Copyright (c) 2007 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE
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T.A.R. (SWEDEN)
An excellent technical power/thrash metal band who came at the very right time to replace the veterans
Hexenhaus who showed with their last offering that they were not willing to tread the path of technical thrash anymore. T.A.R.'s style is more complex, with more twists bringing Living Death, or early, more thrashy Psychotic Waltz to mind. It's a pity that these guys stayed around for a very short time, because they have managed to come up with a fairly original sound, and there was definitely a demand in such kind of music back then.
Fear of Life Full-length, 1997 Official Site TACTICS (USA)
This is a band featuring Steve Gaines: a famous vocal guru who sang for Abattoir and Bloodlust in the 80's, and Dreams Of Damnation and Anger As Art in more recent times. Based on the demo, Tactics are perhaps his least worthy venture: the music has its fast parts, but most of the time it is mid-paced, with some power metal tendencies, strangely recalling 90's Flotsam & Jetsam.
Playing To Win Demo, 1987 TAETRE (SWEDEN)
Based on "Divine Misanthropic Madness", this band pulls out cool old school thrash/death, recalling No Return's "Machinery" in the way that it mixes Bay-Area riffs with more brutal death metal ones. The tempo is always up, and the several slower sections are meaty, accompanied by more technical riffs (the interesting heavy stomper "No Love"). Seldom does the music take more brutal dimensions ("Destroy the Dreamvoid", "Virus"), but they never stretch into a whole song. "Reclaiming The Spirit" hits the technical department with fast clever riffs and fine melodic hooks.
The Art Full-length, 1997 Official Site TAF (FRANCE)
Based on the full-length: look no further than mid-90's Sepultura: heavy groovy, industrialized thrash, which doesn't forget to bite with more speed and sharpness involved: "Unseen Enemy", "Never Surrender" (which even blasts out for a while), but such moments are a rarity, and the majority of the songs are in mid-pace, also recalling GZR (the debut) on some more epic, slower moments ("Mother Planer Earth").
Give and Take EP, 2004 Official Site TAI PAN (GERMANY)
This band is the continuation of the cult thrashers Backwater. The style is still in the classic thrash mould, but is not an exact Backwater-soundalike. It's heavier and is closer to the Bay Area scene- Forbidden, in particular. It even calls to mind Onslaught's "In Search Of Sanity", but in a good way. It looked like a good beginning of a new career, but this formation also fell apart soon after.
Slow Death Full-length, 1995 TAINE (ROMANIA)
This very unknown, but worthy Romanian act play first-class technical thrash/death along the lines of late period Death, but with more melodic guitar lines. The songs are complex, elaborate, but not very long pieces, with fabulous guitar work, mostly mid-tempo, quite jumpy as well, spiced with more aggressive outbursts, which are totally logical, without sounding odd. Few are the bands who can make short 4-min compositions sound so compelling and complex ("Pierdut", or the short, less than 2-min technical masterpiece "Avoid The Pain"). There are the obligatory takes on drier, technical thrash ala Coroner and Deathrow ("Ce Esti Tu ?"), although the Romanians' sense of melody comes up again. "Lie" is a fine example of how gothic thrash can sound technical and sharp (but, again, pay attention to the breath-taking melodies). "Invisible Absolute" is a great tribute to the masters of the genre: Cynic, Atheist, Coroner, etc.: an overwhelming opus, with an imposing orchestral outro. Some more straight thrashing as a final touch with "No Personality", which is still quite technical, smelling Death in both the vocal and the guitar department. This is a treasure, consisting of only 7 tracks, a surprisingly small number for a Compilation album.
Decade Of Metal Compilation/Best, 2004 TAKING OVER (USA)
These are the same guys who also play in the black/thrashers Witchaven. No shades of black here: this is pure old school thrash attack, fast and intense, reminding of Rigor Mortis and Possessed, among others. "Hellbastard" comes with a more melodic, crossover touch, which is compensated by the much more aggressive, slightly death-tinged follower "Prison Cell". "Street Force" is again a less intense, but a very cool speed/thrasher, sounding like a leftover from Sodom's "Persecution Mania".
Taking Over vs Phantom Witch Split, 2008 My Space TALES FOR THE UNSPOKEN (PORTUGAL)
The beautiful orchestral intro promised more than just you average 90's post-thrash, but this is the case here: soft mid-paced riffs, with numerous balladic sections, and cool melodic vocals, recalling at times the talented Dax Riggs (Acid Bath, Golgotha), except for the time when he tries some really bad high-pitched vocals. The music has an epic and a gothic flavour as well, and may appeal to fans of later-period Sentenced and Razorback, and even H.I.M.
Tales For The Unspoken Demo, 2008 My Space TALIÖN (UK)
Previously this band were known as Lethal, and Tröjan, both formations playing NWOBHM metal, the latter also adding some faster, speed metal elements. Here the guys offer slightly more aggressive stuff: a mixture of power and thrash, staying closer to power metal. When the band keeps it short, they're much more effective, and can produce some really good power/thrashers: "Premonition", "Screamin' for Mercy". On the other hand we have "Laws of Retaliation": an ambitious, 11-min long song, which starts in a fairly cool energetic manner, but it's too long for the band to keep it interesting, and later it degenerates to some less impressive, tedious power metal. "Living on the Edge" is a hard'n heavy number, probably a leftover from the band's early incarnations.
Killing the World Full-length, 1989 Vibrations of Doom TANDJENT (USA)
Two guys are responsible for this exemplary modern progressive thrash, which sounds similar to early Meshuggah, or the Americans Baghead, but excels in the guitar department, producing some impressive cold, technical riffage. The songs are in mid-tempo, containing some inevitable groovy sections, but the heavy, stomping riffage saves the day, even producing some headbanging moments. The mechanical feel of this album is aggravated by dry, impassionate compositions, like "The Great Machine", which warms up with a fine balladic section, or the choppy, industrialized "Paralyzed". "I Remain" starts in a headbanging manner, but don't expect this to continue through the whole song; the lead guitar is quite stylish here. The other place, where the lead guitarist is given more freedom, is on the "warmer" "Fear Itself". "A Demon's Best Disguise" is the perfect example of modern, abstract technical thrash, seldom achieved before: watch out for the leads again; here they threaten to turn into the highlight. "No One Will Hear Us" is a pure instrumental display of cold, robotic riffage, with a great up-tempo ending part. Hopefully the guys will keep the flame of this rare musical breed alive, by releasing something else of the kind soon.
No One Will Hear Us Full-length, 2005 Official Site TANKARD (GERMANY)
One of the most consistent bands in the history of metal, Tankard never betrayed their high speed/thrash
style, and although short on originality, the band's sound is very long on energy and catchiness. "Zombie Attack" was a high octane debut of blitzkrieg speed/thrash, marked by the high, apocalyptic vocals of Andreas "Gerre" Geremia, which set the tone for most of the following works. "The Beauty and the Beer" is a potent slice of thrash, which saw the band in a new light, partially abandoning the old formula for the sake of a more stylish, technical play, and is by far one of the best albums of 2006.
Zombie Attack Full-length, 1986 Official Site TANKWART (GERMANY)
A side project of the Tankard members, so don't expect anything new; the style is a more melodic, probably kind of a punk-ish version of Tankard.
Aufgetankt Full-length, 1994 Official Site TAOMENIZOO (FRANCE)
Based on "So Blind", this band plays heavy groovy thrash/death with industrial overtones. The music is seldom fast; the guys prefer to play it mid-paced to slow, but still some cool more up-tempo thrashers are around (the short opening outburst "So Blind", the galloping "Not Even God", the surprising fresh energetic piece "Southern Cross", which even finds some time for good leads), although they are hardly enough for an album of 13 tracks, and the overall approach is too one-dimensional and monotonous, with repetitive riffs, and the same dark, oppressing atmosphere.
Taomenizoo Full-length, 2003 Official Site TARAMIS (AUSTRALIA)
"Queen Of Thieves" is power metal with some progressive touches. The second effort is much better, putting the band on line with progressive thrash heroes like Watchtower, Realm, etc. The bad thing is that of the 8 songs on it there are only 4 which fit the classification above. Some moments from their power metal past are still present ("Delayed Reaction", "Diceman"), and they kind of spoil the picture, since they have very little to do with the other much more interesting material. The longer and more technical tracks are truly a revelation ("Dreaming, "A Maze of Glory"), although they are intercepted by some balladic, semi-acoustic sections from time to time. The singer is another highlight, possessing a powerful high-pitched tember similar to Jeoff Tate from Queensryche, but deeper. "Jigaboo Boogie" is a funky instrumental, which could have been a nice touch, if it had been half as long, but 5-min of this offbeat stuff... excuse me! The next track" "Lonely Star", which is a semi-ballad of the more melodic variety, puts the second half more on the dull side. Perhaps on the next release the flaws would have been fixed, but this band disappeared shortly after.
Queen of Thieves Full-length, 1988 TARANIS (BELGIUM)
Based on the "Ancient Will" split, this band offers old school black/thrash ala early Bathory. The music is perhaps more melodic, with some crossover/punk tunes involved, but when the guys decide to do it the evil way, the sound gets quite vicious and frenetically fast: "Possessed", with a touch of Impaled Nazarene. On the other hand we have the typical majestic doomy mid-paced black delights, in the best tradition of Bathory's "Raise the Dead": "Intro/Feeding the Ravens".
Taranis Full-length, 2007 My Space TARANTULA (CZECH)
A very obscure, but cool band, playing classic power/thrash; their debut is an energetic affair, mixing faster power/thrashers with slower power metal numbers. The music stays in the power metal camp most of the time, but is cool. "Peklo Pro Všechny", recorded a few months later, is pure heavy/power metal, with no traces of thrash, except for the cool power/thrashing closer "Charlie". "Chemomarsh" is a much more aggressive work, strictly modern and groovy, but with meaty, crushing riffs, and varied tempos, sometimes even nicely speeding up (the Pantera-sque "Chemomarsh"). The bonus track at the end is a cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets": quite well, and faithfully done, with all the parts present, with the only complaint coming from the slightly unemotional, gruff vocals.
Mobilis In Mobili Full-length, 1992 TARGET (BELGIUM)
An essential technical thrash metal band, Target pretty much established the rules of the genre on European ground, together with Mekong Delta and Living Death in 1987. "Mission Executed" still relied more on speed and energy rather than technicality, but the stylish guitar work is all over it, slowing down only for the stomping steam roller "The Gathering". "Master Project Genesis" is even stronger, with one of the finest openers in technical metal history: the overwhelming, beautifully chaotic 4-min wonder "The Coming Of Chaos". The screamy, Torsten Bergmann-like vocals (which were not too bad, by the way) are replaced by deeper, cleaner ones, which suit the more technical approach better, and the speed is still here: check out the smashing technical bomb "Dehumanization". This is not an extremely complex work; the progressive virtuosity of Mekong Delta is seldom felt ("Secret of the Dome", and, of course, the opener; and this is not the purpose here), and the straight sections make it one of the more accessible technical efforts of the 80's.
Mission Executed Full-length, 1987 Vibrations of Doom TARTAROS (GERMANY)
This is the band who later made a name on the scene as Exumer. This 4-track demo is an uneven blend of thrash, speed and hardcore, which has a lot of energy, as well as some more unusual moments (acoustic sections on "Werewolf", etc.), but the level of musicianship is on a fairly low level, and Stein's vocals are just awful and barely audible. The guitar sound is just a bit better, but still quite fuzzy at times. "Wings of Death" is a good attempt at a heavy ballad, but again, these vocals ruin everything. "Thrash Bang" doesn't really deserve the "Thrash" part from the title, since it is a laid-back number of the Motorhead type. Less than two years later the guys sounded like an almost new band, with almost nothing to remind of their raw, amateurish, but enthusiastic beginnings.
Tartaros Demo, 1984 TASTE OF INSANITY (HOLLAND)
Based on "The Great Escape", this band are determined to carry the Pantera and Machine Head heritage through the new millennium; groovy thrash marred by some clean, unsuitable vocals. The music is one-dimensional and monotonous, with some semi-alternative sections, sounding like a more aggressive Tool. "Collisions" is better, being very heavy and crushing, reaching some death metal heights with "Devils Tongue", but the complaints for one-dimensionality and boredom remain: there is just no variety, and all songs are copies of each other, with the Tool-influenced passages slightly correcting the impression.
Anima Full-length, 2002 Official Site TAUNTED (USA)
"Zero" is a power/thrash metal album with a wide variety of influences: some of the songs have a dark,
somewhat progressive sound close to Nevermore; others go into energetic thrash in the Imagika-mould (this
band's drummer takes part in this album, by the way); some numbers are of the galloping power metal type
similar to Attacker; there is also a nice short instrumental "Scent Of Hell", arguably the highlight of the
album. Don't get me wrong- this is not a mish-mash; on the contrary: this is a good effort, done with
style and professionalism.
Taunted Vinyl EP, 2000 Official Site TAURUS (BRAZIL)
Bay Area -influenced thrash from Brazil; competently done, with all the albums being of consistently high
quality. "Signo de Taurus" contains the most melodic and fastest material, and could pass for the band's finest hour, if you enjoy speed/thrash mixed with crossover ("Mundo em Alerta" is a very cool example of the latter hybrid); the songs on this one are very catchy, and are not hard to remember; shades of acts outside the Bay Area could also be felt: Destructor, Blessed Death, Sentinel Beast, the Spaniards Fuck Off, etc.
Signo de Taurus Full-length, 1986 My Space TEABAG (USA)
This is another one-album project, which involves Norm Leggio (the other being the great progressive thrash act End Amen): the former member of Psychotic Waltz. Together with another ex-member of that same band: Steve Cox, he does a good job, playing technical/progressive metal, with a more aggressive, thrashy edge than later period Psychotic Waltz, but not as flamboyant and striking as End Amen. The music actually resembles the works of Zero Hour, and the one-album-wonder IllWill: a heavy, dark sound with sharp, technical riffs and complex song-structures. The sound is modern, but the guitar work is quite varied, never stays stale, and offers some sudden, but effective speedy passages ("Convicted"). Certainly, some exercises in groove are inevitable, but mixed with some more interesting riffs, are not that bad: "Mummify", "Shadows". Watch out for the short, technical speedy killer in the middle "Earthbound". Unfortunately afterwards the remaining songs are considerably slower, a situation slightly improved with the stomping, pounding closer "Projections". The singer is a find, with his good high, melodic voice, which serves the music just right.
Teabag Full-length, 2001 TEARABYTE (USA)
A not very convincing attempt at classic thrash, with influences from the American side of the spectre- Overkill, Testament, Exodus, etc.; some awkward groovy moments are thrown here and there to make things even more confusing. "Doom Generation" is probably the band's best album, including a simplistic, but consistent sound, with some references to the heavy/power metal, and the modern 90's scene. There are no fast or brutal moments, this is mid-paced pounding thrash.
Doom Generation Full-length, 1998 Official Site TEARSTAINED (USA)
"Homicidal Tendencies"; black/thrash which quite often goes for the extremes with black hyper-blasts, but there are several pure thrashers: "Genocide and Misanthropy", which is 7-min of very diverse stuff, covering all possible tempos in thrash, and is quite satisfactory. At the end there are two covers: one is expected- Bathory's immortal "Total Destruction", and the other totally unexpected, to the point of absurdity: Ratt's "Scene of the Crime"; it's made exactly the way Ratt did it, poppy and rock-ish.
Monumental in Its Sorrow Full-length, 1999 Official Site TECHNAKILL (USA)
An excellent demo of heavy, technically-charged thrash, so the band name doesn't mislead, like it often happens; "Black Hills" is an awesome opener, with great technical, intense, up-tempo riffs and equally as effective lead guitar performance. "Intimidator" is slower, but the technical guitars are even more impressive, creating a really compelling, vortex-like picture. "Strange Perspective" brings back some speed again, and is a nice galloping speed/thrashing instrumental. "Technakill" doesn't quite deserve its title, since it's the least technical track here, but is a cool mid-paced thrash number, which partially makes up for the missing technicality with a quick twisted guitar section at the end. The singer is quite good possessing a mid-ranged, semi-clean voice, and his frequent attempts at higher-pitched screaming are quite impressive.
Technakill Demo, 1991 TECHNIKILL (UK)
Don't worry: the technical riffs won't kill you, like the band name suggests. Half of this demo recalls Iron Angel's "Hellish Crossfire" and Warrant"s "First Strike": very cool speed/thrash with good higher-pitched clean vocals. The rest includes the average "Heart of a Viking" which strays from the path into classic heavy metal territory, and the equally as unconvincing semi-ballad "Behind the Gallow Walls".
Taken... Without Warning Demo, 1987 TECHNOCRACY (USA)
Technocracy were formed by Phil Demmel: a former member of the Bay Area thrash masters Vio-Lence. The music
has very little to do with the Bay-Area; it is strictly modern groovy thrash with some industrial and even electronic elements. The music is mid-paced, with a few attempts at more speed, and some bland exercises in toothless groove ("Naiad", "Replacements") can seriously pull you back. The guitars are edgeless, having this annoying electronic buzz, typical for many industrial acts. The singer is not a total waste; his effortless switches ala Burton Bell from growly singing to some really cool clean melodic lines are the best thing which happens here, although it doesn't happen very often. The final result is hardly on the positive side, and it's a kind of a relief that the band members have been seen in other projects recently, including Demmel in the reformed Vio-Lence for a while: a clear sign that this was only a one-work spell.
Technocracy Full-length, 2001 TECTONIC (ROMANIA)
Very good, bass-driven aggressive thrash metal, recalling early Celtic Frost in the slower sections (if we exclude
the really slow ones which go straight into doom metal territory), and early Protector in the faster ones. This is curious stuff, sounding strangely technical at times, too. The short tracks are nice balls of aggression and energy, stylishly graced by more technical riffage, which forms a fairly appealing symbiosis with the bashing delivery. "Bass Metal" is an obvious nod to the very good bass player, who is the band's main asset. The Celtic Frost-influenced numbers are the longer ones ("Canalul Colector I", "Infestat"), but this is when the guys don't bother to make things more interesting, and they end up sounding quite samey and monotonous. The final part is the highlight, starting with "Komet": a very good short technical thrasher, with melodic sharp riffs, recalling Mike Scaccia (Rigor Mortis), followed by the equally as effective, but more bass-driven "Mars". "Pact" is merciless brutal thrash/death, partially relieved by the more hardcore-based "Pobeda". The closing "Prohibit" is a disappointment, though, offering another portion of slow, pounding, dragging riffs: definitely not the best way to end this otherwise interesting, but very obscure effort.
Anomalia Full-length, 1995 TED HEATH (UK)
This is the band who later changed their name to Xyster, and made a more lasting impression on the scene. The style on this demo is quite similar to the other band: thrash of a more simplistic nature, despite the big length of some of the tracks. The guitar sound is quite buzzy, but the deep bass bottom makes up for this flaw. The music is a mix of fast-paced ("Rapist", "Evil Prayer", the hardcore-ish "Way Of The Dead") and slower, but somewhat dragging and boring tracks ("EternalConflagration", "Death And Destruction", except for the speedy ending), smelling early Venom quite a bit.
30 Minutes of Metal Demo, 1986 TEFILLA (HOLLAND)
Music-wise this is competent modern technical thrash. The sound is quite mechanical, and early Meshuggah, or the Canadians Obliveon are an obvious influence on the band, although these guys are more technical than both. Some tracks are quite long, going over the 10-min limit, and are filled with atmospheric, acoustic breaks. This is not headbanging stuff, as the riffs are quite heavy and not very fast. The leads are surprisingly good, albeit not very long and complex. The only downpoint are the vocals which are all over the place (shouts, growls, etc). If you can ignore them, the music is really rewarding.
Grievous Anguish Full-length, 1998 TEMNICH (UKRAINE)
Cool black/thrash which gains from the crystal clear production, which gives the guitar sound a nice boost, in favour of the other instruments and the singer, but the guitarists do a fairly nice job, shredding in quite an aggressive, but also melodic manner. The tempo changes, never adhering to the typical for the genre hyper-blasts, as the guys are more impressive when delivering heavy crushing riffs in mid-pace ("Lyho", "The Demons"). Certainly the speedy side is worthy, too: "Ave Morum", "Deathbringers", but they come with the obligatory slower passages (which come very well mixed on the closing "Kolomyjky"), where apparently the guys' passion lies.
Iamuih Pustuih Mogil Full-length, 2007 TEMPERANCE (SWEDEN)
Based on "Krapakalja", this band offers an eclectic, but not very stylish blend of doom, thrash and some death metal. The approach clearly favours doom before the other genres, and the thrashy breaks come out of the blue, and since one doesn't expect them, there's no way he can enjoy them fully. "Dimension Complete" is probably the only track, where the guys manage to put two-and-two together, and combine very heavy doomy riffs with a couple of bursting thrashy ones. "Krapakalja" is a good exercise in death/doom ala Beyond Belief and Asphyx, quite brutal at times, but the rest is not really hard to swallow, especially the moments when the music degenerates to pure funeral doom with very bad clean semi-operatic vocals, which can seriously pull you out.
One... Grave EP, 1993 Official Site TEMPEST (USA)
This band is the project of one person only: Warren Harris, who performs all the instruments, and sings, too. His music is a blend of power and thrash metal, mid-paced and heavy, with some cool riffs, and a really good bass-bottom which is clearly the man's main instrument, and the last three tracks come as no surprise, being peaceful bass instrumentals.
Annihilation Of The Wicked Demo, 1986 TEMPEST REIGN (USA)
This band was founded by the drummer Brent Smedley, who made fame hitting the drums for the one-album-wonder Oracle and Iced Earth. The music on this one resembles both bands (Iced Earth's first two albums), but is not as thrashy, and a tad more modern. Some tracks remind of the complex brilliance of Oracle ("Revelations 911": a great multi-layered number, graced by superb Oriental guitar lines), others are straight smashing thrashers ("Flesh and Bone"), others carry the spirit of the 80's American power metal scene ("Planet Bougadie") with its galloping rhythms, others have a more romantic, semi-balladic shade ("To Each His Own"). This is a really good start, although Smedley's engagements with Iced Earth and the newly reformed Oracle, under the name Odyssey (not reviewed on this site), make the future of Tempest Reign uncertain.
Calm Before The Storm EP, 2003 Official Site TEMPLE OF BLOOD (USA)
Thrash metal with Candlemas-like vocals; an atractive mix, isn't it? And indeed, once you hear the singer you
would think that Messiah Marcolin has decided to move to a thrash metal band for a change. Well, it's not him, but the guy here does a fairly good job. To the music: fairly good power/thrash, with some genuine technical riffing, calling to mind Hexenhaus at times. It starts with a couple of shorter, more immediate tracks, one of which is a smashing aggressive thrasher with a genuine technical edge: "Conviction", the other two being more speed/power metal-oriented. "Spiritual Warfare" is longer, more complex, but also slower, with cool dual guitar tunes in the tradition of Iron Maiden. "Trempling the Serpent" is another fine slab of aggressive, speedy thrash, but the following "Seeking the Truth" is a less hard-hitting, heavy/power metal song. The more intense and more melodic side of the band's music take turns throughout the album, and here come "Legion of the Crypts" and "Realm of Insufferable Burning": very cool technical thrashers, the latter coming with fast-paced, raging riffs: the best song here. A nice finishing touch is the cool cover version of Deadly Blessing's "Deliver Us From Evil".
Prepare For The Judgement Of Mankind Full-length, 2005
Tar and Feathers For the Millennium EP, 1998
The Master Plan Full-length, 1987
Out of Emotional Disorder Full-length, 1998
Divine Misanthropic Madness Full-length, 2002
Polluted Full-length, 2008
After the excellent "The Beauty and the Beer" it was interesting to see whether the band would be able to keep the level high for another effort, and the good news is that "Thirst" is a nice companion piece to its predecessor. It is more varied, providing some really catchy choruses (the opener "Octane Warriors"); intense headbanging moments ("Stay Thirsty!", "Hyperthermia", "Echoes Of Fear") which are the majority; mid-tempo stompers with both a balladic and a faster twist ("When Daddy Comes To Play"); razor-sharp semi-technical pieces ("Myevilfart") with slightly stupid titles; and even great explosive closers with an almost proto-death metal shade ("Sexy Feet Under"). As a whole this is a fairly enjoyable listen, which will keep you on the edge of your headbanging possibilitites for most of the time, leaving you a little room for a rest.
Chemical Invasion Full-length, 1987
The Morning After Full-length, 1988
Alien EP, 1989
The Meaning of Life Full-length, 1990
Stone Cold Sober Full-length, 1992
Two Faced Full-length, 1994
The Tankard Full-length, 1995
Disco Destroyer Full-length, 1998
Kings of Beer Full-length, 2000
B-Day Full-length, 2002
Beast Of Bourbon Full-length, 2004
The Beauty and the Beer Full-length, 2006
Schwarz-Wei¯ Wie Schnee EP, 2006
Thirst Full-length, 2008
Himbeergeist zum Fr³hst³ck Full-length, 1996
So Blind Full-length, 2008
Stretch of the Imagination Full-length, 1991
Ancient Will Split, 2008
Flandriae Full-length, 2008
Peklo pro všechny Full-length, 1992
Never Say Never Full-length, 1995
Chemomarsh Full-length, 1996
Master Project Genesis Full-length, 1989
The Great Escape Full-length, 2005
Collisions Full-Length, 2009
Zero Full-length, 2006
"Trapped in Lies" hardens the course with more hard-hitting guitars, but with a slightly dirtier sound, and the lack of speed ("Death by Booze" is the only more up-tempo number on this one) and the insertion of edgeless, heavy metal-based numbers like "Aria" and "Behind the Flags" pull this album towards the not very impressive releases. "More Than You Can See" is an average attempt at heavy, mid-paced riffage ala late 80's Metallica, but other bands have done a better job.
"Pornography" brings back the speed from the debut, but only partially, and the increased presence of technical play makes this effort quite worthwhile, again following the late 80's Metallica trends, but this time coming up with something better. The dirty guitar sound, however, remains, but here it is not that annoying, and headbangers like "Pornography" and "Brainless" put this album on a higher level. The rest is heavier and mostly mid-paced, but is by all means as good.
Trapped in Lies Full-length, 1988
Pornography Full-length, 1989
Embrace Oblivion Full-length, 2002
Gloom Factory Full-length, 2004
"Nightmare Visions" is much more controlled, and the music is all-out thrash, seldom very fast and brutal (the exception being the wild death metal bomb "The Porcelain Doll", which will easily break all the porcelain dolls in your and your neighbours' house), clinging towards the heavy mid-tempo ala early Celtic Frost most of the time, suddenly turning into stylish Bay-Area thrash on "When the Sun and Moon Share the Sky". "Not Quite Awake" will surprise you with another furious slab of thrash/death, topped by very high-pitched King Diamond-like vocals. At the end the connoisseurs will recognize two good cover versions: of Slayer's "Necrophiliac" and one more Bathory: "Reap of Evil".
There is No Hope Full-length, 2001
Final Thoughts Full-length, 2003
Homicidal Tendencies Full-length, 2006
Nightmare Visions Full-length, 2008
Krapakalja Full-length, 1995
Temperance EP, 1999
Catastrophic Full-length, 2007
After the teasing guitars on the introductory "Descent Into Treachery", which may remind you the Wold Hoffman pyrotechnics on "Metal Heart", the guys hit you like a 10-ton hammer with "Behind The Inverted Star": a forceful fast-paced number, highlighted also by the high soaring vocals. "Summon The Accused" is a pause, being slower, with a clear epic/power metal touch. The carnage goes on with the fearsome "Fearsome Warrior", which is another headbanging delight from beginning to end. "Illusion Of Control" is again more laid-back, showing the guys' intention to mix things up. Well, not quite, as "Black Day Of Execution" breaks the formula, offering exactly the opposite to what is expected: doom metal which finally justifies the Messiah Marcolin-like vocal delivery, but hardly serves the album right. No worries, and no complaints, as "Pawn Of The Liar" thrashes through the speakers with full force, giving way to "Harbinger", which again provides some moments for the doom metal fans, and before you decrease the album's mark, give the next number a listen, which is a very cool interpretation of Forbidden's "Forbidden Evil". A raging thrashy track could have been a good follow-up to this one, but the guys' slower, doomy heart calls for more "sacrifices", and it's given in the form of the only real drawback here: the very soft, pointless "Anthem To The Unseen". Fortunately "The Return" is a return to the fast thrashy side of the band's music, and is a worthy closer to this diverse, interesting release, which doesn't beat the stronger debut, but shows the guys paying attention to other metal genres, without running away from their roots.
Overlord Full-length, 2008