("Killing Peace"). As a result their music will appeal to both classic and modern thrash fans. This is a fine band who are yet to discover their full potential.

Demo Demo, 2002
Nature's Foul Child EP, 2004

Official Site

RESPECT (FRANCE)

The opening "Mort D'esprit" is a most misleading piece, offering some very cool energetic retro thrash riffage with a crossover shade, promising headbanging paradise, despite the affluent presence of keyboards on some parts. But then the experiments start, leading the music out of the thrash metal field on quite a few times. There is actually one more more intense number, reaching the opener: "Despair", but it's really short (less than 2-min) to make an impact. The rest is some awful, tasteless amalgam of modern post-thrash, hardcore, funk, and something else which is too bad to define. It seems as though the mid-90's were very gruesome times for French thrash (remember No Return's "Season of Soul" and Mercyless' "Cold").

Despair Full-length, 1995

RESPONSE NEGATIVE (USA)

Another band which boasts the presence of Bobby Gustafson- the former Overkill and Skrew member; this time the style is not too far removed from Overkill, but goes back to their classic, late 80's-early 90's days (hey, don't expect "Horrorscope 2", folks!), maybe a bit more agressive with intense, bordering on death metal, vocals.

Response Negative EP, 2004

Official Site

REST IN PEACE (SWITZERLAND)

Based on the "Inner Scream" demo, this is superb technical power/thrash, with standout guitar performance. This is a textbook of stunning riffs, leads and atmospheric acoustic passages (not too many, don't worry), which will literally overwhelm you. The great time changes and the sharp, technical guitars will make you listen to this wonder again and again. The singer has a very good clean voice, and doesn't really sound like anyone else. The music stays close to Helstar's masterpiece "Nosferatu", but is slower, and a bit more complex. Although with a very small output, this great underground band have all the rights to be ranked among the finest in the technical metal genre.

Feeding frenzy Demo, 1990
Inner Scream Demo, 1992

RESTLESS (BRAZIL)

Based on the band's full-length debut, Restless play energetic, restless (pun intended) 80's thrash metal, resembling Rigor Mortis. The guitar work is more simplistic (the guys don't possess a guitar virtuoso from the ranks of Scaccia), but the band play fast and the great bass work compensates for the lack of many stylish riffs. The music offers some slower, heavy numbers ("All The Worst"), as well as very brutal, grindcore-ish jokes ("Tchom Rules"). "A Cry from the Dark" is a speed monster, which surprisingly comes with the most interesting guitars, including simple, but nice melodic leads, along with the very fast, uncompromising delivery.

Restless Full-length, 1991
Unspeakable Full-length, 1996

RESTLESS BREED (USA)

This nice obscure demo could serve as a nice companion to the same year's Liege Lord's "Burn to My Touch"; this is excellent speed/thrash, with touches from the American power metal scene, and very good high vocals ala John Cyriis. "Unleash The Beast" is an awesome thrashing opener, followed by a couple of less intense power/thrashers, until "After The Holocaust" picks up some more speed again, before the power/thrash mixtures reappear. Not an all-out thrash affair, this effort delivers the goods, staying true to the predominant tendencies on the 80's American metal scene.

After The Holocaust Demo, 1987

RESURRECTED (PHILIPPINES)

Energetic and overall well constructed 80's speed/thrash, following the early American patterns in the genre: Hallows Eve, Anvil Bitch, Blessed Death, Sentinel Beast, etc. "Repro-Destructon" and "The Prisoner" pull all the stops, with their brisk intense delivery, whereas "Race War" is full-blooded thrash of the more aggressive variety. "Death Toll" is the other all-out thrash bomb, but the award goes to the short, but very satisfying speed/thrash delight "Code of Conduct", and of course, the 2-min speed/thrashing riff-fest "Exit".

Past Scars Aria Full-length, 2005

My Space

RESURRECTION (CHINA)

And here come the Chinese to conquer the metal world as well. Well, not quite, but the full-length debut of these guys is really worth hearing; it is a very wild and frequently very brutal fusion of death, black and thrash metal which would mostly appeal to black metal fans, but the music is not a "stranger" to some nice technical thrashy riffs, and generally the musicianship is quite impressive. The raspy, high-ranged black metal styled-vocals could be a detraction to the thrash fans, but the music may keep them interested.

National Martyr Full-length, 2006

RETALIATION (USA)

The music here is a pure product of the 90's: groovy power/thrash, slow-ish, with some stoner/doom sections sneaking through; nothing really special, and quite melodic as well.

Masquerade of Fools Demo, 1990

RETALIATOR (BRAZIL)

Based on the "Ultra Violencia" demo, this band, now known as Retaliador, serves intense retro speed/thrash in the early German tradition- think early Destruction above all, and Vectom on the more speed metal moments ("Ulra Violencia", the excellent speedster "Violent Attack"). The singer unleashes unholy unmelodic shouts: some lower, some really high-pitched neither making a very positive impression. The music delivers, though, even lashing out in an extreme proto-death manner ("Guerreiro do Inferno") at times.

Rotten Demo Demo, 2004
Comando das Trevas Demo, 2005
Ultra Violencia Demo, 2006

Official Site

RETALIATORY (BRAZIL)

Intense retro thrash with very brutal low-tuned death metal vocals; the music is entertaining, mostly fast-paced, with quite a few melodic "tricks". The listener can hardly remain indifferent on thrash bombs, like "Obscure Side", and especially the headbanger's paradise "Deadly Routine". "The End Is Closed" will break your neck, raising the aggression to death metal dimensions. "Fatal Sentence" offers a slight slower twist in the beginning, but soon after the guys start thrash like there's no tomorrow once again. This slower twist develops into a whole song later, on "Voice From The Silence", which still thrashes with force at some point, but the predominant tempo is much slower compared to the other material; still this song remains a fairly good slab of pounding intense thrash. Time for some more brutal thrashing with "Rease The System" and the ultra-aggressive proto-death closer "Dead Minds": thrashing fury at its most unbridled. Hopefully the band is alive and well; there is so much potential here lying in wait...

Retaliatory Attack Full-length, 2006

My Space

RETENTUM CURIAE (FRANCE)

This is quite a mixed bag: thrash, death and black metal shake hands here, topped up by vicious black-ish rasps. The band are actually not too far music-wise from the horde of acts who appeared in France in the late 80's-early 90's, and more particularly Agressor and Loudblast (plus the black metal elements). At times the music takes a nice turn towards pure thrash ("Lex Talionis"), but more often it comes as a not very convincing mixture of all the mentioned styles.

Au Nom de la BÛte Demo, 2004
Lex Talionis Demo, 2004

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RETTURN (BRAZIL)

Based on "Strain": typical modern groovy thrash, serving as a good bridge between Sepultura's "Chaos AD" and "Roots"; it's much inferior to "Chaos AD", though, simply because the guys refuse to put more energy into the music, and most of the time it sounds too one-dimensional, slow and consequently boring.
"Sounds of an Empty Gun" is an obvious improvement over the preceding efforts now showing the guys capable of thrashing with gusto and force (the Salyer-esque "Everybody Hates Everybody"; the crossover-laced "Lord of Chaos" which also contains a few interesting dry semi-technical decisions; the chaotic, but entertaining, headbanginger at the end "Survival Instinct") even touching the classic trends. Although the other tracks never reach the intensity of those ones, the material at hand is energetic throughout staying on the verge between the mid and the up-tempo ("Green God", "Into This Cage"). The rhythms don't get repeated evolvong around the heavy steam-roller approach often spiced with more quiet proto-alternative breaks.

Retturn Full-length, 1995
Strain Full-length, 2001
Sounds of an Empty Gun Full-length, 2010

My Space

RETURN TO THE MIRE (BRAZIL)

A 4-song demo of your average Swedish thrash/death with "clean-gruff" vocal "duels" and cool melodic licks in mid-tempo occasionally thrashing harder ("The Train").

A Rude Awakening Demo, 2005

Fan Site

REVENANT (USA)

Revenant's debut is a cult classic, featuring awesome technical death/thrash in the Incubus-vein, but more technical and compelling; quite original for its time sound, full of tempo changes and great technical riffs. The songs are long, complex experiences, with constantly changing fast, brutal sections and slower, heavy ones. On the faster moments the sound is pure death metal, but on others the music thrashes just like in the 80's. "Ancestral Shadows" is an exception from the aggressive formula, being a heavy, stomping track, with no fast passages, sounding like more technical early Celtic Frost. "Asphyxiated Time" is similar, but it goes even further into slower, doomy territories- quite an atmospheric, dark song. The band looked well-fit into the ealy 90's picture with their very potent thrash/death hybrid with a twist, but they split-up, with the members moving to other death metal acts (Incantation, Immolation); the singer Henry Veggian had a short spell with Whiplash, singing on some of their concerts later in the 90's.
The "Overman" EP arrives after a very long hiatus seeing the guys straying from the path of technical thrash/death metal opting for much more ordinary doom/death on the first 3 songs, but the closing "Exalted Being" may be viewed as an "excuse" beign an exemplary technical number, quite fast and raging as well, well conformed with their older material, but neither of the approaches had been developed as the band disappeared once again with only one Best of Compilation released a few years later.

Prophecies of a Dying World Full-length, 1991
Overman EP, 2002

My Space

REVENANT DEAD (UK)

An awkward uneven mix of thrash, death, groove and doom; the guys at times try to put all styles into one composition, and the resulting amalgam doesn't work all the time. On the other hand the purwe doom songs are clearly the highlight where the singer abandons the annoying hardcore shouts, and tries something more melodic in the vein of Dax Riggs (Acid Bath). "Perfekt Hate" features some black metal even for a while, ably supported by the vicious raven-like vocals. "Bloodtide" is pure death metal madness in the beginning, and later on there is also one tender ballad, a couple of grinding sections as well, in other words, a larger-than-the universe effort will one find here, but its sudden jumps from one genre to a very contrasting one may not be to everyone's taste.

Imperial Rape March Full-length, 2007

Official Site

REVENGE (COLOMBIA)

Very cool speed/thrash metal of the classic school; fans of early Helloween, Not Fragile, 80's Agent Steel and the Polish Hellfire will be jumping like crazy on this one. The music is mostly speed metal with a few thrashy breaks, but this spontaneous wall of speed has to be heard by many: 9 songs of blistering uncompromising speed metal (the closer "After The Storm Of Steel" is a 1.5-min doomy instrumental) with excellent high clean vocals quite similar to Tomasz Twardowski (Hellfire). The band's first two efforts are more in the power/speed metal camp, with not many ties to thrash.

Death Sentence Full-Length, 2009

REVENGE (GREECE)

Based on the "Nail Them All" demo, these guys come up with decent retro thrash, sounding close to early Kreator. The music is fast and intense, topped by rough, mean-ish death metal vocals. "From Hell" follows the Germanic patterns once again, and although this time the guitars sound quite fuzzy, few would remain unmoved by heads-down speed/thrashers like the opening "Total Aggression" or the furious proto-death bomb "Jesus On The Cross". "Bloodfist" is another instant old school thrash classic, followed by the other more death metal-based number "Revenge". "Evil Nightmare" is the melodic deviation, offering some crossover rhythms, and fails to warm up the scene for the coming of the nice cover of Sepultura's "Antichrist" from their debut "Bestial Devastation" EP. This is not the end, however; the end comes in the form of the mid-paced atmospheric more laid-back instrumental "Revelation".

Nail Them All Demo, 2007
Jesus On The Cross Demo, 2007
From Hell Full-Length, 2008

My Space

REVEREND (USA)

Reverend was founded by David Wayne (R.I.P.) after his exit from the mighty Metal Church with the obvious intention to overshadow his former band. Well, this is not exactly the case, but his new gang deliver the goods on each of their works with some excellent power/thrash not too remote from early Metal Church, with David Wayne in top form. The EP "Reverend" was just a decent beginning, with its 3 tracks of mid-paced, but not really impressive power/thrash, and one really great one: "Ritual", which arguably remains the band's finest song.
"World Won't Miss You" comes out with all the guns blazing, providing a much more hard-hitting, faster sound, all this greatly displayed with the opener "Remission". It has its downs, too: the not very convincing semi-ballad "Scattered Wits", and the slower, groovy "Rude Awakening". Another, much better effort in the ballad genre is included later: the brilliant acoustic piece "Leader Of Fools". Later on the album restores the speed domination, with great headbangers, like "World Won't Miss You" and "Gunpoint". They haven't forgotten even about the fans of doom: there is a very cool cover of Black Sabbath's "Hand of Doom".
"Play God" is the band's magnum opus, more thrash-oriented than the previous releases, boasting cool aggressive pieces, like the opening "Butcher of Bagdad", "Fortunate Son", "Warp The Mind", etc. Wayne's skills in handling the ballads (something he already showed on the Metal Church works) are displayed once again, with the marvellous "Blessings", the heavier "Play God", and the short acoustic closer "Far Away" (here some might say that three ballads are too much). The guitar work here is much sharper and cutting (check out the riff-monsters "Death Of Me" and "Blackened Thrive").
"A Gathering of Demons" arrives after a long 10-year hiatus, showing that the band haven't lost their touch in producing some great thrash: the sinister aggressive opener "Massacre of the Innocents", the heavy doomy "Down", the fierce speed monster "Stealing My Mind", and "Legion", which is actually one of the best Metal Church songs, included in the "Blessing In Disguise" album under the name "Fake Healer" (it was written by Wayne, one of his last contributions to the band before his departure). The band have voted to continue their career without David Wayne, and despite some rumours of a new work in the makings, nothing has been heard from them in quite a while.

Reverend EP, 1989
World Won't Miss You Full-length, 1990
Play God Full-length, 1991
Live EP, 1992
A Gathering of Demons EP, 2001

Official Site

REVIOLENCE (BRAZIL)

Reviolence were formed after another Brazilian band- Panzer, split-up. On their only EP so far we have a continuation of the "thrash metal meets classic hard'n heavy"-style which works quite well, having in mind that quite a few bands have failed to bring the good out of such hybrids. All three tracks are cool with the last one- "Constant Dream", being a nice semi-ballad.
"Violent Phoenix" shows the band concentrating almost entirely on thrash, producing one great headbanger ("Violent Phoenix"), one slower, atmospheric power/thrasher ("Abduction"), and one awesome semi-technical speed/thrashing number ("About Angels And Demons"); the 4th track: "The Annunciation", is a half-min instrumental.

In Pieces EP, 2003
Violent Phoenix EP, 2008

Official Site

My Space

REVOCATION (USA)

This is the same band who were previously known as Cryptic Warning. Why they had decided to change their name, is not known; but fortunately the music is not a very distant departure from the technical thrash/death played earlier, maybe it's a bit more death metal oriented this time, but the great technical riffage is intact. The music, however, bears no resemblances to Carcass at that stage, and is not as hectic, but slower, and goes often towards the more atmospheric, jazzy-inclined acts like Cynic, Aftermath, Scenery from the Czech Republic, later period Pestilence. Of course, there are fast tempos (the shortest track "Unattained"), but not that many, and the guitar work is more complex, sometimes to the point of abstraction, not miles away from the Canadians Martyr on the most elaborate passages.
The full-length debut is a marvellous affair, concentrating more on the headbanging factor in the beginning, but rest assured that the technical riffage comes aplenty, too. "Tail From The Crypt" is a very cool combination of the two trends, after which starts the complex part, with the Swedish school-influenced "Exhumed Identity", which seamlessly merges into the superb technical number "Fields Of Predation"; this one never speeds up, relying instead on clever mid-paced melodic very technical riffs. The Swedish influence takes the upper hand once again, on the excellent sophisticated instrumental "Alliance In Tyranny", which shows the more lyrical side of the band. Time for one more highly-charged super technical song: "Suffer These Wounds", which explodes with some of the finest twisted guitars around, again without sppeding up too much. Then the aggression returns with "Summon The Spawn", which is still pretty much high-octane technical thrash/death ala Atheist and Sadist. "None Shall Be Spared (All Shall Be Speared)" is a colossal technical composition, with nods to all the greats in the field: Coroner, Pestilence, Atheist again, Death, Sceptic, etc. But this is not all, as later on we have the brilliant vortex guitars on "Age of Iniquity" which, combined wit the more quiet atmospheric parts, create a masterpiece worthy of Opeth, but this one is way better. There could hardly be found a better closer than the intense fierce "Empire Of The Obscene", which sums up the essence of the album, blending the tight complexity with a couple of more direct thrashy moments. This is a logical continuation of the career of this very talented outfit, and it shouldn't come as a surprise the very high level of musiciahship displayed on this sure top ten pick for 2008.
"Existence Is Futile" comes up less than a year after the debut, but the bad news is that the technicality has been left behind for the sake of much more ordinary modern thrash/death, "sieged" by frequent blast-beats and the prototypical Swedish melodic "decorations". Near the end the technicality miraculously returns on "Dismantle the Dictator": a fabulous technical death/thrasher, constantly switching from fast frantic sections to complex almost jazzy ones, with great sharp guitar work. It may be a leftover from the previous album, since the 3 remaining tracks are even more pedestrian modern thrash/death. yes, this effort will be quite a disappointment to the fans of the debut and the Cryptic Warning only release, since it sees the band now just one of the numerous practitioners of a style which peak has long been passed.

Summon The Spawn EP, 2006
Empire of The Obscene Full-length, 2008
Existence Is Futile Full-Length, 2009

My Space

REVOLT (CANADA)

A really cool 4-song demo ("Evil Ways") of fast-paced thrash with short, 2-3min tracks, and somewhat screechy vocals, which sound like a more annoying version of Mille Petrozza. The music delivers the goods, though, being quite speedy, even reaching for Wehrmacht ("Evil Ways"), but the major influence here is probably Slayer's "Reign in Blood".
"Metal Krusties Attack" offers a rawer sound, mostly mid-paced to slow, containing some slower, almost doomy, heavy tracks (the opener "Opening", "Destiny of Doom"). The compositions are lengthy, with a nod to early Celtic Frost, and even Hellhammer. "Air raids" at the end tries to liven things up a bit, but the awful sound quality on this song in particular, doesn't give it too many chances to do that. The vocals are rough, low-tuned death metal ones, truly one of the most brutal ones at that stage of the genre's development. Listening to this, one might remain quite surprised that this is the same band who released another, much better-sounding demo 4 years later.

Metal Krusties Attack Demo, 1986
Evil Ways Demo, 1990

REVOLT (PAKISTAN)

Dark moody thrash with progressive overtones; the guys know their craft providing clever semi-technical riffs and excellent Oriental hooks here and there, and the only real drawback would be the gruff death metal vocals which at times become more intelligible acquiring semi-whispered tendencies, but are hardly a match to the better music; actually they make sense with a nice clean tember on "Bridge Of Despair" (could be another singer), but that's about it. The sound seldom develops beyond the mid-tempo ("The Next Command" is the only place where the band start thrashing with passion for a while), but the guitar work is varied and moves around, also offering nice balladic interludes on almost every track. The doomy approach on the aforementioned "Bridge Of Despair" is a stylish deviation contrasting to the jumpy groove on the sprawling progressive opus "Termite Faction".

ReVolt Full-length, 2009

My Space

REVOLTED MASSES (GREECE)

4 tracks of dark semi-technical thrash with deep semi-death metal vocals and frequent Oriental "decorations"; the demo is rich in atmosphere also created by a few balladic lead-driven sections, although there are moments where your head will start banging spontaneously (the intense smasher "Revolted Masses", whicheven blast-beats in a brutal death metal fashion at some point). Still, the music relies more on heavy mid-paced riffs with intriguing melodies and clever riffs.

Revolted Masses Demo, 2009

My Space

REVOLTING BREED (GREECE)

A modern blend of thrash and death metal with a hardcore singer; the music bears no surprises, but is quite energetic and hard-hitting, and with a slightly more technical guitar sound than usual.

Revolting Breed Single, 2006
Rise Against Full-length, 2007

Official Site

REVOLUTION WITHIN (PORTUGAL)

Standard modern thrash with classic overtones; Dew-Scented come as a very close reference, as well as more recent Paradox (the lead guitar work, in particular: check out the excellent shredder "Silence"). The band plays at semi-high speed calming down on the underwhelming mid-paced closer "Sinner". The singer is the prototypical angry semi-death metal shouter (think Peter Dolving (The Haunted).

Collision Full-length, 2009

My Space

REVTEND (PORTUGAL)

This EP begins in an open groovy modern manner with "New Order", but "Welcome to Hell" is vintage early Slayer with a machine gun-like delivery; "Sentenced Man" is another cool classic thrasher, slower and atmospheric, with "Revolution Tendencies" mixing the two trends from the past 2 tracks at the end, even reaching out for the opener by adding the odd groovy hook.

Spread the Word EP, 2009

My Space

REX MUNDI (GREECE)

Cool technical/progressive thrash, which comes as a blend of the Swedes Hexenhaus and Opeth. "Diesel Machine" is moderately complex, quite intense, mid-tempo, with one speedy section at the end: a promising beginning. "Whispers of My Soul" is slower, with a cool Oriental atmosphere, maybe a bit underwhelming, with a less intense delivery. "Figure In A Dream" is an ambitious, but flawed 9-min long composition, which begins as a ballad, before introducing some furious blast-beats, which bring a change in the vocal style as well, to brutal death metal ones (the main ones are melodic, mid-ranged clean), before returning to the peaceful patterns from the beginning; the Opeth influences are obvious on this one, and the aggressive death metal break is awkward, to say the least, and most of the time spent in dreamy, acoustic guitars, doesn't make it a really fine addition to just a 4-track EP (the first one is an intro). But there is certainly a potential here, and with a more energetic approach in the future, these guys could reach far.

Balance Between Madness And Hope EP, 2007

My Space

RHADAMANTYS (HOLLAND)

This band was formed by Ard van Bers- the guitarist (and also singer) who graced with his presence, and apparently was the mastermind behind one of the finest moments from the Dutch scene: Donor's "Triangle of the Lost" (this band deplorably sank to the very bottom without him). This magnificent album is even better, being state-of-the-art progressive thrash/death metal. The bad thing is that there are only 6 tracks on it, one of which is a pure acoustic (but very good) instrumental- "Saxum Tantali". Half the songs are long, complex pieces in the 8-9min limit, full of brilliant technical guitar play, stunning tempo changes, sticking to the doom metal patterns at times (the opening 2 minutes from "Pile on the Agony" could perfectly fit on any of the Candlemass' 80's albums). There is not much headbanging material here, as the sudden turn of rhythm and riffs will often leave you startled, but utterly delighted, especially those who like technical masterpieces like Coroner's "Mental Vortex", Deathrow's "Deception Ignored", or Droys' "And If". Ard van Bers 's vocal duties are kept to the minimum here, with only sparce participation, opposing to the quite good basic death metal ones. But his presence is felt in every other department, making this release one of the undisputable treasures of the whole Dutch metal scene.

Labyrinth of Thoughts Full-Length, 1995

RHANAWA (MALAWI)

2 tracks of atmospheric dark thrash/death, quite cool, with technical "decorations" and an overall approach not too far from early-90's Messiah, but more leaning towards the slower doomy side. The full-length carries on with full force, this time adding epic elements to the picture, now coming closer to late 80's Bathory, but with a clear thrashy edge. Actually the pure doom metal passages are very few, as the music develops in an energetic mid-pace, the exception being "Fodya" where the tear it loose for a bit blasting in an extreme black metal fashion. The technicality is not being elaborated on, which is a pity since those elements were quite a nice touch previously. Still, this effort is not bad at all, if we possibly exclude the crude black metal vocals, which are at times accompanied by very low-tuned brutal growls, both choices much inferior to the stylish music which should make this very obscure for music place proud.

Bulumwa Demo, 2009
Heart of Mkango Full-Length, 2009

RHESTUS (BRAZIL)

From the riff work down to the vocals this is vintage 80's Kreator. These guys have managed to bring back the glorious Kreator sound even better than the Germans themselves. Fast, aggressive riffs attack you from beginning to end; a really impressive debut. The Brazilians' sound is more extreme at times, seldom bordering on proto-death metal ("Inside A Torn Apart", "Tsavo - The Place Of Slaughter", which is a masterpiece of aggressive technical thrash/death worthy of acts like Massacra and Hellwitch). The longer songs nicely recall Kreator's more technical period, and even go beyond that: "Bullet In Point", which is slower, heavier, with a genuinely technical sound, and a great bass bottom (the bass-performance is actually quite strong all over). "Die Like A Dog" is an awesome short bursting speed/thrasher with a jollier, crossover shade. "Sacrificed by Mistake" is a nice mix of slow, pounding guitars and super-fast ones, followed by the most brutal piece on this album: the grinding "Doomsday".

Embryo of the Endless Sands Full-length, 2003

Official Site

RHINO (SPAIN)

A heavy, crushing fusion of thrash and stoner doom ala Down/Eye Hate God; there's no much speed involved, but the punishing rhythm section and the pounding guitars will make your day. This album sounds like a more aggressive, and thrashier companion piece to Corrosion of Conformity's "Blind", or even Entombed's "Uprising", if you like; even the classic thrash fan may catch some retro riffs; a cool, sure-handed debut, not a typical work from the Spanish metal scene.

Breed the Chosen One Full-length, 2007

Official Site

RICTUS GRIN (USA)

A really cool, obscure band; the vocals are firmly in the death metal camp, but the music is pure thrash, with some genuine pagan/epic touches not too far from bands like Bifrost and the great Sabbat. At times there are displays of bad taste ("Rictus" from "Living The Dream", for example), where the band try to play some awful groove, which on albums like this sound awkward, to say the least. Fortunately, these moments are not that many, and as a whole we have a good band with a more original take on thrash.

Taste the Steel Full-length, 2003
Living the Dream Full-length, 2005

Official Site

RIFF RAFF (GERMANY)

The band name suggests nothing like thrash, but the music is quite hard-hitting and heavy, recalling Accuser. Some songs have a somewhat poppy quallity ("Fright Night"), and the album is not full-out thrash till the end, but is enjoyable nonetheless. It actually starts quite aggressively with the pounding thrashy delights "Deep Frustration" and the speedy "Death Zone". "Brainshake" is pure crossover happiness, but "Evil in White" returns to the heavy pounding riffage from the beginning. The thrashiness gets partially lost in the middle, which also includes the aforementioned "Fright Night", but the speed metal number "Education" brings back the energy, this time accompanied by some nice melodic leads. "Fuck Off" is a punky track ala Sex Pistols, after which the intensity never really goes back, resulting in two cool mid-paced power/thrashers. Later the guys changed their name to Cosmic Haze, and released another, better thrash metal album.

Recently Deceased Full-length, 1993

RIFFMASTER GENERAL (IRELAND)

An enjoyable mixture of thrash, power and classic heavy metal; the thrashing goes towards the Bay Area-territory (think Metallica, Exodus), but the rest is by no means worse, providing the listener with some great headbanging tracks as well as some calmer ones for the more traditional metal fans.

We Like That Single, 2001
A Trust Betrayed Full-length, 2001

Official Site

RIGID DOMAIN (DENMARK)

Based on the first two demos, this band offer outstanding power/thrash in the vein of late 80's Helstar and Znowhite. The tempo changes from heavy, stomping sections, to some speedy ones, and sometimes it all gets quite complex and technical, but without overdoing it ("Rigid Domain"). The singer on the "Short Tales" demo is a girl, and her powerful vocals, sounding like a better version of Leather (Chastain), kind of lift the quality of the music, too, which is more technical and more aggressive, with great riffs and melodies, albeit not as fast. This is great stuff which easily rivals the official Artillery releases, if not even surpassing them on the best moments. Although consistently releasing demos in the late 80's-early 90's, the band failed to find the support of the labels, and their very good music remains just an underground phenomenon.

Futile Existence Demo, 1987
Short Tales Demo, 1988
Death's Just Another Whore ... Demo, 1990
Promo Demo, 1991
Mandatory...End Of The Story Demo, 1992

RIGOR MORTIS (GERMANY)

A good 4-song demo of speed/thrash metal which is strangely oriented towards the American scene, with its sound recalling early Exciter and Savage Grace. "Dark Power" is a great hard-hitting number which would be very fitting even into Helstar's "Remnants of War".

Demo Demo, 1985

RIGOR MORTIS (JAPAN)

This is very cool retro thrash of the German school, with very rusty vocals which have to be heard to be believed. With only three songs released so far, Rigor Mortis are yet to make a breakthrough.

Betrayal EP, 2003

Official Site

RIGOR MORTIS (USA)

This band definitely had influence on the death metal genre. The self-titled debut is furious, intense thrash, with some excellent guitar work courtesy of Mike Scaccia, who later moved to the industrial masters Ministry. The guys play fast and tight, touching death metal at times ("Slow Death"), but the guitar performance realy makes their sound stand out; Scaccia is all over the place, providing stylish leads and some very infectious, memorable melodies. Bruce Corbitt is probably the only singer who can sound both brutal and emotional at the same time, without changing his style. Because of the uncompromising, aggressive nature of the music it is hard to define it as technical, although it is not too far on quite a few moments ("Vampire", "Shroud of Gloom").
"Freaks" follows the same path, thrashing mercilessly and fast, with an even bigger technical edge added to the sound, boasting some really stylish technical numbers ("The Haunted"), and one brilliant larger-than-life 10-min instrumental: "Six Feet Under", which is an encyclopaedia of superb riffs: one of the highest achievements of its kind.
"Rigor Mortis VS. The Earth" begins with an imposing atmospheric orchestral intro, which is the first sign that this will be a different story. Well, the first song "Mummified" is a speedy aggressor sounding like a leftover from the first two albums, but later lightning speed numbers take turns with slower, heavier ones. One pretty faithful cover of Sex Pistols' "Psycho Therapy" comes in the middle, followed by another super fast explosion "Asphyxia", but after that the sound loses steam completely, with the crossover-based "Dead Fish", the galloping power/thrasher "SOG", the Motorhead-influenced "Speed Whore", and the interesting, but too melodic and edgeless heavy metal instrumental "Afterbirth of a Midget". Although Scaccia is in top form once again, sounding even better than before (especially on this last instrumental, and on the brilliant technical opus "The Rack"), it was clear that the band would need something more to compete with the death metal hordes during the 90's. Scaccia chose the easier way, and later joined the very popular and up-and-going Ministry.

Rigor Mortis Full-length, 1988
Freaks EP, 1989
Rigor Mortis VS. The Earth Full-length, 1991

Official Site

RIIVAAJA (FINLAND)

Based on the band's debut (which is clearly a compilation of their previous demos), we have quite a variety here, ranging from some jolly punk-ish numbers, to some serious attempts at a better song-writing, resulting in quite a few cool tracks recalling a more thrashy Barathrum, spiced up with some vicious death metal-ish blasts. There is also a very cool semi-ballad ("The Ghostwriter") and other atmospheric, gothic-tinged songs.

1994-1997 Full-length, 1997
Filosofi Full-length, 1997
Pappi EP, 1999
Riivaaja Full-length, 2000
Jõlleensyntymõ Full-length, 2002
Seitsemõn EP, 2005

Official Site

RINGWORM (USA)

Based on the first two full-length albums, the band's style is a solid take on thrash/crossover which will bring to mind Pro-Pain, D.R.I., Cro-Mags' "The Age Of Quarrel", and other veterans from the 80's. Despite the 8-year gap between the two releases, there is no big difference in style, maybe "Birth Is Pain" comes a bit more aggressive ("Madness Of War") and more thrashy. Fans of thrash/crossover will surely find their new heroes here.

The Promise Full-length, 1993
Birth Is Pain Full-length, 2001
Justice Replaced By Revenge Full-length, 2005
The Ninth Circle: The Venomous Grand Design Full-length, 2007

Official Site

RINJYU ZANGE (JAPAN)

Thrash/crossover made in Japan; this is brutal relentless stuff, fast but also pretty one-dimensional, although at their best the guys reach a Wehrmacht-like intensity.

Who's the Founder EP, 1988

RIOTOR (CANADA)

Very well executed intense fast-paced thrash along the lines of Rigor Mortis; the singer is not far from the gruff delivery of Bruce Corbitt, but this one strains himself to sound evil. The music takes some more stylish dimensions from time to time, although never sacrifices the speedy riffage. Seldom does the sound get proto-death-ish ("Ode to Death"), but such sheer speed approach requires some "rules broken". On the other hand, the short blistering "Void of Emptyness" is vintage old school speed metal, in the spirit of early Helloween, so there is balance and again, a lot of speed. "Despiter" comes thrashing with some technical implements, and things get pretty much to the top, not without the help of the closing "Poser Hunt", which is heads-down speed/thrash at its best, recalling also the Angel Dust debut. There should be no problem for the band to find a label interested in hearing something more from them: there is a lot of potential here...

Death and Destruction Demo, 2007

My Space

RIPCORD (USA)

This band offer a potent mix of heavy, power and thrash. There is nowhere Speed of Sound to be heard, although the opener of the same name is an energetic power/thrasher. The other tracks are slower, mid-paced for most of the time, clinging between the modern and the classic sound. Near the end the guys pick up some more intensity for a change, and end up with the up-tempo galloping number "Frontline" and the cool heavy, Overkill-influenced "Voices".

Speed of Sound Full-length, 1993

RIPHOUSE (USA)

This EP opens with a very good ballad: "Circles",but what we have later is good technical Bay Area thrash along the lines of early Testament and late 80's Metallica. The lead guitarist is obviously fascinated with Alex Scholnick, and his pyrotechnics are well worth a listen. There is not much speed present on the two longer compositions, which makes them a bit dragging, but "Existence Refused" is all-out headbanging thrash, abandoning the more complex arrangements for the sake of direct aggressive riffage.

The Cat Starves EP, 1990

My Space

RIPPED (USA)

A good, but obscure band; the band's style is technical thrash- quite unique, and to describe it, you have to imagine a blend of Equinox, Voivod, Dead & Bloated, and the more technical moments from the early Megadeth albums. The music is never fast, but stays in the mid-tempo range although this could be a bit misleading, as it gets quite jumpy and choppy at times, frequently changing the rhythm. The songs are surprisingly short for this kind of music (2 to 3-min long), but you are guaranteed to get enough satisfaction since the music never gets stale or boring even for a split moment. All this is ably supported by good vocals, sounding like a mix of angrier, and harsher, Dave Mustaine and not very sober David Wayne (R.I.P.).
The debut has a more accessible sound which would also appeal to the more conventional thrash fans, whereas "Through My Eyes" comes with a more complex musicianship and a heavier sound, featuring some riffage ala the first two Atheist albums, and even Sadist (Ripped could have been an influence on the Italians). The three-part technical symphony "Friends" takes their style to the most abstract level, containing sections which later made bands like Ephel Duath stars on the scene; on the other hand, "Gibraltar" is a lesson how technical thrash metal should be played. This band is a proof that the true greats of the technical side of metal never managed to quite leave the underground.

Blotter Full-length, 1991
Deep Monster Ocean EP, 1993
Through My Eyes Full-length, 1993

RIPPED OFF FACE (USA)

Thrash/death metal of the modern variety; the band try to keep things more interesting, involving some technical elements, and frequently changing tempos. There are times when the music comes close to mid-90's Voivod ("The Lioness"), or to the majestic cosmic sound of Bal-Sagoth ("Hymn to the Dismal Tide"), but the gamut of influemces is too big to keep all the separate parts glued together.

Disease and Medicate EP, 2007
We Are The State Full-length, 2008

Official Site

RIPPING CORPSE (USA)

This band have been bothering the underground with demos since the mid-80's. They have all been of a high quality, starting with pure thrash, and later moving onto death metal by retaining their thrash roots. On their full length the band have almost completed the transition to death metal, but there are still enough thrash riffs to keep the thrash fan interested. The music is quite brutal at times, bordering on grind-core even. With all the right elements to become one of the leaders of the death metal movement of the 90's, the guys never recorded an official release again. Their guitarist Eric Rutan later joined Morbid Angel, and the others formed Dim-Mak.

Dreaming With The Dead Full-length, 1991

My Space

RIPPING HEADACHES (USA)

Quite good demo of intense, frequently fast-paced thrash with certain hardcore tendencies, which sounds both technical and aggressive on different parts, and always compelling. There are some attempts at grind-core even: some parts from "Discount Abortion", and the vocals are quite striking, having this sinister semi-black metal rasp.

Demo Demo, 1988

RIPSAW (HOLLAND)

Thrash/crossover, which sometimes sounds quite classic ("In a Flash"), sometimes groovy and modern ("Life Show Gamble game").

Skullbashing Heavy Metal For The Masses Demo, 2007

Official Site

RISE OF CALIGULA

Old school thrash/death, staying close to the American patterns, with some technical pretensions, where their style comes close to Morbid Angel. The tempo varies from super brutal to slower, atmospheric parts (the doomy "Polar"), to stylish, but undeveloped technical passages ("Midmorning Disintegration" is a particularly striking piece of chaotic technical thrash/death: the highlight here).
"Rise of Caligula" is noisy brutal death with awful abrasive guitars, seldom interrupted by heavy Godflesh-esque industrial passages, and a couple of peaceful lead-driven short instrumentals, which are by far the best part of this confusing below average effort.

Libretto Full-Length, 2008
Rise of Caligula Full-Length, 2009

RISE TO RUIN (USA)

A fusion of classic and modern thrash, which hesitates between modern day Annihilator ("Iron Youth") and the classic sound, which comes in the form of the excellent "Indictment", a great mid-paced thrasher, graced by stylish technical licks. Some songs have this dirty garage sound, which for some reason remind me of Carnivore, an impression further supported by the heavy, throaty vocals ala early Peter Steele. "Karbringer Of Demise" is a gothic-tinged piece, which would fit any of the last couple of Sentenced (Finland) albums, although here the guitar work is better (check out the nice leads on almost every song).

Iron Youth EP, 2007

RISING DARK (ITALY)

Retro power/thrash, not very well-construcred, awkwardly switching from energetic fast to slower parts, inserting ballads (the long monotonous "We Are Reborn"), even a grinding section on "Your Blood Is On My Hands". "I Refuse" is close to being the highlight with its first part thrashing far and wide, but the second one is a disappointing balladic one with no life at all. Clumsy modern groovy riffs come with the final "Drown In The Blood" to pull this effort even further down.

Demo Demo, 2008

My Space

RISING PAIN (USA)

Based on the two demos, these guys offer modern, groovy thrash quite close to the works of recent Machine Head (before "The Blackening"), and another American act: Motive (actually the drummer: Andy Luffey, is also a full-time member of Motive). The music picks up good speed here and there, but most of the time it bears no surprises. The vocals cling between some more aggressive, Phil Anselmo-like ones and some semi-clean ones, recalling the style Rob Flynn acquired for the Machine Head's mid-period releases.
"The Essence of Decay" adds more dynamic Swedish riffs and the sound now is faster, although again it will hardly surprise anyone. The peace is broken rudely with the grinding "Feel Less Alive", which will make you feel either less or more "alive", depending on the taste. No more "surprises" of the kind, although the speed gets a level up after this one, witth the exception of the cool acoustic instrumental "A Matter of Time".

Useless Shell Demo, 2002
Salvation For None Demo, 2003
Existence Is Futile Full-length, 2007
The Essence of Decay Full-Length, 2009

Official Site

RISK (GERMANY)

This talented outfit never made it to the upper echelon of German thrash although they richly deserved that. As a matter of fact, this is one of the oldest metal bands of Germany, second only to The Scorpions perhaps (known as Faithful Breath previously). The band decided to change their name to Risk in the mid 80's, and give a more aggressive edge to their music. The first two albums betray the band's roots of classic heavy metal, being more power/speed metal-based, with some really nice melodic guitar lines and infectious choruses ("Russian Nights" from "Hell's Animals" is a great heavy metal hymn), giving quite a push to the power/speed metal movement, which took its complete shape later in the 90's.
"Dirty Surfaces" is a decent entry into thrash metal with its heavy, more elaborate, progressively-tinged tracks. It begins in exactly the same way as the previous works, fast and light-heartedly with the first two songs. The catchy choruses are preserved, and work quite well, combined with the more aggressive guitar work. "Warchild" slows down, and introduces more complex arrangements and heavier riffs, culminating in the cool, but overlong ballad "Letters From Beyond". The problem is that several consecutive tracks of the same type, with no too much motion, comes a bit too much, and one might start begging for something just a bit faster. It comes near the end with the blistering, galloping "Dirty Surfaces", which is not as thrashy, but is very welcome to give this album more life.
One could not help, but have some reserves for the band's next offering, considering the slightly uneven nature of the predecessor, but "The Reborn" is a good album, a really commendable work of heavy, technical thrash. When "Last Warning" reaches you with its superb, Oriental riffs, you know that this will be a different experience, in a better way. It's always a risk to open an album with a very long, 9-min song, but "Last Warning" delivers the goods in every way. The tempo is again not fast, mostly mid-paced, with another very good heavy ballad- "Lullaby", but the interesting, stylish guitar work will keep you entertained the whole time. The last song ("Noone Will Remember") is the only drawback, having again some balladic tendencies, instead of offering another diversion, but with more up-tempo, headbanging tunes.
Similar to Coroner, the band released the anti-climactic "Turpitude" after that, which was their answer to the modern tendencies with its dry, mechanical, groovy sound, and remained their swan song.

The Daily Horror News Full-length, 1988
Ratman EP, 1989
Hell's Animals Full-length, 1989
Dirty Surfaces Full-length, 1990
The Reborn Full-length, 1992
Turpitude Full-length, 1993

My Space

RITES OF PAIN (CZECH)

Modern power/thrash which recalls mid-period Machine Head, but the guitar sound is heavier, and some tracks are cool up-tempo thrashers ("Dreamspire"), and "Prey Of The Misery" is a good blend of some classic riffage and stoner doom ala Down.

Promo Demo, 2004

Official Site

RITUAL (USA)

Excellent retro power/thrash metal, reminiscent of Helstar and Deadly Blessing; "She Rides The Sky" is a very strong opener, which will also remind you of old Helloween, and not only because of the title, with nice galloping rhythms, great vocals, and a catchy soaring chorus. Later the music slows down, and although the following "Where I Belong" is a cool heavy power/thrasher, a couple of songs are softer, power metal-based pieces, quite good as well, even sounding technical at times ("Addicted to Fire"). "The Forgotten" is a great intense power/thrash opus, similar to the opener, but more aggressive, recalling Helstar's "Nosferatu". After such an impressive entry, it would be hard for the rest to impress you a lot, although it doesn't descend to power metal completely, but contains enough hard riffs to please the fans, especially "Dementia", which is a nice little semi-technical piece, and the closing track "City Of The Dead", which will surprise you with the very fast, aggressive middle break and the nice melodic leads.

Trials of Torment Full-length, 1993
Relapse Of Aggression EP, 1995

RITUAL CARNAGE (JAPAN)

The best Japanese thrash metal band and one of the finest to ever grace the genre, Ritual Carnage were founded by Damian Montgomery- an American who lives in Japan. "The Highest Law" is a strong debut, mixing death and thrash metal, strangely acquiring a lighter, crossover-based sound on the shorter songs ("The Unjust:, "Succumb to the Beast"), which contrast on the speedy monsters ("The Highest Law", "Domain of Death"). The closing track- "Death Metal", ironically, has nothing to do with death metal, but is the most melodic one here, with a strong early Venom, Motorhead-influence.
"Every Nerve Alive" moves more into thrash metal territory, keeping the speed from the debut, but removing the crossover numbers. Now nothing can stop aggressive bombs like "Death Judgement Fate" and "World Wide War". Some stylish technical guitars can be heard on "Scars of Battle", as well as one mid-paced, heavy number- "Escape from the Light". The end is preserved for a very cool, faithful cover of Metallica's "Hit the Lights".
If the first two efforts were good, but not striking, the band really hit the top with their next two releases. With a much better sound quality and much tighter, more technical guitar work, these two albums are some of the finest achievements of the whole Japanese metal scene. The guys again concentrate on the speedier side of thrash, and Montgomery adjusts his vocals, now sounding angrier, but also cleaner. "The Birth of Tragedy" reminds of the band's death metal past with a cover of Death's "Infernal Death" at the end, which is a tribute to Chuck (R.I.P.).
"I, Infidel" is arguably the band's finest hour. Montgomery here sounds much cleaner and more melodic, taking a higher pitch, not miles away from Sean Killian (Vio-Lence), which suits the fast-paced music just perfect. This album is a non-stop headbanging riff-fest, seldom achieved before; this is "Eternal Nightmare" of the new millennium. The guitars are more technical, resulting in some really fine, more technical numbers: "Do Not Resuscitate". With Montgomery reportedly preparing to go back to the States, the future of this great band is, unfortunately, uncertain.

The Highest Law Full-length, 1998
Every Nerve Alive Full-length, 2000
The Birth Of Tragedy Full-length, 2002
I, Infidel Full-length, 2005

Official Site

RITUAL MISERY (USA)

The band's style is power/thrash reminding of 90's Flotsam & Jetsam, but clinging more towards the thrash side. The sound is heavy, thick; the tracks are mostly mid-paced, and some of them have this modern groove vibe. This is a good effort, but the approach is slightly one-dimensional, and you might find it hard to remember what the album was about later.

World of Hate Full-length, 1995

RITUAL OF TORMENT (USA)

This is the same band who under the name of Ritual recorded a fairly strong album of American power/thrash. Why there was any need in changing their name, remains a mystery. This album is actually a re-recording of the Ritual's album, with two live videos added of tracks from that same album.

Ritual of Torment Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RITUAL SACRIFICE (USA)

The music of this obscure formation on the demos is Slayer-influenced thrash with a few good technical licks on the later ones. "When Hope Is Pain" is a glorious sum up of all that has been heard during their demo stage offering vintage late-80's Slayer-esque thrash with a technical twist. The opening "When Hope Is Pain" is an awesome steam-roller also introducing the forceful Tom Araya-esque vocals. "Once Precious Life" already sounds more technical jumping and twisting in a way not too dissimilar even to Coroner. "Sleep Without Dreams" carries on in the same vein sounding a bit more straight-forward also offering very good leads. "Inhuman" changes the course into more aggressive faster thrash, but retains the technical riffage to an extent. "The Shape Of Rage" returns to the dominant crushing mid-paced patterns influencing the next xouple of songs among which "Drop Dead" jumps on the death metal wagon bashing in a furious manner at some point. "This Other Self" is a brilliant short lead-driven instrumental, predating and maybe even influencing, Death's "Voice of the Soul" from "The Sound of Perseverance". The "idyll" gets broken after that with the brutal proto-death outbreak "Empty Churches" and the raging Slayer-esque closer "Where Is God?" which nicely spices things up with great technical hooks and, again, fine lead guitars. This is simply one of the finest achievements from the thrash metal circuit of the 90's, ironically released at the weakest year of the decade, a more that worthy epitaph not only of the band's short career, but of the whole classic thrash metal movement.

Ritual Sacrifice Demo, 1989
The Inhuman Race Demo, 1990
Into Darkness We Fall Demo, 1992
Bury the Living Demo, 1993
Dimmer the Light Demo, 1994
When Hope Is Pain Full-length, 1995

My Space

RIVER'S EDGE (SWEDEN)

This very obscure act pull out excellent edgy (pun intended) dark, haunting thrash, mid-paced to up-tempo, with intriguing, semi-technical guitar work, recalling the works of the Germans Criminal Justice. "Awaiting Command" speeds up, turning into an intense thrasher, followed by the nice acoustic outro "Blackmoon Rising". The vocals are very effective semi-whispered, sinister snarls, again close, but more vicious, to Criminal Justice.

Mind the Edge Demo, 1988

RIVER FRESHNEY (UK)

Based on the "Shit Just Got" split, this band plays energetic classic thrash with elements of crossover. This is cool music not deprived of melodic leanings as well as of heavy stomping ones. The singer is a pure death metal shouter standing at times on the way of the good sharp riffage.

River Freshney 1 Demo, 2006
Get Fish or Die Trying EP, 2007
This CD Will Melt Your Face (and Turn You into a Knob Head) Split, 2008
Nothin 2 Catch: The Dem-ohhs! Best of/Compilation, 2009
Shit Just Got Split Split, 2009

My Space

RIVERGE (JAPAN)

Based on debut EP, this band offer raw, intense thrash with awful, unrehearsed shouty vocals. The title track is amateurish pounding, something which Messiah in their very early stages did in a much better way, but "Hungry Child" saves the day, being cool speedy thrash in the Germanic tradition. The other highlight is the guys' penchant to wear masks in a way quite close to Kiss.
Their debut full-length is finally a fact, after a very long 20-year break, and displays a band having not forgotten how to play some raging old school thrash. The rage takes some extremes ala Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends": "Till I Die", and as a whole the aggression comes aplenty, so expect no rest all the way. There is a lot of Slayer here, and proto-death at times, as well as some genuine speed metal delights: "Positive Ruin". The riffs vary, sticking to the more brutal paragons, also reaching hardcore intensity in the Wehrmacht spirit: "Cutting Edge". Listening to this spontaneous ball of fury, one may regret the fact that these guys were not given a chance to record something similar during the golden 80's. Still, it's never too late for the good 80's thrash...

Till I Die... Single, 1986
Vol. 2 Demo, 1987
To Great Kids! Demo, 1988
Do A Threat For The Eye Single, 1989
Rebirth Of Skull Full-length, 2009

Official Site

ROADKILL (USA)

A 3-song demo of smashing heavy, technical speed/thrash which will remind you of Flotsam & Jetsam's "No Place for Disgrace" in the more straight, pounding sections, and late 80's Metallica and Toxic's "World Circus" in the more technical parts. The music at times picks a considerable amount of Slayer-esque aggression and speed (parts from "Think Song" and "Amended Freedom"), but is predominantly heavy, up-tempo, with great guitar work (both riff and solo-wise), crushing bass bottom, and excellent high-pitched vocals ala John Cyriis.

Call It What You Will Demo, 1990

ROCHUS (GERMANY)

An obscure band from the German metal scene; based on the "Years Of Ignorance" demo, these guys play some great thrash metal close to Exumer's "Possessed By Fire" and Destruction. The demo is full of smashing, drilling riffs (some of them quite technical, too). "Haunting In Your Brain" and "New Horizons" are magnificent fast thrashers which deserve to be put in every "best of thrash" collection. Another example of how unjust the music scene is.

Aufnahme Demo, 1989
Years of Ignorance Demo, 1989

ROK (AUSTRALIA)

Based on the debut, this band play speed/thrash metal with black-ish overtones, akin to Alastor from Portugal, but the music also reminds of Exciter, and even the more recent works of Venom in the slower parts. Some numbers are exercises in sheer speed and aggression, coming close to Impaled Nazarene ("The Butcher of Baghdad"), which are balanced with some pure heavy metal pieces ("The Fall Of The Macedonian Empire"). "Shit City" (now this is a title!) abandons the speed for the sake of some almost doomy riffs. In other words, this is quite a mixed bag where everyone might find something to like.

This is satanik Full-length, 1998
Burning metal Full-length, 2001

ROMMEL (JAPAN)

Based on the first demo, Rommel play first-class speed/thrash metal recalling their German colleagues Angel Dust and Warrant. There are some nice solos and the guitar work is quite strong; it features one fine speed metal classic ("Down With the Master"), two great intense speed/thrashers ("Burning Brains", "The Prince of Hell"), and one slower, less impressive, but cool mid-paced power/thrasher ("Night Hawk"), which is longer and more melodic, quite close to the pattern introduced by Warrant on their full-length. With the growing popularity of thrash metal in the 80's, it's a mystery how these guys never made it big with the sheer talent displayed here.

Rommel - Vol 1. Demo, 1987
2nd Demo Demo, 1988
Indiscriminate Attack Three Demo, 1988

ROMPER ROOM REJECTS (USA)

A 3-song demo of punk-ish thrash/crossover ala Gang Green and early D.R.I.

Demo Demo, 1987

ROOT (CZECH)

This legendary Czech band are more famous for their epic/doom metal works, but their beginnings are by no means less impressive. "Zjevení" is a great dark debut, a marvellous mix of sharp thrashy riffs and some funereal doomy ones, suddenly interrupted by short brutal thrash/proto-death numbers ("Výslech"). "Upálení" is a very cool mixture of contrasing styles: aggressive thrash riffage, and sloow doomy parts. "Písen pro Satana" is a great black metal hymn, which even surpasses the similar exploits of Bathory and Venom in the genre. "666" switches onto full-out aggression once again, a situation slightly relieved by the more melodic, crossover-styled "7 Eerných Jezdcú". "Cesta Zkázy" is a masterpiece of raging thrash with a certain technical edge, and a great atmospheric, doomy intro, accompanied by a haunting chorus.
"Hell Symphony" begins in a magnificent way, with the fast technical thrashing instrumental "Belzebub", one of the finest achievements of the style, showing the band moving far ahead in terms of musicianship. "Belial-0" follows suit, with slower, but hypnotic heavy riffs. "Lucifer" crushes in a mid-paced fashion, supported by stylish semi-technical riffage, but "Abaddon" shows no mercy, being direct aggressive thrash/death metal. "Asmodeus" is a nice nod to early Celtic Frost, as well as a part of "Leviatha", although later on that same song the guys lose patience, and start bashing with full force, providing some moments for the brutal technical death metal maniacs. The final part of the album is quite diverse, offering one cool semi-acoustic instrumental ("The Pray"), one short brutal death bomb ("The Oath"), and another instrumental ("Satan's") of the slower, doomy variety. With this one finished the band's flirtation with the more extreme metal genres, and later their music took a softer, slower, but equally as effective direction.

Zjevení / The Revelation Full-length, 1990
Hell Symphony Full-length, 1991

Official Site

ROPER (IRELAND)

Based on the full-length, this band plays modern thrash/death metal, alternating fast energetic with slower groovy parts. The latter kind of predominate, and despite its edgy moments and the professional attitude towards the genre, this effort could hardly pass for the most original release nowadays.

Left To Stampede EP, 2005
Gallows Hill Full-length, 2007

Official Site

ROOTWATER (POLAND)

These Poles modern alternative industrialized post-thrash, adding the odd hardcore break, and the melodic semi-progressive deviation. At best their music comes close to a more thrashy Tool, but often it is bland edgeless groovy/grungy/industrial mish-mash, borrowing heavily from the German industrial scene as well (Rammstein, Die Krupps, KMFDM, Oooomph, etc.).

Visionism Full-length, 2009

ROSE OF SHARYN (INDONESIA)

2 tracks of badly-structured modern thrash/death metal with bad semi-shouty/semi-death vocals; the music is not a very convincing blend of heavy groovy and faster melo-death sections.

Demo Demo, 2009

ROSE ROSE (JAPAN)

Believe it or not, this is one of the oldest metal acts in Japan, second only to Loudness perhaps. Their beginnings were strictly for the punk/hardcore fans, but on "Vooothzer" the band shows obvious infatuation with thrash, death and grind, resulting in 13 short explosive tracks of energetic, frequently quite brutal and fast stuff, part of which is frenetic to the point of absurdity ("Last Chapter", "Despair", "Without Permission"). Shades of their past can clearly be felt on at least one third of the songs, but rest assured that thrash is given its share as well ("Grudge", "Wiping Off") although this is hardly music which will make the thrash fan fall in love with, even after a few repetitive listens.
"No Medicine Cures An Asshole" is a less brutal, but less striking, affair, again mixing thrash, hard and grindcore, plus a solid doze of groove which kills the speed on quite a few times. Thrash is given more space this time, and at least half of the tracks are all-out thrash blasters, although those alternative groove sections are too frequent, and do their best to ruin the headbanging fun.

Breed For You EP, 1985
From Born Till Die... EP, 1985
Emotional Disturbance Full-length, 1985
Skatehead '88 EP, 1986
Born To Be A Skate Boy EP, 1987
Mosh Of Ass Full-length, 1987
Kill Your Brain Full-length, 1988
Liquidation Full-length, 1989
Brutalize Full-length, 1991
Deaden The Nerve Pt. 2 EP, 1992
Degenerate Generation Full-length, 1993
Bemire Full-length, 1994
Private Or Not EP, 1995
Everyday Life Full-length, 1998
No Medicine Cures An Asshole Full-length, 2000
99% Is Shit Full-length, 2003
Neo Unknown Tranced Slayers Full-length, 2006
Cheaper Dream Full-length, 2007
Vooothzer Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ROSENFELD (JAPAN)

The band's career began in the mid 80's, mixing heavy, technical, long songs with some shorter fast, furious thrashers. The overall style recalls less polished, and a little inferior Outrage (Japan again). There are moments which sound quite interesting, even technical: "Field of Roses", but the synthesized, harsh vocals and the dragging, heavy riffs on the longer compositions push the sound into many other directions, still within the confines of metal: "Rest in Peace" is pure doom, for example, but the guitars are repetitive and monotonous. When the guys keep it short, they are certainly more impressive, and manage to pull out some effective little thrashers: "Holocaust Eve", "Pigs of the Empire", "Revenger". "Stomrtroopers" is an interesting, mid-paced track, which starts as a power/heavy metal hymn, before it turns into a quite worthy speedy headbanger.

Pigs of the Empire Full-length, 1991

ROSICRUCIAN (SWEDEN)

Rosicrucian looked as though they would take over from Hexenhaus as the leading technical thrash act from Sweden, and they did exactly that, but for a very short time. These guys' music is not exactly a Hexenhaus- clone; their sound is more diverse, not as dark and more modern, but is of a high quality, too, if you can stand the vocals on the debut which are semi-death ones, and don't fit the technical play quite well. That same debut provides cool technical Bay-Area thrash with late 80's Metallica and early Testament (the short shouted choruses are directly taken from them) the major influences, also recalling a more technical version of Mezzrow's "Then Came the Killing"; that same act provided Ulf Pettersson, the man who sings here. "Column Of Grey" thrashes with conviction in the beginning, adding some more twisted riffs, as well as some acoustic flamenco variations. Later on the music starts crushing in a mid-paced fashion, with the next "The Way Of All Flesh" recaling very strongly Metallica's "Leper Messiah" with a more technical twist in the middle. "Within The Silence" surprises pleasantly with very cool Alex Scholnick-like leads, and after the balladic intro offers heads-down intense thrash. The speed remains for "Esoteric Traditions", which again offers some short balladic experimentations and excellent leads, which here threaten to overshadow everything. "Autocratic Faith" is a nice technical pounding thrasher, which would easily qualify for both "Master of Puppets" and "...And Justice for All". The techno-beats at the beginning of "Nothing But Something Remains" shouldn't scare you, neither should the acoustic guitar after them: soon the guys start the thrash assault, and this composition is very close to the preceding one. "Aren't You Bored Enough" is more ordinary mid-paced thrash, sounding as though directly taken from "Souls of Black". "Back In The Habit" thrashes faster, to the point of blast-beating at the end, this section coming "accompanied" by very good acoustic implements as well. "Do You Know Who You're Crucifying" scores high in the more aggressive thrash department, and is the only more openly brutal track, although the slower and more technical moments are here, too, as well as a haunting quiet interlude. This "silent" effort very nicely fitted into the overall great thrash metal picture of 1991, delighting both the more conventional and more technical classic thrash fans. And, these leads will haunt you...

"No Cause for Celebration" begins like the most logical continuation to the debut, with the fast intense "Much About Nothing", with the lead guitarist in a very inspired form again. "Parts Of Me" introduces the heavy technical sound heard on the longer songs from the debut, thrashing hard on quite a few times as well. "No Cause For Celebration" is slower, almost doomy, with a hardly audible (at least to the not very trained ears) modern edge; some catchy Japanese/Chinese melodies are here to save this somehow uneventful track. "Stench Of Life" is quick to compensate with speedy thrash riffs; check out the mid-performance on the lead guitar: Yngwie Malmsteen of thrash this guy is, and despite the clear show-off purpose of this passage the talents of this guy are really hard to be denied. "Stagnations Of Emotions" is standout technical thrash, effortlessly mixing very technical twisted passages with straight headbanging ones, alternating speedy with slower tempos; again some great acoustic guitar support "duelling" with the lead one. "Words Without Meaning" may be considered the ballad, with its heavy doomy riffage and one more peaceful moment. "The Opening Of The Glory End" doesn't speed up much forward, but the marvellous lead intro and the smashing riffs will own you: do I have to mention another acoustic section? "Naked Face Down" may raise some eyebrows, being too slow for the band's standards again, pulling the 2nd half a bit down, although the final "A Moment Of War" will throw you in a compulsive mosh around the house/apartment, being relatively direct aggressive thrash, with a slightly awkward jazzy outro, which lasts a bit longer to be considered a stylish touch.
Despite the couple of less impressive moments in the 2nd half this album is almost as strong as the debut, seeing the guys proudly waving the retro thrash flag high, with virtually no competition on the field in the barren mid-90's, so it came as a total shock when they released an EP less than a year later, under a new name: Slapdash, and a sound having almost nothing to do with the one reviewed here, being some very common for the time modern groovy thrash, with not a single trace of the technical and lead guitar flair displayed here, followed by a full-length in 1996 in pretty much the same vein. The band guitarists are presently giving their fair share to the modern thrash brotherhood: Lars Lindén plays in Carnal Forge, Magnus Söderman in Inrage.

Silence Full-length, 1991
No Cause for Celebration Full-length, 1994

ROSSIJA (RUSSIA)

A mix of speed, thrash and hardcore; the music is energetic without being too fast. A pleasant surprise is the mid-track: "New Polyanitci", which is a very cool, more optimistic take on the great Cemetary hit "Now She Walks the Shadows" from "Godless Beauty". "The Watchtower", which follows right after, is first-rate classic thrash, which will catch you with your pants down, simply because noone would be prepared to hear such greatness. This same greatness continues on the short explosive "To Each His Own", and partly on the long 8-min epic "Ice", which acquires some power/speed metal tendencies. The closing "Victory or Death" is a very nice semi-acoustic ballad.

Moei Zemli Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ROSSOMAHAAR (RUSSIA)

Members of this band also play in the very good doom metal act Stonehenge. Based on "Quaerite Lux In Tenebris...": this is mostly black metal, with touches of death and thrash, which has some progressive pretensions, but the guys' desire to be all over the place makes them sound like a more blacky Bal-Sagoth. There are some interesting riffs, the tempo is constantly fast and dynamic, and the bass work is really outstanding, but the band's main target is those who are fond of Emperor, or Dimmu Borgir, above all.

Grotesque Demo, 1997
Imperium Tenebrarum Full-length, 1999
Quaerite Lux In Tenebris... Full-length, 2002
Live And Die In Moscow Live album, 2003
Regnum Somni Full-length, 2003
A Divinity For The Worthless Best of/Compilation, 2004
Moscow (The Sanguine Reign of Terror) EP, 2006

Official Site

ROTENGEIST (POLAND)

Very well executed technical thrash/death metal; the music is heavy and not fast, with great heavy riffs and some really interesting decisions, sounding like a more technical, and thrashy Benediction. "Manhunt" is a marvellous number, which really slows down, but comes up with some awesome hypnotic guitar lines.

Promo Demo, 2007

Official Site

ROTRAVE (ROMANIA)

Good aggressive thrash/death metal untouched by the modern tendencies, sounding like early Agressor (France) and Protector, but with a much worse production quality and a thin guitar sound.

Malefactory Demo, 1996

ROTTEN (MEXICO)

Old school thrash in the vein of late 80's Razor with a couple of more moderate crossover elements thrown in (the jolly uplifting "Thrash'n Roll" which delivers exactly what the title promises); the guys play fast and tight, but the awful hoarse singer ruins their efforts quite a bit.

Thrash'n Roll EP, 2008

ROTTEN SPECIMEN

Thrash/crossover of the speedy less intense variety; the music will remind you of Bound For Glory and, respectively, Motorhead; "Disintegrating World" takes a more thrashy turn, but there are also a couple of pure punk tracks, as well as pure rock hymns ("In God We Rust"), with only one more song near the end ("Manipulacion De La Religion") thrashing in a less compromising fashion. The vocals will keep you on the alert, though, being aggressive low-tuned death metal ones.

Anti-Trust In God EP, 2009

ROTTING CORPSE (USA)

The band had the interesting, anti-commercial concept to never sign with a label, and play thrash just for fun. Well, whether for fun or not, the result is really cool. The band's style varies from fast, bursting thrashers with a slight hardcore edge on the early demos, to heavy, slower pieces bringing Celtic Frost to mind. The similarities with the Swiss are also in the vocal department (the last demo, in particular). All demos are of a fairly high quality, showing a band who could have turned into one of the big names of thrash metal if they had given themselves a chance.

Demo Demo, 1986
Fuck It, It's Only Thrash. Demo, 1987
Demo Demo, 1988
Neck Breaking Fury Demo, 1990
The Demos Best of/Compilation, 2005

Official Site

RUDAL (INDONESIA)

This is melodic power/thrash still sounding pretty classic for the time of release, but the more aggressive parts (which are not that many) are awkwardly mixed with the mellow, often clinging towards the ballad, sections, and the musicianship is not on a very high level fitting well the bad sound quality. The singer has an interesting melodic blend, but again the sound seriously hampers his efforts.

Slitting The World Full-length, 1993

Fan Site

RUDE REVELATION (LUXEMBOURG)

This young act offers modern thrash/death metal played with competence, but seldom leaving the Swedish formula, and when that happens the sound acquires some more melodic dimensions, maybe too melodic at times, where some very good clean female vocals can be heard. The songs are mixed: some are fast and hard, others are mellow, with a touch of gothic. The sense of melody of the guitarists is quite big, by the way, and brutal blast-beating moments like the ones on "Rejected Remains Of Oblivion" and "Lost In Entropy" are very few.

Lost In Entropy Full-length, 2009

My Space

RUDRA (SINGAPORE)

Rudra play heavy, mid-tempo thrash/death with some occasional deviations into more original riffage, and black metal-styled vocals. This is good music, more laid-back, with some calmer slower passages.

Rudra Full-length, 1998
The Aryan Crusade Full-length, 2001
Kurukshetra Full-length, 2003
Brahmavidya: Primordial I Full-length, 2005

Official Site

RUFFIAN (BRAZIL)

Thrash/death metal with some great technical riffs ala Atheist (resemblances with this band in the vocal department, too), and an overall aggressive attitude with frequent adherence to blast-beats, but used properly without being annoying. These guys have talent in abundance, and it would be good to see how far they could reach.

War Feelings Demo, 2004

My Space

RUIN (SWEDEN)

These guys unleash fast aggressive thrash/death, a full-blooded representative of their homeland, speedy albeit one-dimensional music, long on energy and short on originality.

Ruin/Relentless Split, 2008

RUINY (RUSSIA)

Classic-sounding thrash with heavy slightly dryly-sounding guitars, reminiscent of early Meshuggah ("Raia Net") at times, but there are more energetic speed/thrash moments also recalling the Bay-Area scene ("Voina Vnutri", the early Metallica reminder "Prokajennui"). "Tochka Izloma" is a curious bass-driven instrumental, and the closer is a nice take on the later 80's Metallica sound: a cool pounding steam-rolling technical piece. The singer doesn't really shine with his mid-levelled semi-clean indifferent delivery.

Izlom Dushi Postroit Schaste Full-Length, 2007

RULE24 (RUSSIA)

3 songs of heavy modern thrash, sounding like a less technical Meshuggah; at times the guys go straight into aggro-thrash ala Pantera, and overall this recording doesn't lack dynamics, jumping on the more aggressive thrash/proto-death wagon on the closer. The singer does further damage, with his very intense angry delivery.

Rule24 EP, 2009

RUMBLE MILITIA (GERMANY)

The best German thrash/crossover band; "Fuck Off Commercial" is a very cool debut, more in the crossover/hardcore vein, boasting some really impressive compositions: the energetic Oriental-infused "Bang Till Death", the great speedy thrashers "Fright of Stupidity" and "Full of Danger". The hardcore side is not bad at all, represented by short, blasting tracks. "Rumble Attack" is a fine instrumental piece, boasting some smashing hard riffs, and is one of the best tracks the band ever recorded.
"They Give You the Blessing" starts with the compelling dark "The Church Cries", which after the heavy intro (with a marvellous bass performance) turns into a mighty up-tempo thrasher. "No Promises To No One" is a pure punk joy, showing the guys having hard time to bid farewell to their past. The thrashing comes back with full force on the fine heavy "No Nazis", and the speed/thrashing delight with the interesting title "The Return Of The Commercial Bastards". "The Earth Is Turning Red" is a hard-hitting intense thrasher, followed by the even more aggressive "Genocide". A break after such an intense delivery is definitely needed, and it comes in the face of the brilliant short ballad "Is This The Reason?"; the break also carries on on the jolly crossover piece "Can`t Understand", before the closing "Mirror Of Fortune" provides some more energetic headbanging riffs, and unexpected cool melodic leads.
"Stop Violence and Madness" is another very good effort, featuring good headbanging thrash, well displayed by the first two songs "Boys In Blue" and "Reflection Of Your Videoprogramme". Then comes the obligatory remnant from the past: the much softer "You`re Sure", which sounds a bit awkward, compared to the preceding numbers. But with "Stop This Shit" the aggression returns, and "Save Yourself" is a smashing thrashing piece. Two more laid-back thrash/crossover tracks follow, but the end is strictly preserved for more forceful thrash, which comes with a big doze of Slayer, Evildead-like aggression on "Waiting For Death", and with a more playful, Sucidal Tendencies-like attitude, on "Stop Violence And Madness".
So far, so good; the band were sticking to the classic sound, but "Hate Me" introduces the modern trends, with a certain industrial sound, mixed with groove, and even some pop-ish metal ("RM Family", "Sweet World") and rap ("Love And Peace Muthafucka"). Their thrash/crossover heritage comes up on tracks like "Profit Thru' Addiction", but this is a very weak album, much inferior to any of their previous output, and not a very diginified exit for the band from the scene.

Fuck Off Commercial Full-length, 1987
En Nombre del Ley EP, 1988
They Give You the Blessing Full-length, 1990
Destroy Fascism EP, 1991
Stop Violence and Madness Full-length, 1991
Wieviel Hass Wollt Ihr Noch? EP, 1993
Hate Me Full-length, 1994

Official Site

RUMORS OF GEHENNA (ITALY)

Good intense modern thrash, which wastes no time nailing you down from the get-go with the fierce opener "Dead Slaves". The attack gets a bit more melodic, but equally as compelling on "Eternal Flames". Later on the intensity stays, but some more clever, semi-technical guitar implements start to show up: "My Hourglass Never Fails". Not for long, as "Human" thrashes like crazy once again, but "Seven" slows down, adding some cool lead guitar work. More headbanging thrash with "Internal Slaughtering" and "November 32st A.C.", but all the laurels go for the closing "Last Violence": excellent more classic-oriented thrash in a very cool energetic tempo.

Ten Hatred Degrees Full-length, 2008

Official Site

RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER (USA)

Now is this a cool band name, or what? (Rumpelstiltskin is a character from a Grimm Brothers' fairy tale). Regardless of what you think about it, the music is a quite good mix of classic and modern, and of melodic and aggressive thrash. The guitar work is heavy and pounding, with some shades of groove ("The Day Merman"), and occasionally interesting ("Stealing E.T.") and even semi-technical ("Grab A Shovel"). When the guys pick up speed, it comes with a certain touch of the Gothenburg school ("Unleash the Troll") and sparce blast-beats. "Ode to Tanks" jumps the death metal wagon for a while, graced by some fine melodic hooks, but this is the only truly aggressive moment.
"Living for Death, Destroying the Rest" follows closely the model established on the debut, this time showing less mercy in the aggressive department: "Graveyard Vandalization", which is all-out raging retro thrash. "Brainwasher C. 1655" goes one step up, adding some death metal outbreaks. Afterwards the music settles for modern, less intense sound, but "Traitor's Blood" will put you on the edge of your seat again, with some more death metal riffs thrown in, which doersn't really work all the time with the bland groovy tunes surrounding it. "Beware The Thrash Brigade" justifies its title, serving pure classic thrash/crossover delight, with cool leads. "Sewers Of Doom (Dethroning The Tyrant Part 1)" keeps the thrashing going, adding more fuel with some meaty heavy riffage. "Darkness Never Ending (Dethroning The Tyrant Part 2)" is a wild, and somewhat incoherent composition, blending thrash, death and Bal-Sagoth-esque metal to a too overwhelming effect. "Revolution Of Underground Legions (Dethroning The Tyrant Part 3)" ends the trilogy, as well as the whole album, in a more controlled, but also less impressive modern groovy manner. There is hardly any surprise here, but those of you who liked the first effort, will do no wrong tracking this one down.

Buried in the Front Yard Full-length, 2005
Living for Death, Destroying the Rest Full-length, 2009

Official Site

RUNAMOK (GERMANY)

Featuring two ex-members of the power/heavy metal stars Stormwitch, Runamok's first two efforts are in similar, but less epic classic heavy/power-mould with some modern touches. "Dance of the Dead" however, is a nod to the thrash school, and well done at that. Some of their heavy metal roots are still audible, but in its essence the music is thrash along the lines of Megadeth and more recent Annihilator. Although the album includes a cover of Pantera's "Domination", the music has very little to do with this band. Their most recent offering "Freak Business" is a safe return to the softer heavy metal style from the beginning.
After the soft heavy metal-oriented "Freak Business" the band shows an apparent hunger for thrash with "Electric Shock". Now also equipped with two members of Paradox (the album-title is an obvious reference to that band's 2008 release), the guys pull no punches thrashing from the get-go in a brisk intense manner with the opening "Corrupthead" which has more than a worthy follower in the face of the nice headbanger "The Last Song On The Left (Mondo Brutale)". The fun doesn't stop here, actually, and "Electric Shock" deserves its title stinging you with sharp speedy riffs. "Nothing I Fear" is more aggressive headbanging thrash with a melodic modern break, and it's in the middle on "People Like You" where the guys slow down a bit pulling out a cool doom/stoner section. "Silence" is nothing like the title suggests, but thrashes far and wide with vigorous riffs which reach the peak on the massive retro mosher "Object Of Desire". "Where Angels Die" is the other mellow part, a mid-paced number which lightly influences the next "Addicted To Vice", but all the guns blaze on the raging closer "Feed Me", a hard-hitting thrasher, more than a worthy closer to this very good return to form. The album doesn't exactly reach the greatness of same year's Paradox's "Riot Squad", for example, but is a fairly satisfying blend of classic and modern thrash also recalling the last few Squealer efforts.

Make My Day Full-length, 2004
Back for Revenge Full-length, 2004
Dance of the Dead Full-length, 2005
Freak Business Full-length, 2007
Electric Shock Full-length, 2009

Official Site

RUST (CHILE)

This is aggressive Slayer-esque thrash with elements of proto-death; the sound quality is quite muddy in the 1st haf, which is apparently the 1st demo (1985). The 2nd half (the 1987 demo) offers much more controlled power/thrash and the vicious semi-death vocals have been replaced by screechy clean ones. The spontaneity of the early recording is nowhere to be found, this one sounding like the Argentinians Hermetica.

Thrash School Musical Best of Conpilation, 2007

RUST (USA)

The information about this band is not complete, so any help from you, thrash metal fans, would be highly appreciated. This is thrash/crossover with obscene sexual lyrics, and music which is similar to the first Carnivore album, but less interesting and slower.

Rust and Roll Demo

RUSTED CHAINS (GERMANY)

Edgy competent thrash, mixing modern and classic influences, and at least in the beginning promises good headbanging entertainment. Later on things get a bit messy, though, with the band expanding into other genres, like death, black, and even metalcore. The energy from the beginning is preserved, but these jumps from one style to another, albeit for a short time, may annoy some listeners, especially when the closer "Down Below The Snake" also offers something for the doom metal fans, with its slow leaden riffs. However, we have definitely heard worse cocktails of the kind. Some members also take part in the death/thrash metal act Blind Man Kills (not reviewed here).

In Nights Of Nemesis Full-length, 2009

Official Site

RUSTED DAWN (CANADA)

Based on the second EP, these guys play more laid-back thrash/crossover with gruff, hoarse shouty vocals; often does the music scream all-out thrash ("Master Species", "Burns And Bruises"), with the intensity being partially taken away by short softer, punk-ish breaks.

Toxic Shock EP, 2006
Red Collar EP, 2008

Official Site

RUTHLESS HORDE (USA)

Based on the "Ruthless Horde" demo, this band make a really nice cross over the American thrash metal scene at the time: the demo opens in a furious and aggressive manner with "Deadly Mass"- a striking thrash piece in the best tradition of Dark Angel and Slayer. It's followed by "Dancing In The Morque" which, with its galloping rhythm, will take you in the direction of Aftermath and Helstar. "Forgotten Dead" slows down bringing to the table more technical guitars (great leads), introducing also a change in the vocal department: new, more melodic (and better) vocals; the song returns the speed of the previous two in the second half. "Demonic Majesties" is a heavy, doom-like piece which also speeds up in the second part. "Shadows Of Death" is a magnificent closer, the highlight of the demo, starting as a ballad, but later developing into a great technical thrasher ala Helstar's "Nosferatu".

Ruthless Horde Demo, 1989
Darkness Comes Demo, 1990

RYTMIHÄIRIÖ (FINLAND)

These guys offer a very insane amalgam of quite a few styles: thrash, death, hardcore, grind, black metal and some punk. The tracks are usually fast and short, trying to mix all the aforementioned styles into one, resulting in a very aggressive and brutal, but also quite interesting, listen. There isn't really much room for thrashy riffs and they generally merge into the other genres, but the sheer intensity of the music would hardly leave many metal fans indifferent.
"Seitsemõn Surman Siunausliitto" is a cool release, concentrating on the thrashy side of the band's style; still some more brutal grinding sections are around, but most of the time what we have here is quality headbanging thrash with a classic edge.

Ihmisiõ Kuolee EP, 1990
Surmaty÷ EP, 1990
Surman Siipien Havinaa Full-length, 1991
Surmaa Kõnnissõ EP, 2002
Saatana On Herra Full-length, 2005
Seitsemõn Surman Siunausliitto Full-length, 2006

Official Site

RÄYHÄ (FINLAND

Based on the last demo, this band offers 4 songs of vigorous classic speed/thrash in the vein of early Metallica with crisp energetic guitars and slightly annoying semi-shouty hardcore vocals. Good tempos, sharp riffs, nice melodic leads, even a more aggressive Slayer-esque section on "Totaalinen Sota" will one find here.

Demo Demo, 2006
Demo Demo, 2007
�kkikuolema Demo, 2008

Official Site

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