So I was going through my music and glanced upon my nowadays dusting CD collection, when I noticed a few old thrash metal revival bands. Do you remember the thrash revival that was happening ten years ago? It was a brief wave of underground thrash bands that rose up to bring down the ever-prevailing kings of the 2000's, namely the metalcore bands.
I remember those times very well. It was in some ways my prime. I turned 15 in 2005 and thus was I part of that entire decade's ups and downs. Most "true" metalheads like myself did not really appreciate the metalcore scene all that much. In retrospect I've grown to love some bands that were lumped in with that scene (Chimaira, DevilDriver, etc.), but the bulk of it was really bad.
Idols at 16: Megadeth (1986) - Chris Poland, Gar Samuelson, Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson
In 2006 I was a full-blown thrasher. I had grown very fond of 80's thrash in 2005 and by the next year I was listening to it 24/7 (I literally used to sleep with headphones back then). I was fanboying early Megadeth (Peace Sells era) above all else and I particularly took a liking to "rawer" thrash bands. I liked thrash bands with heavy influences from Motörhead, rather than the polished and more technical stuff like Megadeth did with Rust in Peace. I did not, however, follow any modern metal scenes and was totally unaware of what was cooking beneath the surface.
By 2008 something just exploded. From seemingly out of nowhere came hundreds of young new bands that played classic thrash metal. It was like a sonic revolution. For years everybody had been talking about how bad metalcore was and how they hated it, including my own band, but it took several years for anyone to properly react. By the time it came, however, it came down hard and without showing any mercy.
Who doesn't remember that album cover by Fueled By Fire? A thrasher beating up two emo kids. It was badass! Or why not the revival of Ed Repka artworks? You know, the guy who did artwork for some of the genre's best regarded masterpieces. Hell, his artwork was often just as synonymous with a record as the actual band, musicians and music. Sometimes even more so. Thrash metal was truly reborn and kicking ass by 2008. The downfall of classic metalcore had begun.
Warbringer, Evile, Lich King, Bonded By Blood, Hexen, Gama Bomb, Municipal Waste, Suicidal Angels... The list goes on. So many bands, no air time, no major labels, low budgets - but a massive fanbase and a huge thurst for the return of a rebellious saviour. It was like an old scene had returned with new blood overnight. But looking at it in retrospect, it was probably the scene's big mistake.
With so many bands coming from out of nowhere that fast, you suddenly had a bunch of new killer records and live tours to catch. At the same time, however, it became like a ridiculous case of bands adapting to a bunch of copy-and-paste formulas. There simply was next to no originality within the revival scene. Bands sounded closer to being tribute acts of their number one favorite band rather than doing their own thing. Now that is not essentially a bad thing, but when everybody does it that way it gets tiresome quickly.
Before you knew it, the thrash metal revival had gone back to the deepest underground whence it came. It lasted for what, two solid years? Even that long? Talk about 15 minutes of fame. What made the original wave of thrash metal so great was how it was something new, something innovative. It was fresh and dangerous. The problem with the revival was how all those bands and musicians had gained great amounts of skill, only to use it for reproducing a certain sound rather than develop and explore their own creativity. Nobody wants to hear twenty Kreator wankers.
So after coming up real hard and heavy the entire movement basically plummeted right back down the abyss. It went from being one of the coolest things to happen in metal history to being one of the most ridiculous ones. But even though its initial impact didn't have more than a minor lasting relevance, it did ultimately leave another, much greater, impact.
In the wake of the thrash revival's demise there were basically two things that happened. The first one was a door left open, a door for classic heavy metal to make its impending return. Just look at that - it's still there after almost ten years, still going strong and seemingly even stronger in recent years. I'm sure that without the thrash revival happening cirka 2008, we wouldn't have gotten a classic heavy metal revival as early as cirka 2010. I'm certain it would have happened sooner or later, just not as soon as it did. The other thing was that it did indeed bring down the metalcore movement. After all, what relevance has the majority of them had in the 2010's? Next to none!
So what can we possibly learn from this musical history? The way I've put it we should basically just avoid playing music altogether. If you're a skilled musician copying your idols down to the notes and styles, you'll never last. If you're part of a more original subgenre (metalcore) then you simply suck and should call it quits already. But hey, surprise surprise, that's not really what I'm suggesting.
While I wasn't a fan of metalcore back then I can look back at it in retrospect and appreciate those musicians doing their own thing (until they started copying-and-pasting each other that is). The thrash revival seems to be mostly suppressed these days with nobody associating with it. There are a few bands I still listen to from time to time. They still sound as unoriginal as they did back then, but at least they did some great thrash music nonetheless. I love the classic heavy metal revial that rose up from it. There are also a lot more originality within that scene, I believe.
The only thing I'm scared of right now is to see what happens next. We're closing in on the end of this decade, which often means new trends and whatnot lies ahead in the wake of the next one. This decade has been plagued with deathcore and dare I say that it generally sucks way harder than metalcore ever did? And similarily to the thrash revival towards the end of the last decade, we've now got something of an "old school death metal revival" instead. I love death metal. Way more than I love thrash. I don't want to see it end up like the thrash revival did, although I'm pretty sure the death revival has already outlasted it (and has more originality). Time will tell!
If you've been reading older posts in this blog you'll know I'm a drummer myself. I started drumming in early 2004 by joining my first band, which lasted for ten years before changing its name (and further continues to this day). We were all around 13-14 at the time and our first year was mostly spent learning our instruments by studying and learning different cover songs.
I always found it as interesting to know the players as much as the band's music. When I had just started playing drums I found it particularly interesting to study the drumming in the bands which I fancied. I googled the drummers and got to learn a lot of their setups, styles, influences and all that stuff. It really inspired me to become a drummer myself and it also made my aspiration more fun.
As a drummer I always listened to other drummers with critical ears. The more I learnt and developed myself, the more picky I became with other drummers' styles and whether I thought good of them or not. A little judging perhaps. Even arrogant, maybe. But I always found many drummers to miss a good groove, or feeling if you will.
With that said, let's go through my top-10 favorite drummers of hard rock and metal music (in no particular order):
Chuck Biscuits
Chuck Biscuits is probably most known for his work with Danzig (the band). He also played in a bunch of punk rock bands including D.O.A. before that, but I never had a lot of interest in those bands to be honest.
Danzig, however, is another story. I love Danzig! I'm definitely one of those fans who prefer the early days and the first four albums (all featuring Chuck on drums), but I never gave up on (Glenn) Danzig and I enjoy their other, more recent stuff as well.
So what's so special about Chuck's drumming? First off, the man is an animal behind the kit. He's got a hard-hitting playing style with lots of dynamics and a good, loose groove (many o:s there). He always kept his setup rather small and made great use of everything at his disposal.
To me personally, Chuck could be the greatest influence in drumming. If you look at the photo of him above and study his rig, then you'll have a good idea of how my rig looked like throughout the years. I will not say that I copied his setup, at least not intentionally, but I pretty much did. His style also undoubtedly influenced me to become a hard-hitting drummer and opting for a loose groove.
Fred Estby
Fred is most (but not exclusively) known as the drummer of Dismember, one of Sweden's most classic old school death metal bands, and my personal favorite death metal band of all time. Fred was the band's drummer live and in the studio, but he's also a guitarist and therefore he was somewhat of a chief songwriter for the band as well.
Fred's drumming is/was a mix between extreme metal and punk beats, filled with a kind of groove which I really dig. He's a very loose player, always sounding live on studio recordings and that's how I like it in most cases. It just adds a whole new depth and life into the drumming which makes the music as a whole more organic.
Fred is perhaps not what most metalheads would consider a "great drummer", but his style and groove influened me a lot more than most others throughout the years. Particularly his groovy bass drum work shaped my own style. He also had a way of finding good tones and sounds on Dismember's studio recordings.
Vinny Appice
Vinny is well-known for have provided drums for many names throughout his career, but most known (and dear to me personally) is argubly his work with Dio (the band).
Vinny was part of Dio's original line-up and did the drums on more than half of Dio's entire catalogue. His style is kind of laid back with great groove and power. He definitely has his own unique vibe and style to his playing.
While Vinny always was a great influence for me, I would not say that my personal style sounds very influenced by him. So why is that? Well, first and foremost: I never learned to play like the man. Secondly: I wouldn't wanna copy the man's style and become a B-rate version of him anyway. But the man's drumming always catches my attention when listening to stuff like Dio and Black Sabbath.
Gene Hoglan
Also known as "The Atomic Clock", or simply the human drum machine, Gene Hoglan is possibly the world's fastest drummer while also being overly technical much of the time. Like that's not enough, the guy also used to be big as a house, but he's lost a lot of weight in recent years (good to see, Gene).
Out of the drummers I fancy the most, Gene is definitely the most technical and fast one. I generally don't like machine-like drummers but I still feel like Gene's got a very unique touch to his style. Sure, he is indeed playing like a monstrous machine, but he's got a trademark that's always there.
Despite having done records for bands like Death, Testament, Forbidden, Zimmers Hole and many, many more, you can always listen to the drum work and you'll know it's Gene. That's exactly what I love about his playing, and it's also interesting to hear him do all the crazy stuff seemingly like it's a real piece of cake.
My personal favorite bands featuring Gene are Strapping Young Lad and Dark Angel. SYL is simply awesome in a very crazy, heavy and brutal way. Dark Angel was his first band (in the public eye anyway) and that was back in the 80's. "Darkness Descends", legendary thrash record which even put Slayer and "Reign In Blood" to shame in 1986. Back then Gene wasn't as consistent in his playing yet. Techincal and lightning fast, but a bit more "human". I really liked that.
Stefan Kaufmann
Stefan is one of the most underrated drummers of all time in my opinion. Playing with Accept during their entire 80's run, as well as a few albums in the 90's, I always found much inspiration in his drumming style.
Stefan always adapted his style to whatever kind of tune Accept was playing, doing some real solid double bass drumming before it had really become a standard in metal music, as well as playing groovy beats to fit the slower and/or mid-paced songs. Versatile to say the least.
During the 90's Stefan suffered from great back pain and had to stop drumming in Accept. He later joined Udo's solo band as a guitarist, but a few years ago his back still caused too much trouble, effectively forcing him to quit Udo's band as well. His drum work will always continue to inspire my drumming.
John Boecklin
Say what you will about the New Wave of American Metal or metalcore: whether you're a fan of the bands or not, you can't deny a lot of them are great musicians. In a way I find that drummers, in particular, have all trained techniques too much, essentially making it not-so-special anymore.
Despite that fact, a few drummers (in this case) still stick out from the masses. I know a lot of people praise Chris Adler (Lamb of God) and Andols Herrick (Chimaira) and they're great. People rarely talk about DevilDriver's John Boecklin, however, which to my surprise is really sad.
John's got some real cool chops in his playing style. He's techincal, fast, precise and has a great groove. I find his work with toms and percussion to be particularly cool and it's also been an influence for me in latter years since discovering DevilDriver (I never listened to them 5-10 years ago).
Dave Lombardo
I think it's safe to say that Dave Lombardo's something of a living legend in the metal world. Having made a great name for himself during has many former years with Slayer, the man's given more influence than most other drummers within the genre (and subgenres).
But Dave's popularity is not just all talk. He's actually a fucking beast behind the kit. He's probably most known for his quick thrashbeating, but in my book it's his groove which makes his drumming sound so awesome. He's also got great tones and sounds.
Personally I am a huge fan of Dave's style. Not for his ability to play thrash beats or fast in genreal but because his style is so distinctive and versatile. The way he just comes raging down of his drums is ferocious, like a beast tearing human bodies apart. I'm not familiar with quite all of his several projects throughout the years, but my favorites are Slayer (of course), Grip Inc. and Fantomas, all of which are really cool bands with great drumming.
Scott Asheton
The late Scott Asheton is unargubly most famous for being the drummer of The Stooges, the so called proto-punk band which launched the charismatic singer Iggy Pop into the public eye.
The Stooges did three fan acclaimed albums during the late 60's and early 70's which would come to prove a great influence on both punk rock and later grunge. Their style was hard and relatively raw, with rather simplistic compositions which were powerful and effective for rebelling against society. I believe they put out some of the hardest rock music ever made.
What I like about Scott's drumming is his powerful style. He had a firm groove which maintained an organic feeling and kept things rather simple yet interesting. I'm personally very influenced by his style as I like the "rainy-day-in-the-rehearsal-place" feel of it.
Bill Ward
Bill is undoubtedly most famous for his work with Black Sabbath, and for very good reason. Playing on all the classic Sab records including all the 70's records featuring Ozzy Osbourne, as well as 1980's "Heaven And Hell" with Ronnie James Dio, Bill Ward helped creating Black Sab's great legacy.
Since Black Sab was the start of the entire metal movement, essentially anyways, Bill's drumming style was not exactly very metal oriented. His style was more rooted in blues and jazz and in my opinion, that helped a lot in creating the sound of some heavy and experimental drumming for the metal sound. He's just got a very nice swing to his playing, very organic and dynamic.
I'm personally a fan of all Sabbath albums, regardless of backing musicians or singers, so with that said I'm a fan of every album featuring Bill. I think it's hard to just chose one album or so where he really shined the most, but I do think "Technical Ecstasy" is a criminally underrated Sab album. Bill also sings on one track on that album (and does it great), but his drumming is also very versatile. Otherwise, I think just about any Sab will do.
Tony Niemistö
Also known as Tony Reno. He was the original drummer for the Swedish band Europe, you know the one which made "The Final Countdown"? Anyway, he played in the band before they made that album and while they still were a lot heavier, ultimately appearing on the band's first two albums only.
While this may seem like an odd and/or random choice, it's really not. Europe was already a relatively huge band in Sweden from their get-go and thus we don't only listen to their more commercial late 80's stuff, but everything they made.
Personally I think Europe peaked with "Wings of Tomorrow" in 1984, the second and last album to feature Tony on drums. I listened a lot to the band's first two albums around the time when I was first practicing drums, and I always found Tony's drumming to be very heavy and powerful, like I thought and imagined that real heavy metal drumming was like. His style and sound influened me a lot during the first two years or so and looking back on it, I completely understand why. I wish the band would've kept him. His style went so well with John Norum's excellent guitar playing.
I hope you enjoyed my list! Keep in mind that these are my personal favorites and greatest influences throughout the years. While there are of course a bunch of other drummers that influenced me as well, these ten are simply the greatest in my book.
Bonus:
Here you've got a 16-y-o me with my "Chuck Biscuits setup" back in 2006.
Welcome to the first installment in my new series "In retrospect:". I will make a short career-spanning discography review of bands where I comment on every album they've done, or at least those albums which I know and listen to. So today I thought I was gonna start with a band that I am actually listening to a lot at the moment, and one of those bands are the old Bay Area thrash metallers Death Angel. I'm not gonna drag on any further, let's dig in!
1987 - "The Ultra-Violence"
The band's debut album is undeniably what most thrash metal listeners associate Death Angel with, and for good reason. This album is nothing but killer - it's legendary! The whole album is a non-stop thrash metal assault with simplistic but very effective riffing, and the production is just one of those perfect examples of where the production actually suits the music like a battle jacket on a headbanger. It's simply just one of the very best thrash metal albums ever made, and should be at least top-100 best metal albums of all time for any metalhead.
Favorite tracks: Thrasher, Mistress Of Pain, Final Death
1988 - "Frolic Through The Park"
A rather unintentionally controversial second album. This album has met a lot of criticism from fans, and critics as well (but who gives a fuck about what them tools think anyway), and perhaps a bit unfairly so. I mean, I personally don't like this album very much, never did, but that's also after hearing their debut album first. I mean, they really peaked with the debut and I imagine it was hard writing, recording and releasing an album (just as good) in just one year after the debut. It's not really a bad album, but it's rather too tame and not nearly as memorable as the debut.
Favorite tracks: Bored, 3rd Floor, Guilty Of Innocence
1990 - "Act III"
The bands third and last album for a long while before their reunion. Now this album partially picks up where the last left off, but it's also a natural progression for the band. Here we get to hear that Death Angel obviously is a constantly evolving band and that is something I can totally respect. However, just like the previous album, this one tends to fall a bit short in quality and interest compared to the debut.
Now, to be fair, this album is a lot more diverse and experimental than the debut, fusing together funk riffing with the thrash, and even having an acoustic ballad. It's a complete different album, but still I always felt this album left much to be desired. Some songs are just too boring, but I am a big fan of Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mordred, so the funk elements are a welcome refreshment to my ears.
Favorite tracks: Seemingly Endless Time, Stagnant, Discontinued
1994 - "The Organization" (BONUS)
After Death Angel split up around 1991 or so, all the guys except for lead vocalist Mark Osegueda went on to form The Organization, an alternative/funky metal band named after a song on DA's last album. Since it still basically is Death Angel without Mark's voice (the other guys sang regularly as well), it's kind of what I imagine the band would do after Act III. It feels like a natural progression and I actually like this one more than Death Angel's last two albums (up till that point). They did a second album before splitting this project up as well, but I've never managed to track down and/or hear that one.
Favorite tracks: Free Burning, Policy, Bringer, The Past
2004 - "The Art Of Dying"
The band's comeback album. This is the album I know the least so I can't perhaps give a completely justifying opinion on it, but from what I can say this is basically a thrashier continuation of where the last album left off. The reason why I don't know this album that well is simply because it doesn't appeal that much to me, to be honest. The few times I listened to it it felt a bit run-of-the-mill.
Favorite tracks: The Devil Incarnate, Spirit
2008 - "Killing Season"
This album and the previous one kind of remind of that Frolic to Act III scenario all over again, where non of the two are really anything that special, but at least the latter is an improvement from the former one. This album did raise my hopes for the future a bit, and I think this is an overall better album and where the band is starting to find itself again.
Before this album, some members left the "family business" that used to be Death Angel (everybody was cousins), and in came some fresh and unrelated blood. I don't know what went down in the band or why some of the guys left, but musically I find it to be a good thing. With this album I think that Death Angel really returned, and this is finally the closest album quality-wise to The Ultra-Violence. With that said, this is by no means TUV pt. II, it has a different and more modern thrash sound going on, but it's fucking kick ass!
Favorite tracks: Claws In So Deep, Truce, This Hate, Opponents At Side
2013 - "The Dream Calls For Blood"
The band's follow-up to Relentless Retribution had left me torn between high hopes and fear that the band would once again come to a "Frolic scenario", but no, the band did not let me down. For the first time in the band's career, I think they actually managed to follow up a great album with an even slightly better one. This album is kind of similar to the previous one, but a bit heavier and better I believe. I don't know if this tops TUV, but if I would ever play it to death, then I'll always have this one to call my favorite instead. They also did a kick-ass cover of Black Sab's "Heaven And Hell" where Mark really gets to shine with his great stronger-than-ever vocals.
Favorite tracks: Left For Dead, The Dream Calls For Blood, Execution / Don't Save Me, Succubus
2016 - "The Evil Divide"
The band's new album released merely two weeks ago (of this date today, obviously) and the third album with the "new" line-up. While probably being sliiightly less to my taste than the previous album, this one is still really good and a solidification that Death Angel is in grate shape and one of the best old school thrash acts still left in the game. This album also once again slightly differs from the previous efforts, embracing a bit more of the modern metal sounds. Actually, this in a bit of hardcore influences here and there and is at times reminiscent of (the awesome) Chimaira's Resurrection album, which was also produced by Death Angel's now long-time producer Jason Suecof, so perhaps that is not too far fetched. I have very high hopes for Death Angel's future!
Favorite tracks: The Moth, Father Of Lies, It Can't Be This, Wasteland (The Mission cover)
Yo everybody! I've been listening to a lot of stuff lately, particularly thrash metal, and I've been thinking a lot of how some bands are really overrated. Particularly in thrash there are many bands to be found that meet that criteria. I'm sure you're already on to a few of those which I'm about to talk about. But instead of dragging my shit any further, let's start looking the actual overrated metal bands (of all styles).
***Just note***This list doesn't necessarily intend to make these bands appear as bad ones. Just overrated in some kind of sense, which I will also describe in their descriptions respectively.
***Extra note***If you xpected to see some shitty band that is missing, then maybe it's just so shitty that I simply don't listen to it altogether. Examples: Limb Bizkit, FFDP, Slipknot, etc.
10. Iron Maiden
To start off this list I'll go with my very first favorite band in metal. Now, Iron Maiden is awesome, most of us agree on that, but many of us also cannot deny the fact that they're very, very repetitive. I mean, how many galloping bass lines can you make songs out of? Many, apparently. Also, let me just point out that my favorite songwriter in Maiden is Adrian Smith.
9. Sepultura
Another great band ... until "Roots" came along. I absolutely love Sepultura pre-"Chaos A.D." and post-"Kairos", but most of those records in between there were not at all my kind of metal, and my opinion says that I don't understand how "Roots" (in particular) could become so popular.
8. Van Halen
An absolutely amazing quartet of musicians, both the Van Roth and Van Hagar eras, although I never ever liked the Van Hagar era. I listened a lot to these guys during my first few years as a headbanger, and while they're perhaps not that "metal", they still apply to us metalheads, I believe. But what happened is that they did an awesome debut record, and went straight downhill after that. The other David Lee Roth-fronted albums all had a few songs each of interest, but not really that much worthy of noting (although the musicianship was always great).
7. Kreator
Three words plus one equals? "Pleasure To Kill" = awesome. I love that record. The one before it, the debut, was pretty okey as well. However, after PTK I just don't know what the fuck happened. I just find the rest of their stuff to be very boring thrash. Also, "Extreme Aggression" is one of those classic examples of what kind of sound/production a metal record should not have. It just strips away all the weight from the music. It's supposed to sound heavy, right? Well, it fucking doesn't.
6. Morbid Angel
Much like the Kreator of death metal to me. "Altars Of Madness", of course, is an awesome classic. After that I just thought they lost it. I know many people like a few more records they did, but I just don't think they could ever match the success of their debut ever again.
5. Metallica
"Oh, what an obvious choice!", I can hear you thinking. Well, people are right about Metallica being overrated. Partially. Their first four are fucking awesome, I will always love them. However, post-"...And Justice For All" they've been most mediocre or outright bad. I mean, I understand why people love the first four albums, but that's not enough to make them as big as they indeed are. So yes, they are one of the most overrated metal bands. Plain and simple.
4. Sodom
Oooo, now I'm starting to invade on dangerous territory. I am very well aware of how much appreciated Sodom are with metal fans, but I simply could never really understand the fuzz about them. I found it even harder after hearing "Agent Orange", their perhaps most loved and well-known record, because to me it just sounds like a manifest of stolen riffs. I can hear Megadeth, Sacred Reich and other stuff in that. They just never came along as very original to me. With that said there still are some stuff I appreciate, like "Tapping The Vein" for instance. That one is pretty cool.
3. Exodus
Now I'm slowly conquering just about every thrasher's closed-minded ego here. If any band on this list were plain out bad, then that one band certainly is Exodus. I can honestly say that I've never ever understood what so many people see in their music. To me, they just sound so goddamn fucking boring. Unimaginative riffs, uninspired songs, and worst of all are the extremely cartoonish B-rate vocals a'la Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (Overkill) style.All I can say whenever I hear Steve "Zetro" Souza, at least in Exodus (he was pretty good in Tenet), is "thank Satan that Testament got Chuck Billy instead". I honestly did not even think that the widely acclaimed "Bonded By Blood" album was anything special. Thanks but no thanks, Exodus.
2. Slayer
And now I've officially pissed off every metal around the world. Well, honestly, I know I don't have. I actually think it's relatively common to see metalheads express their distaste for Slayer these days. Not that I don't like 'em, fuck no, I love Slayer! Don't get me wrong, they're fucking awesome! I especially love the "Hell Awaits" album, but everything up till "Divine Intervention" is very good, really. It's just that they lost their steam after that, and there are so many other bands that do or did a similar thing to what Slayer did, but even better. I mean, "Reign In Blood" is by far the most overrated thing about Slayer. Ever heard Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" album, or Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill"? Pretty much the same thing, only way better, and both of those were (also) released in 1986. Catch my drift? Very good band, just not that good.
1. Nirvana
And the crowned king of this list is none other than the grunge kings Nirvana. I'll admit that I at one point in time did listen to them, a bit (like five songs), when I was like 12 (I am almost 26 now). As I grew up, however, they sound like nothing but children's or angsty teens' "punk" rock to my ears. I'm not overly too fond of grunge otherwise either, but I do love Alice in Chains in particular, and I enjoy listening to some earlier Soundgarden and Mother Love Bone as well. But Nirvana? No. Once again, they're not really a metal band, but since grunge is generally affiliated with metal and its fans, I chose to include (and crown) them for this list.
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I hope you enjoyed this list. Remember, this is just my opinion. It doesn't mean shit to you, just like yours means shit to me. But it can be fun to share and discuss. Well, this is my invitation to discussion, agreement or disagreement.
Hello, it's been a while! I've been a little busy for the last few months. It was my birthday back in October, and pretty much everyone else I know has got their birthdays during fall as well. My music has changed yet again, too. Right now it's some thrash nostalgia roaring out of my speakers on a daily basis. Back in 2006 I used to be a hardcore 80's thrash fan - not just the big 4, but everybody else too. I used to listen so much to all those old classics, known as obscure, and I thought it would be fun to actually list like my ten favorite thrash records of all time, so I'm gonna give it a try even though it'll be fucking hard... I will also only choose one album per band that will represent them the best from my personal taste.
Oh well, here goes:
#10: Mordred - In This Life (1991)
I was unsure about including this one. It's one of my all-time favorite records, but as much as it's thrash, it's equally as much funk and rap metal. This album is kind of a Faith No More and (the) Red Hot Chili Peppers meet Bay Area-thrash sounding product, which alienated many closed-minded thrash fans back in the day. I love it though, but I leave it here at the last spot to focus on the more "pure" thrash masterpieces further down.
#9: Metallica - Ride The Lightning (1984)
Yeah, I tried avoiding Metallica to not appear as "too obvious", but let's be real here: I can't deny the fact that they actually were fucking awesome back in the day. They, along with Megadeth and Slayer, were basically the soundtrack of my life during 2004-2006. This was always my favorite album of theirs, even though I later fell in total love with "...And Justice For All". This was the perfect middle-step between to other awesome albums, bringing the best of what was on "Kill 'em All", and the best of what was yet to come on "Master Of Puppets". I always thought James sounded best vocally on this one as well.
This is like my old girlfriend of 2006. I listened to this non-stop after discovering it and the band as a whole. Back then I'd most likely place this as my number one record of all time, and I think I even did that everywhere back then. However, as the years went one I broke-up with it to try on other metal genres and bands, but I still listen to it now and then. Even though it's not really what it used to be for me, it's undeniably an immortal classic that I will have in my thrash heart forever, and if nothing else, it will also be the ultimate album associated with the memories of the 15-16-year-old me.
#7: Overkill - Horrorscope (1991)
With many awesome classics before this one, and many great fucking albums after this one, it's hard to choose one, but this is the one. This was my first Overkill record and I bought it spontaneously. That turned out to be a great call for me! This album is as perfect as it gets with Overkill, I suppose. The tunes are all great with intense energy and thrashiness. It always gets me going. I also totally dig what they did with many tunes here, some examples being "Bare Bones" with it's haunting piano intro building into an epic kick-ass opening to the song itself, the slow and heavy title-track with some neat fucking bass guitar, and the ballad-esque "Soulitude" which is just amazing. An album perfect for moshing!
#6: Sepultura - Beneath The Remains (1989)
Back in late 2006 and early 2007, Sepultura was one of my absolute favorite bands (they still are). I bought their albums in the same order as they came out, starting with "Morbid Visions" and the "Bestail Devastation" EP. It was good and all, but when I heard "Schizophrenia" I was sold! I did not think it could get any better after that, and then I bought this one. Damn. This album is a pure Brazilian thrash assault that I used as a major influence in my drum practicing. Igor Cavalera just got better and better with each album, and this album was to much help for me back then. Now after all these years, with some of them favoring "Arise", I have gone back to this one which is my favorite Sep-album. I love everything about it - the riffs, drums, vocals, energy, sound/production, album cover - everything!
#5: Cro-Mags - Best Wishes (1989)
Originally a NYC hardcore band, Cro-Mags evolved into a thrashy band on their second album. Think a little like an east-coast version of Suicidal Tendencies - darker, dirtier, angrier, more hardcore. This album in particular of theirs is a very cool mix of that New York City hardcore punk mixed with traditional NWoBHM, essentially resulting in a thrash metal album. This album is very much "alive" in its sound, with that raw hardcore-punk energy certainly being present at all times, which gives this album a real good punch-y thrash sound. I also love the guitar and drum sound on this one. It's fat and heavy. Very good album that every thrash fan should have.
#4: Coroner - No More Color (1989)
One of the few well-noticed European thrash bands back in the day, Coroner from Switzerland was what most thrashers called "technical thrash metal", or "tech thrash". I love what they did with their sound, which certainly is unique compared to most other thrash acts. All of their five albums are masterpieces in their own right to my ears, but this one is my most favorite one. The songs here are just perfect in both sound and style, with great riffing, shredding and composing. This album always works perfectly for me when the Bay Area-sound comes in too much at once.
#3: Dark Angel - Darkness Descends (1986)
I don't think that there is a thrash album out there that I've given more rightful credit than this one. Released in the golden thrash year of 1986, this is the real "Reign In Blood", or rather what that album has been wrongfully acclaimed for. In my opinion, this album takes the same concept (extremely fast thrash songs) but just does it so many times better. This album is very fast, at times even faster than RIB, but with full-length tunes, and actually more than two good ones. This one even has got an eight-minute epic called "Black Prophecies" with some great drum fills by my favorite drummer Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan. This album is pure speed-thrash, if I may call it that, in true perfection!
#2: Testament - The New Order (1988)
Testament, my overall favorite thrash band, has made a lot of great records during their career, so it's hard choosing an album of theirs as the definite favorite. This has to be it, though. The first song I ever heard with Testament was "Trial By Fire", my favorite Testament tune since then, and the whole album is heavy, thrashing and hauntingly dark in its atmosphere. I just find it an extremely solid metal masterpiece. I was totally sold on their stuff after hearing this album in its full, and still I find it the most relevant record song-wise when I listen to several of my favorite Testa-tunes in one run.
#1: Anthrax - Persistence Of Time (1990)
I had a hard time actually choosing between this one and "Spreading The Disease", which pretty much is equal in quality to me. I ultimately chose this one because it's more technical and musically interesting, and I'm more influenced by this as a musician than I am by STD. This one also shows that Anthrax was very capable of making long and (more) complex tunes, without losing any energy and quality. Songs like "In My World", "Time", "Belly Of The Beast", and "Discharge" have been played a lot of times throughout the years at my place. I just never get tired of this masterpiece album! Oh, and they also recorded their cover of "Bring The Noize" during this album's recording sessions, which shows even more that they had evolved so much through the 80's.
What does Randy think? I think he's just probably grateful of being at home, where he rightfully belongs.
Today I was happy to finally read some good news in the metal press. Lately there's been so much fucking bullshit going on that I could not even care if the bands decided to call it quits once and for all. First we have the massive Queensrÿche drama which really never seems to end, and now it's getting hot(ter) again as both of the camps (yes ... the "real" Queensrÿche and the Geoff Tate-'rÿche respectively) are about to release albums. Personally, I think the real Queensrÿche (finally) died last year. I mean, as far as quality efforts go, they died a long time ago. But I guess I still do have some hope for them, that is the now so called "real Queensrÿche" camp. The Geoff Tate camp, well, is there anyone who's got belief in that?! I saw the album cover from the Tate-camp's upcoming debut, and it was fucking ridiculous, I laughed pretty hard at that one. Seriously, how old is the guy?
Looking back at the start of that one, one can wonder if that drama triggered other, more recent, dramas as well. We did get that Black Sabbath bullshit, too. I personally think it fucking sucks that Bill Ward's not drumming on the new, and maybe / probably last Sabbath album. He's a great drummer, a great influence to me, and he IS Sabbath! Still lookin' forward to hear the album, however.
About two weeks ago another classic band went into this fucking carousel as well, more notably Slayer. They've gone down the same shitter as Black Sabbath, but with more bullshit floating around the subject. To be honest, I never was the freak-fan kind of Slayer. I always thought they were great at what they do, but too repetitive and more about "being as fast as possible", leaving out much of a potential dynamic flow and greatness to their music. Nonetheless, they are what they are, and I think it's fucking silly that they don't get their shit straight. It's not the first time Dave Lombardo allegedly didn't get paid for his services, and like Bill Ward and Black Sabbath, Dave Lombardo fucking IS Slayer!
The most recent drama is in, and will probably even more in, the same vein as the Queensrÿche-drama. It's the horseshit about the Stone Temple Pilots firing Scott Weiland. Now this guy has quite a well-known rep about being a fucking smack-head. It doesn't surprise me, because he seems to be out of his obsessed mind. But then again, to be honest, I never was (even a pretty) big fan of the Stone Temple Pilots, nor Velvet Revolver (with Slash, Duff and co.) which he fronted some years ago.
So while there are some shitty businesses going on at the moment, some of which will probably smell even shittier in the nearby future, I was at least fucking happy reading about Randy Blythe getting cleared of all those bullshit charges. Now the stage is a restricted area, that kid took his risk, and while it's sad and all, he knew the rules (everyone does), and it had an unfortunate result. Randy is only guilty of protecting himself and his fellow band-mates, especially after the Dimebag incident, and not guilty for throwing down a kid back where he belongs, allegedly after he jumped the stage three times.
Congratulations Randy!! Enjoy your rightful freedom and make the most bad-ass Lamb of God album yet in the time to come now!
Overkill have always been one of those thrash bands that to me, never released any bad albums. Sure there were a few that obviously wasn't as good as the others, but never an album I felt "what the fuck is this shit?" about. Though it seems like the band had their peek during the eighties and early nineties, like most thrash bands, Overkill seem to have gotten a new peek in recent years. Ironbound was a bomb that got dropped in 2010, a thrash album every true fan of the genre had wanted for a long time. The Electric Age is no exception two years later as the band is in the middle of a nuclear war, it seems!
Since its release I've had the time to go through it a bunch of times and it sure is one solid piece of metal music! While unfortunately most other big thrash bands today put out mediocre albums, Overkill really do the opposite. I think it shows in albums sales / popularity as well. When the album kicks in with "Come And Get It" my first thought was "is this Megadeth?". It sounds like something Megadeth should've done, but did not. It's a very great opening track that shows what this album is like. After the Megadeth-like opening the song kicks into traditional Overkill style, but the song has one more big surprise ahead! The middle section turns into a sort of marching thing reminiscent of many great eighties heavy metal bands. Throughout the whole album there actually is an Iron Maiden-feel in particular songs, so think classic Overkill meets Megadeth cirka 2007-2009 meets Iron Maiden. Next song to go is the lead single "Electric Rattlesnake" - a catchy, fun, and to-be live staple kind of tune. As the album continues we hear "Black Daze", a mid-paced song that also is very catchy and reminds me a little of Megadeth's "In My Darkest Hour". "Drop The Hammer Down" is a given to-be fan favorite and the ending track "Good Night" stands for this album's most "ballad" like tune, which is a very common and great thing Overkill have on most of their albums. It's very catchy and I sure only hope the song doesn't point at that this could be the last Overkill album. In between all these stick-outs there are some very solid and good Overkill album, though maybe not of lead single-caliber?
The album sound continues in a similar vein to Ironbound but the songs are overall shorter and not as progressive. Think that this is a stripped-down, more straight to the point Ironbound version and I think you've got the idea. I think this was a great move by the band as another "that" progressive album maybe wouldn't have matched its predecessor. Instead Overkill take the energy and quality of Ironbound and put it into a more "classic Overkill album" style.
In conclusion this album was both very surprising and not. It was surprising that the band managed to do an equally good album after the awesome Ironbound, but at the same time it's not surprising as I imagine that the band got really fired up by the great response Ironbound got. In the end this album shows that Overkill are in a new peek in their career and I feel a need to mosh and drink beer while listening to it. I raise my fist in honor of Overkill for succeeding once again, with hope that there will be more albums of this caliber in the near future!
I feel pretty secure when I say that Overkill will most likely be the winners in 2012!
Final rating: 9.5/10
Listen to album for free with Spotify! Listening with Spotify gives the band money while it's free for you!
