Copyright (c) 2007-2024 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z THALIDOMIDE (FRANCE)
Technical, dark death/thrash with death metal, Kelly Schaefer (Atheist)-like vocals; exquisitely performed; The band is pretty much in a league of their own: if you can imagine a thrashy version of Atheist's "Unquestionable Presence"... "Les Maitres De Lillusion" begins as a doom metal track, but later the faster technical riffs tell a different story, and when the singer enters the scene with his tormented unholy snarls, one knows that this will be a much less ordinary trip; that same song twists and turns without leaving the slow-ish tempo introducing a handful of complex guitars relieving the listener with a more conventional, melodic outro. "Les Clones Programmes" starts in the same way, but before you get a headache switches onto faster straight thrash/death metal; a tendency further carried by the superb speedy technical death/thrasher "Le Regne De Linnommable" which might scare you with the two sudden short blast-beat sections. And finally one pure exercise in doom metal, with a twist: "Les Fleaux De Lobscurantisme", followed by the slightly faster "Last Breath". The technical exuberance reaches its culmination on the fine aggressive "Atheist-meets Morbid Angel" number "Survivre Par Le Sang", and the vortex-like technical thrash number "Laboratories Of Death". The closing track "Le Paradis Du Mal" is only a bit more relaxed, more melodic, progressive opus, with a cool speedy middle part, and a very sudden twisted super-technical ending. Unfortunately, this great album will not have a follow-up since the band are no more, but some of the members are now seen in the black metal formation Necrosphera.
Spread the Misfortune Demo, 1993 Official Site THANATIC EYES (FRANCE)
These French pull out modern thrash/post-thrash/metalcore which is a bit noisy, but the proficiency of the leads can't be ignored, neither the riffs' sharpness; those same riffs seldom leave the mid-paced parametres and may not be able to fully satisfy the thrash metal fan who may get tired of the frequent breakdowns and of the annoying shouty vocals.
The Suffering Mechanism Full-Length, 2014 THANATOPSIS (USA, CA)
Based on the full-length, which contains a few tracks from the band's 90's demo days, this act provide quite cool modern progressive thrash/death which juggles through short simplistic headbangers ("Embodiment"), eventful semi-technical shredders ("Consequence"), and dense thick technicallers ("Malfated") without much effort, the elusive atmospherics on "Initiation" another effective ingredient. The speedy volatile "Your Demise" is close to being the highlight here, a diverse roller-coaster with loads of time and tempo changes, its entangled layout also reflected in the cool dramatic accumulations of "Suffersystem". The vocalist is an intelligible deathster who never strains his vocal cords, but still can't match the stylish musical approach. The guys were known for a bit in the early-90's as Existence (self-titled demo, 1992), the style quite similar to the exhibition here.
Sentencing Without Bliss Demo, 1993 Official Site THANATOPSIS (USA, IN)
A 4-song demo of brutal thrash/death metal; the music will remind you of Hellwitch although Thanatopsis aren't as technical, but in terms of aggression and speed they could equal almost any other band from those times. All tracks, except one, are long, in the 8-min range, but there aren't too many time changes or technical structures within them; this is sheer thrash/death aggression.
A View of Death Demo, 1990 THANATOS (FRANCE)
Based on the self-titled demo, this band play classic thrash/death that straddles between intriguing semi-technical extrapolations ("A Snare and a Delusion") and slow-burning brooding mid-pacers ("Alchemist of Pain"), the nervy hectic "Suicide" stirring the biggest drama alongside the diverse doom-laden pummeling of "Black Vomit", "Les Thrashers Aiment La Bière" being a diversion towards frolic crossover realms, the very guttural death metal singer replaced by catchy sing-along choruses.
A Snare and a Delusion Demo, 1995 Official Site THANATOS (HOLLAND)
One of the oldest Dutch metal bands; the band's debut is fairly good aggressive thrash metal with cool technical touches; the music is quite fast and intense, and very seldom takes a break from the merciless, but stylish bashing (the exception is the heavy technical closer which precedes Death's future more complex style although it's only 2-min long (the expert musicians don't need too much to impress).
Emerging From The Netherworlds Full-length, 1990 Official Site THANATOS (POLAND)
Based on the "Out of Sanity" demo, this band specializes in brutal very fast thrash/death metal bordering on grindcore. Considering the ferocity of this recording and other similar ones coming from Poland (Smirnoff, etc.), it looks as though the Polish metal scene was the first in Europe to answer to the demands for more aggressive than thrash metal music.
Deo Optimo Maximo Demo, 1989 THANATOS INC (GREECE)
The guitarist Nigel Foxxe formed this band right after he left Flames. The style here is less frantic, sounding more like a mixture of power and thrash, clinging towards the other side of the Atlantic ocean; quite well done: fans of Attacker, early Hexx, early Laaz Rockit, beware. To avoid disputes with the Dutch band Thanatos, Nigel Foxxe changed the band's name to Nigel Foxxe Inc. some time later.
Life Ltd. Full-length, 1987 THANATOTIC DESIRE (USA)
Based on "With Murder in Mind", this act play typical modern thrash/death the riff downpour carved by really cool melodic lead sections. "Mansion of Murder" is a surprisingly nice touch, a more complex progressiver with a raging finale; and "The Devil Wont Let Me Die" tries to provide a similar kind of entertainment only that it retains the speed as a dominant tool, turning into the highlight with some of the most interesting riff-configurations on the album.
Deathwish Full-length, 2011 Official Site THANAX (CHILE)
The debut: this Chilean outfit pull out competent intense retro thrash with shades of crossover. The guys don't rely on speed too much and crush admirably with heavy seismic riffs recalling Rumble Militia also in the strong bass department. The music is fairly energetic also spiced with the casual merry punk reference ("La Solucion") and the stylish allusion to funk (sections from "El Negocio De La Muerte"). Still, at least on half of the tracks the band pull no punches thrashing with force ("Sobrevivir", the death metal-laced explosion "La Broma Asesina") the delivery suffering a bit from the thin lead guitar work and the dispassionate hardcore vocals.
No Sirvo Para Esto! Full-Length, 2010 THANE (USA)
The musician called Brian Thane Chaffee is in charge here, and that same musician is responsible for some of the more technical sounds to grace our ears: he was a member and a mainman in Belial and Technakill, and was a prominent participant in the technical thrash metal wizards Unleashed Power. This is his last appearance on the scene, and based on "Hardball", the man opens another venue for his infatuation with technical metal. The songs boast a thick heavy guitar supplement which is definitely modern, but the crunchy guitars are technically-charged recalling Unleashed Power, above all, marching onwards in a formidable mid-pace with sudden switches to a faster play ("Atlas"). The technical prowess isn't that big and doesn't quite reach the most exuberant labyrinthine structures of Unleashed Power, surrendering to groove ("Sample The Masses") here and there. Brian sings in a mid-ranged leveled clean tone which shines the brightest on the cool closing ballad "The Search". This may seem like his least likely ""child", but one would always be curious to track down those early demos and look for obscure displays of technical genius.
Little Wars Demo, 1993 THANOS (GREECE)
This act serve variegated old school heavy/power/thrash the guys alternating pummeling bashers ("Evil Within") with quieter introspective compositions (the title-track), the latter side only hinted at as the high velocity unleashed on "War Is Coming" is hard to bypass, although both the soporifically balladic "Failed" and the meek bluesy filer "Shadow in Your Heart" try hard to turn the tables towards the laid-back dimensions, the attached composed clean singer clearly facilitating this process.
World Falls Apart Full-Length, 2023 Official Site THARES (USA)
A classic power/speed/thrash conglomerate led by a female throat; really cool stuff which doesn't exude a lot of intensity but wins the listener with its composed mid-paced aura, the thrashing urgency of "Darkness" later matched by the dynamic bounces of "Judas" and the roaring rhythm-section of "Angry Machine" where some male vocals show up to disturb the female hegemony behind the mike.
All In Your Mind Full-Length, 2020 Official Site THARGOS (GERMANY)
Very good old school thrash metal with a few black-ish passages, similar to Sodom and Destruction; fans of the classic period of thrash will rejoice. The debut is the more aggressive work, staying closer to black metal, but "Salem City" is a fine piece of cool 80's thrash metal. The lead work is excellent, maybe a bit more melodic for the style, but gives the songs a certain distinctive edge. The jumpy energetic opener "The Kill" is a great beginning, followed by a calmer slower track: "Processing Unit". "Silent Service" is a blasting speed/thrasher which strangely reminds of the Headhunter debut and, of course, early Destruction. "Nachtfaller" is an awesome intense thrasher with great melodic hooks and leads. "Hellraiser" is a kind of a break: slower with a touch of power metal. "Worship Me" is one of the most furious black/thrashers of recent times: a 2.5-min ball of fury, which will leave you exhausted, as well as "Luzifer", another vicious speedy number. The album closer is a softer thrash/crossover track, bringing to mind the calmer mid 90's Sodom, finished with a lengthy, but quite fascinating, dreamy acoustic passage. The singer does a good job with his horrifying Schmier-like delivery.
Killfukk Full-length, 2003 Official Site THARITHIMAS (BRAZIL)
Based on the live, this is some noise which could pass for thrash, or even death metal, or possibly black, but this mess is so impenetrable that after the 3rd song the fan may just move to something else. The leads are the sole element which could be distinguished with more ease. It would be next to impossible to recognize the cover version of Celtic Frost's "Dethroned Emperor" at the end except at the chorus if you manage to hear the deep throaty vocals.
Demo Demo, 1986 THARSIS THEY (USA)
This is melodic modern thrash with jumpy, mathy tendencies. There's a certain hardcore aesthetics present as well as several chaotic arrangements where apparently something more complex has been stirred, but the mish-mash gets even bigger later on with metalcore and djent thrown in, and the listener may give up following the newly woven threads at some stage. Concoctions of the kind have become quite popular nowadays, but here the transitions from one time-change to another are too abrupt for one to fully grasp this effort after just one listen. Needless to say, the vocalist is the staple for the genre high-strung shouter with quarrelsome qualities.
Ominous Silence Full-Length, 2011 THARTARUS (SINGAPORE)
There's no end to obscurities coming from the Far East; this one in particular is not the brightest "diamond" of them all presenting semi-amateurish black/death/thrash which tries to be both bashing in the spirit of early Bathory, and more complex in the spirit of Burzum and Celtic Frost. The final result is not convincing at all the few original ideas buried in the very bad sound quality and the awful declamatory death metal vocals which don't sing, but make enough noise to deafen the instruments when in action. The songs are quite long (5-9min), but the really engaging passages are very few, if any, the awful sound merging them together into one chaotic melee.
Catholic Traitor Demo, 1991 THE 11TH COMMANDMENT (SERBIA)
Based on "Food for Worms", this band play modern laid-back thrash with brutal death metal vocals; the music approach is quite sleepy as the band prefer the more atmospheric/gothic way of execution touching doom metal on the imposing elegiac closer "Left to Rot (Prayer)"; very seldom adhering to any more aggressive, faster-paced escapades.
What I've Become EP, 2014 Official Site THE 3RD ATTEMPT (NORWAY)
This is a side-project of the Carpathian Forest guys so expect black metallisms along the way. Not surprisingly the music on offer is a mix of black and thrash as thrash is more on the corey, crusty side with heavy shadows of Celtic Frost sharing the same penchant for heavy, mostly mid-paced delivery. The title-track is vintage funeral doom, but "Beast Within" comes in as an immediate compensation with its brutal raging riffs, a potent blend of death and black metal. "Sons Of The Winter" is a very cool epicer in the vein of mid-period Bathory and may pass for the highlight here alongside the excellent dark shredder "Nekrogrammaton" which inevitably features a portion of brutal hyper-blasts. The ending is a tribute to Barathrum and Khold with two creepy dirgers competing with each other as to who will produce the most depressing passages. This isn't bad at all actually, and the guys may consider turning this venture into a more lasting presence on the scene.
Born In Thorns Full-Length, 2015 THE A.G.'S (USA)
Melodic thrash/crossover with strong punk overtones; this is too soft and may not be very attractive to the hard-boiled thrashers.
Cirkus Berzerkus Full-Length, 1991 THE ABIOTX (USA)
The EP: this power trio specializes in retro thrash/crossover with simplistic riffs, short tracks, fast tempos, rending shouty vocals, all this performed with a lot of energy, but with very little imagination. The full-length is another pretty energetic offering full of ripping crossover rhythms, which serve a generally merry mood, branching out in a more intense speed/thrashing direction ("Breaking Point") on occasion. "Hierarchy Of The Demons" is an ambitious, albeit flawed, all-instrumental attempt at mixing their staple direct approach with more serious riffs ala late-80's Metallica which major defect is the noisy guitar background. "Horror Begets Horror" is another more serious thrashterpiece, a sure-handed headbanger well supported by the forceful semi-death metal vocals which don't carry a lot of melody, but support well the intense musical approach.
Humanity EP, 2003 My Space THE ABSENCE (USA)
These Americans could easily put to shame the majority of the contemporary Swedish death/thrash metal bands who desperately try to be the new In Flames or Dark Tranquillity. This is a blend of Gothenburg death metal and thrash done in a very impressive way. This band actually comes closer than any other band to the sound of At The Gates' "Slaughter Of The Soul", but with a thrashier edge. "Riders Of The Plague" is even better than their debut with a more complex, darker and heavier sound, plus an increased amount of thrash, cemented with a nice cover version of Testament's early hit "Into The Pit". With the presence of The Absence on the modern metal scene, the Scandinavian bands will have a very strong competition, and why not even an example to follow?
The Absence EP, 2004 Official Site THE ACCURSED (USA)
This is an entertainment of the intense lashing variety and as such should keep many fans happy. This outfit indulge in melodic, almost classically-inclined guitar-wise, thrash/death which clings towards escalating dramatic structures preferring to develop in a steam-rolling mid-pace assisted by very good melodic guitar work, both in the riff and lead department. "Seasons of the Scythe" is a very cool speedy cut reminiscent of Dissection, but don't expect two in a row here the next "Fire of 1000 Cries" being a nice semi-ballad with attempts at clean singing which replaces for a while the main gruff forceful death metal vocals. More brutal music
follows suit with the short explosive cut "I Am Famine" which also pulls it out in the technical department in a smashing Pestilence-like fashion. The two sides start alternating in the second half with another short technical piece added near the end ("Slaughter the Gods") the final wrap thrown by the melodically exuberant "The Black Thrash" which is mostly thrash in mid-pace without any borrowings from black metal.
The "Spread the Misfortune" demo is a rough around the edges blend of thrash and death metal which doesn't have the strong technical bite yet also suffering from the muddy sound quality; an inspired, albeit a fairly inauspicious start for the band. However, just two years later the guys look well equipped to take on the French underground metal scene; the "Death... Starvation... Plague and War" demo is standout technical thrash/death and a great precursor to the work done on the full-length. The opener "Ethnic Purification" (the demo starts and ends with two short acoustic instrumentals) sounds like an undeserving leftover from Atheist's "Unquestionable Presence", a twisted shredder with a cool abstract mid-break which sets the tone for this mind-scratching masterpiece. "Desintegration" is a more elaborate longer composition contrasting with the surrounding it short puzzling blitzkriegers among which "Power of Sects" is the most aggressive cut, a deathly brutalizer which is followed by the outstanding "Ecological Disaster", a constantly overlapping hecticer with stunning overlapping riff-patterns which stay around for the closing "Blasphemy of the Christian Inquisition", another immaculate display of top-notch musicianship with a nice melodic lead section. This effort sounds at times even better than the debut and after all these years remains the only piece of music to capture the calculated twisted magick of the aforementioned Atheist album. It's a real pity that this very talented formation didn't last longer... an absolute must-check for every fan of technical/progressive metal.
Death... Starvation... Plague and War Demo, 1995
Le Paradis Du Mal Full-length, 2003
The EP is a first-rate effort, again treading progressive thrash/death waters, quite reminiscent of Sacrosanct's "Recesses for the Depraved". The mid-paced urgency of "Embodiment" creates plenty of dark creepy atmosphere, the latter redefined on the pretty effective doom/thrash hybrid "Redefinition", a hypnotic proposition with a nice balladic interlude and intelligent jumpy, also quite technical, accumulations including the twisted speedy exit. "Transmortality" is a supreme morose twister where feverish staccato rhythms interlace with lofty stomping walkabouts, not to mnetion the absolutely ravishing speedy technical sweep in the second half. There's nothing unjust about "Unjust", the band's staple heavy approach tussling with thick intricate rifforamas every step of the way, the resultant duel also tolerating a couple of arresting twisted melodies which erupt into a fountain of dazzling musicianship at the end. "Bitterness" goes straight for the moderately speedy accumulations, and is an overall standout technical thrasher with deep subversive atmospheric undercurrents, a sheer example of thick dense, also fairly entangled thrashing without any fast-paced extremities. The vocals are no different from the future delivery, deep deathy semi-guttural semi-recitals, comprehensive authoritative inclusions with a shade of pathos.
The "Sentencing Without Bliss" demo is another stellar work of progressive thrash (largely), also coming with a surprisingly clear sound quality and a more expressive bass bottom the latter particularly striking on the slow-building marvel "I Deny", a cunning shape-shifter with an unheralded speedy epilogue. Mentioning speed, there's plenty of it on the brisk technicaller "Purgery", "Democracy for Brains" flirting with more moderate doom configurations, creepy barely obtrusive riffs which hypnotize the listener, especially with the several virtuoso bass-guided sections. "Sanctimonius Stratagem" is a pile of bewitching dazzling leads initially, and later on the band just stupefy the fanbase with astounding time and tempo-signatures, distantly recalling Death's "Human" and Sadus "Visions of Misery", the dense mind-opening rifforamas serving as the building blocks for the progressive masterpiece "Factors of Domination", a multi-layered saga that tussles through myriad time and tempo shifts those also provided with a slightly modified physiognomy on the equally as brilliant "Beyond Obscurity", a puzzle of fascinating overlapping rhythms and melodies. The traditionally forceful semi-shouty death metal vocals are this time intercepted by more hysterical near-black metal screeches. The US underground couldn't have possibly sunk without a trace with gems like this making it shine brighter than the spotlight even.
Within a Consciousness Unborn EP, 1995
Your Demise EP, 2016
Initiation Full-length, 2020
Thanatos Demo, 1996
Ether EP, 2009
"Realm of Ecstasy" moves more into the death metal realm, rather than the ecstasy one (pun intended). The guitar work is even more technical and faster bringing to mind masters like Death, Invocator, Massacra; the end again is preserved for the slowest tracks: the short technical "Reincarnation" and the doom metal hymn "Terminal Breath".
"Angelic Encounters" elaborates on both the aggression and technicality, and especially the latter is quite striking with a cool backward play in the vein of Morbid Angel which seem to be the main influence on this album although thrash hasn't disappeared completely, and some good tracks are exactly that, pure moshing thrash: "The Devil's Concubine", "Speed Kills".
"Undead, Unholy, Divine" brings back the more thrashy patterns from the debut, and is arguably the band's finest hour. This album is full of great thrashing: from the sheer headbanging delights ("Undead, Inholy, Divine") to heavy late 80's Slayer-esque ones (Eraser"), to brutal thrash/death metal mixtures ("Servants of Hatred"). Again the guys pay tribute to the large doom/death scene in their homeland with "The Sign of Sadako".
Thanatos are back after a long 5-year break, and "Justified Genocide" doesn't disappoint: it's quite aggressive death/thrash, not a distant departure from the band's previous output. The guys play fast and tight, adding the casual blast-beat wherever needed, and the music kind of sticks to the death metal patterns more this time. No complaints at all since there's energy and power aplenty here, especially with bombs like "The Netherworld" and "Dawn of Eternity" exploding around, reminding you so much of the early late 80's/early 90's death metal scene. "Apostles of Damnation" is the obligatory for the band doomy interlude, heavy as hell, this time coming at the very end, but you will all wake up on the short ultra-brutal grinding "Upwards Spiritual Evolution" which is the band's most outrageous "creation" so far, and a very shocking ending to this otherwise cool album.
"Global Purification": the veterans are back on the scene with this ultra-energetic effort which again sees them blending thrash and death in their staple blitzkrieg manner. The "carnage" carries on all the way through, the stops from the "bullet train" being very few (the more lyrical, melodic "Nothing Left" comes to mind), and for at least half the time this album is pure unadulterated death metal: check out the furious "Infestation Of The Soul", or the short rippers "Queen Of Gore" & "World Jihad". "The Demonized Minority" is a cool more technical piece, and "Blood Will Be Spilled" will beat you back to pure with its raging proto-blasting riffs. There are no surprises here whatsoever, but fans of the band should salivate all over and headbang to oblivion.
"Violent Death Rituals" caries on with the thrash/death assault so well epitomized on the band's recordings. Sniffs ("Unholy Predators") of fuller-blooded death are quickly mortified by swathes of stylish thrashiness ("The Outer Darkness"), with attempts at more technical playing ("Burn the Books of Hate"). Blazing proficient leads ("Always Ends in Blood") carve nearly every composition, but expect a few more overtly brutal outbursts ("Corporate Indoctrination") as well, the more atmospheric excursions on the closing "As the Cannons Fade" a welcome respite and a somewhat fitting epitaph to an otherwise hyper-active opus.
Realm Of Ecstacy Full-length, 1992
Angelic Encounters Full-length, 2000
Beyond Terror EP, 2002
Undead, Unholy, Divine Full-length, 2004
The Burning Of Sodom/...And Jesus Wept EP, 2006
Justified Genocide Full-Length, 2009
Global Purification Full-Length, 2014
Violent Death Rituals Full-length, 2020
The debut demo is a similar wild affair the guys death/thrashing brutally their efforts ultimately hampered by the awful sound quality. Otherwise this is fast aggressive thrash/death ala Morbid Saint and Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" mixed with compulsive outbursts of proto-grind. There are sparse more sensible moments, like the odd more stylish solo or the casual more controlled performance ("Antychryst", the Slayer cover of "Black Magic" at the end) which fit better the vicious semi-declamatory singer who tries to really emulate Tom Araya on the Slayer cover, and almost succeeds.
Out of Sanity Demo, 1989
Silence to Violence EP, 2012
With Murder in Mind Full-length, 2017
"Muerto" is a faithful continuation of the band's career the band thrashing with enthusiasm and gusto their efforts again marred by the not very clear production which makes the guitars sound like drills here and there. The romantic side of the guys shows up here and there, on the longer numbers which are more melodic, but watch out for unbridled hardcore outbreaks (Muertos pt II") which would be a rude awakening for the sleepy souls who will be thoroughly entertained on the cool diverse instrumental "Thanatophobia" near the end. The vocals are a bit more attached this time, but it's obvious that the guy behind the mike still needs more time spent in the studio.
Muertos Full-Length, 2012
Demo Demo, 1993
Hardball Demo, 1996
Salem City Full-length, 2006
Live at Black Devastation Festival Demo, 1987
Food for Worms Full-length, 2017
Straight To Hell Full-length, 2011
From Your Grave Full-length, 2005
Riders Of The Plague Full-length, 2007