The Mosh Pit 5.29.09: THE MOSH PIT: THRASH!

Posted by Dan Haggerty on 05.29.2009

This week the Mosh Pit takes a hard look at the thrash scene, then and now, and covers some of the classic bands still delivering the goods plus the great new bands you should check out. It’s all thrash all the time, this week in the Mosh Pit! Check out the full column for all the details.

First and foremost, fun with comments from last week and my column on Pink Floyd:


"Well said. You can't have "Pink Floyd" without every integral member and their unique influence. Without the original paradox of Syd or the dark brilliance of Waters or the excellence and optimism of Gilmour, Floyd would not be Floyd. Nick Mason and the late Richard Wright are irreplacable as well. I'm glad this column and praise was presented on 411. Pink Floyd deserves recognition beyond what most people think. They are not merely iconic for there album covers and art; they are transcendent revolutionaries of music. "

Posted By: Floyd Fan (Guest)

Who am I to argue with the Floyd Fan. Thanks for commenting!


"Hello from 'Nam, my friend... as someone with the entire Pink Floyd discography, very interesting to think about. Just some side bits... I'm not much of a fan of Syd's stuff, which to me felt folky-hippy-trippy (although "Astronomy Domine" is great) (I'm curious to hear his solo stuff).

I might be more on the Roger Waters side of things (musical preference wise), although when I was at college, a friend of mine had a bootlegged practice session for The Wall tour, where Roger was freaking on David for messing up part of a song in practice. He stopped everything to bitch him out. My guess is, the rest of the band were happy to part ways with the dictator.

The two Floyd albums without Roger? Spacey without much satire (decent). Roger's 3 solo releases? Amused to Death is up there with The Wall. It's a masterpiece. The other two are interesting (one with a very recognizable guitarist, the other sort of very 80's-ish).

But Roger and David were kind of like a peanut butter and jelly deal. They worked very well together, balancing out the equation that was Pink Floyd. Too bad it's highly doubtful they'll ever work together again... but who knows? I saw Pink Floyd without Roger, and Roger solo... both awesome shows, close to making my Top 5.

Rock on, Dan..."

Posted By: Jesse Coy

Waters had ironically become more open to the idea lately while Gilmore is the one who seems content to move on. But then again, he's doing fine on his own so he has the luxury of the high ground. We''' see what happens, but I think you're right. You stay safe and enjoy the great food over there in Nam my man!


"Awesome article - shows a lot of effort on your part.

Waters needed the band to effectively portray the emotion of his lyrics and Gilmour needed Waters' lyrics as a lynch-pin to play from."

Posted By: Mikel (too lazy to log in)


"excellent article. A classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts."

Posted By: furey (Guest)

Apreciate the support dudes, and rock on!


"Yes! After nearly a year of begging and pleading, a column on the thrash revival draws near! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!

*ahem*

Nice rundown of Floyd."

Posted By: AndrewCrow (Guest)

HA! You know, I was expecting something like that and I still laughed



"Decent column - could have used more exploration into the era that produced Ummagumma, Meddle, etc."

Posted By: Bitch Michaels (Guest)

"Good article. As others have said, I would've preferred that some of the lesser known albums were given some recognition (Meddle, Animals, The Final Cut), but can understand why you stuck to the familiar ones."

Posted By: Guest#3670 (Guest)

You know guys, I really didn't think a full discography would go over very well, but I think I stand corrected. I'm now thinking of putting one on the future planner.



"Pink Floyd was actually Pink Anderson and Floyd Council"

Posted By: guest (Guest)


I'll just pass you over to furey for a proper answer


"they were the two jazz artists from whom syd barrett derived the name for the band you mean"

Posted By: furey (Guest)




Excellent article! :) [2nd favourite band!]

IMO, THE Pink Floyd to me really is the 4 piece of Nick Mason, Rick Wright, David Gilmour & Roger Waters. If you really want to experience who Pink Floyd was, DSOTM - front to back. Roger's lyrics, Gilmours soulful solos, Wrights haunting yet melodious keyboards and Nick Mason backing 'em up!

And while Roger Waters fans might proclaim he was the driving force behind the band, it really was the whole band. Btw, Animals is a superb example of both Gilmour & Waters dominating an album before the music became all lyric focused. Possibly the greatest of their "Classic" period {DSOTM to The Wall} but often overlooked.

But yeah, Dark Side of the Moon is THE defining moment of THE band. \m/ They must've been awesome live.. sigh. :(

Posted By: Ashish (Guest)

I missed the Waters era, which is a shame. But the last tour for Division Bell was awesome. Check out Pulse sometime to get a feel. And if I do the Pink Floyd catalog you'll find that I we completely agree on DSOTM.


"While in general, I would tend to head towards David Gilmour as THE person for driving the creative force of Pink Floyd, MANY people think Mason was the one behind it. Nicholas Schaffer book (which ends around 1989) has a great take on it, that Waters and Mason were teh architects of the band, while Wright and Gilmour were the musicians. Each balanced the other out, with Mason being the one to give all the songs structure and balance. He could work between both sides to get everything just perfect.

I know that most people consider The Final Cut to be a Floyd album, it was only considered such because of the record company. Roger Waters wanted to do it as a solo album, but Gilmour had done quite a bit of work on some of those songs (they were rejected from The Wall rehearsals) and Columbia felt that a "Pink Floyd" album would sell much better than a Roger Waters album (they were quite correct in that.)

For me, I would say Gilmour, Syd, Waters, Wright, Mason .. just because I love Flyod music much more than the message that Waters really pushed out there. When the two were equal, Floyd was at it's best (Meddle through Animals) and if you'd boil down The Wall to ONE cd it might've been the best they'd ever done.

By then, Roger was two busy pushing a message across to the detriment of the music. Hell, he did a record with arguably the best guitarist of all time (Clapton) and barely let the guy crank out a riff or solo!"

Posted By: Krunchy

About time you cvhecked in, I was getting worried about ya! Just kidding man. Other wise I have nothing add as I basically agree with everything.


Who was Pink Floyd?

One of the most overrated bands of all time.

Posted By: DeanChanCollectsBoxSets (Guest)


"Pink Floyd overrated? Funny guy that fellow is. Where's the punch line, though? Ah, it's that a dope would spend his time reading an entire feature about a band he thinks is overrated, AND THEN commenting."

Posted By: Guest#2223

I love my readers. Really, you guys are great. I love the feedback and how you jump in on subjects. That is all. Carry on…



And on with this weeks show!







Thrash!!!




Thrash

It was heavy metal distilled into high-octane racing fuel, and the results should have been predictable.

Thrash.

It was heavy metals first steps into extreme territory.

Thrash.

That name just sounds cool.

Of all the genres of metal, thrash has become the most recognized and well liked. It is the bridge from mainstream metal to extreme metal.

Thrash.

It is making a comeback…

But is it? Will it be around for long?

Yes. No. Sounds like a good column. Why didn't anyone ever suggest it?

I Kid! Don't throw stuff.


New World Order

As I've harped aplenty in this column, thrash was heavy metal taken to its next evolutionary step. Sabbath and Purple created metal, Judas Priest purified it into steel, and thrash was the next step by sharpening that chunk o' metal into a weapon. That we have covered and all, but when you get into thrash itself things become a little less clear cut. Judas Priest is easy to look at, as no one was doing what they did and outside of Sabbath/Purple they didn't play off of anything. Thrash itself is more like early Sabbath and Deep Purple in that it was structured not so neat and tidy. Yes, there was the thrash "sound". The template or basic structure of the style, much like you could spot a Black Sabbath song in a police line up, but also like those bands it had more variations and interpretation to it. Deep Purple might have invented the power metal formula on In Rock, but they also worked in rock, progressive, and even the occasional country style too (OK, that was there next album). Thrash, while certainly not that varied, did take a broad enough spectrum that indeed allow room to play with the formula and grow.

Pure thrash is at its core the sound most casual metal fans will know from Metallica's Kill Em All. Lightening fast riffs cranked out with street aggression. Notice I'm pointing to that band's first album. I have pointedly said that Metallica was the band that was the forefront of the thrash movement and deserve their place next to Sabbath and Priest, but their Magna Opus that was to follow was NOT pure thrash. Perhaps that is part what took them to the next level was that they took most of that pure thrash and added those progressive and traditional elements just enough to add the chug to the crash. At any rate, the thing here is that Metallica was already building off of the template. They were still a thrash band, but the race was on to build the perfect beast.

Pure thrash is something that would remain throughout the 80's but would mostly be championed by the bands that would survive in the underground under the big four of thrash. Those big four bands started out on track (well, close enough) but pushed the envelope of that style outwards. Metallica took it to traditional and progressive ends, and even had a hint a doom drinking in the background that finally came forward by the time "Sandman" hit. Megadeth was as much of a speed/progressive metal band and just spent the decade bridging the underground into the mainstream eventually by perfecting it with rhythm. There was a traditional side to that rhythm that would eventually get pushed to the front by Appetite for Destruction. Anthrax had the east coast punk take on thrash, and they would evolve by staying the closest to the streets by eventually developing urban themes and then groove. Slayer was, well they were a thrash band that just upped and spent the decade trying to make the perfect soundtrack to hell. And when they couldn't push the aggressiveness any further they set back into a comfortable groove of aggression.

The second tiered bands would stay closer to their roots. Bands like Overkill, Metal Church, Testament, Kreator, or Destruction labored much closer to the styles initial sound. This would keep them closer to the styles underground roots which likely didn't help get them that initial push, but also has made these bands some of the most beloved by metal fans today. Overkill or Kreator might not be as huge as Metallica on an overall cultural level, but in the world of heavy metal I guarantee you that the hardcore fans are likely MORE excited about a new album from the former two. Funny how things like that work out. The big bands became big by pushing the envelop to great success (and really, we got some awesome albums out of the deal), but eventually they also kept going in directions that took them out of thrash and even in some cases a metal derivative. Thrash bands were still thrash while the big four had moved on to rock/alternative metal, mainstream traditional metal, rap/groove, groove/hardcore. That is a generalization and I'll leave it to you to sort out who I'm pegging there.

Now, the fact that those bands moved on is not necessarily a bad thing. There are still many fans of those albums. But the fact is that they went beyond thrash, and even metal, and along the way they lost some of the metal fans. At the same time, you had the underground bands that kept plugging along speaking to that core audience, and the results are noticeable today. Bottom line: Metallica is the biggest metal band at large today, and yet when I did my year end Top Albums of 2008 not one person bitched because I put two thrash bands higher on my list than Metallica. In fact, some people bitched because I included them at all.

That is the state of the metal scene, and the waters one swims through when dealing with the fickle opinions of its fans.


Blessings In Disguise

Now that I've pontificated on pure thrash and how the more underground bands stuck to it, I'm going to talk about how those bands also moved on as well. While bands like Overkill labored in thrash circles for longer, they also pushed themselves out of it eventually as well. Thrash music is, at its core, a very specific style. Black Sabbath gave themselves the luxury of putting various influences on their doom to give them a vast playground of sounds and thrash had to at some point do that as well.

Progressive was a style that spread through much of the thrash scene as the 80's moved on. Metallica was the obvious big band to do it, but this was the place many underground bands went as well. Metal Church is the obvious example. In retrospect, it should have been easy to see coming. Thrash is already an aggressive and technical take on traditional metal, so taking those technical chops to the next level would be the natural course of action.

But the thrash riff was the other point of change. Bands would run a course on progressive but would eventually start to push the technique of the riff also. Groove was the natural evolution of thrash, as it took the basic idea of thrash and gave it a more mainstream rhythm. It did that by the simple expediency of cutting the riffs down to just a few and focusing on those. Whether that is a good or bad thing, and how it further split the metal base is the subject for another column. Despite the fact you might think it stinks or are a big fan, it was the next evolution of metal. It was thrash taken to one possible new step and would become the most popular version to come out of the thrash scene. Pantera would take their place next to Metallica thanks to A Vulgar Display Of Power and the total impact that would have on the metal scene. To this day groove is a core influence in many metal bands because of this.

A final thing which is in our face but also over looked is the continued influence of punk – Punk was the aggressive infusion that metal got to become thrash, and thrash bands would eventually go back to that well, ahem, as well. Although a decade had passed and the Sex Pistols or the Ramones had given away to Napalm Death, DRI, and Black Flag; it evolved into an even angrier and louder version called hardcore. That is the source of the hardcore label you see, and it was here that it started to blend into metal as punk had done a generation earlier. Be it something eclectic like grindcore, or just the hybrid mosh of later day Slayer hardcore would take thrash along new lines as well. In fact, groove and hardcore would eventually form to metalcore but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The point being that thrash was a very specific style of music that lent itself to combining with other styles, and would evolve out of its own sound eventually. The big bands pushed it faster, but eventually all the thrash bands would go there to an extent. Music doesn't stand still well, and eventually if you're doing the same thing you need to either 1) Nail it perfectly or more likely 2) Change. Change is more likely because musicians are artists after all, and odds are those artists will want to do something new or improve over time. You want to grow and do something new. Eventually you're going to change things up, even if a little, and at some point odds are you're going to cross the line into something new.

The principle being that Overkill would embrace some groove and hardcore just as well as the next band. They just stayed closer to the underground while doing it.


Taking Over

Music is like other cultural phenomena in that what is old becomes new again. Bell bottoms made a comeback, as well as police dramas on TV. In music R&B is big again in its modern form just like it was in the 70's. Hell, even swing made a brief comeback in the late 90's (an admitted guilty pleasure). Another fact is that time also adds perspective to the big things (glam) and even softens the once maligned (disco). Unlike many forms of music that come and go, metal is like rock in that it is still going and evolving, and in its case it is now doing the same sort of looking back. What was old is new again. But in metal's case, the music has fractured into subgenres and each still maintains it's following to varying degrees. Some, like NWOBHM, are fairly small and I'm part of an admittedly shrinking group. Other sub genres ebb and flow, like power metal or progressive. Death metal as a genre seems to have hit a level and just maintained the altitude, which is interesting as well (then again, death metal is also growing and splintering as well). Thrash was part of the "Golden Age" of metal in the 80's and has really taken a back seat next to it's prodigal children, being like a cooler version of NWOBHM in that it had us old guard keeping the faith while still managing to pick up new fans who were exploring metals rich history.

But… What is old is new again. Thrash is having a revival and producing some great new bands. I have a few theories on why this is happening, but the really cool thing as the metal historian (I just created the title for myself) to realize is that metal has been around long enough to do this within itself. The number one reason this is happening is the fact that metal is constantly merging and evolving itself, and today it's doing this within itself. Metal has gotten to be such a huge genre that it is no longer infusing itself with rock or blues bits like the originals did, but infusing itself with the many offshoots of the huge metal family tree. At some point, it was only natural that the second reason would happed: People would start to seriously look at the genre that fathered much of today's metal. If there is anything that really gets your hard-line metal fans bitching it's metalcore, and with things like that I think it finally hit critical mass enough for people to start looking backward through the evolutionary line to the roots of what they did like; a more pure metal without the perceived hardcore influences let alone some of the other things that have had there day in court.

Ironically, this trend can really be pegged to one of the critic's biggest targets: Trivium. Trivium is the poster child of the metalcore haters rants, and as such is a very polarizing band. Trivium however has also been criticized for slowly shedding its metalcore leanings for a thrash sound, only in this case it's that they are trying to sound like old Metallica. Trivium itself has gone backwards to explore the music that created them. I'm not even going to get into them as a band though. I'm sort of in-between both camps and frankly think the band is in a transition phase, and am curious to see where (and if) they get to where they seem to be going.

So by the adage of old is new again, with likely a healthy dose of new a generation of punters looking at the classics as a vital source of what metal is all about, here we are in the middle of a thrash revival. But is it a revival?


Extreme Aggression

I wouldn't have been getting harassed for a column if it wasn't.

I think a better question is how big is it?

The thrash revival is taken on the same form it had in the 80's. You have the bands which have a healthy thrash mix to their sound as well as the bands that are delving deep into the thrash pool. For every Trivium type you have a band like Warbringer who is just going deep old school on you. Further, you have some classic bands doing the veritable "return to form". I think Metallica pretty much shocked everyone by putting out their thrashiest album since Justice. What was even a bigger surprise was the fact that Testament beat them in the last round of new albums by putting out a monster of a LP. Needless to say, it's a good time to like metal and be a fan of thrash.

So in a time of metal, and music in general, mixing, mashing, and putting out safe derivatives of itself, it is great to see a no compromise pure version of the music I love get a shot of new blood. Plus we get the old guard putting out new ideas on the subject. That's pretty sweet if you ask me. This is not only the music that got me into metal, but it is part of the soundtrack to my youth. So to see this happen is such an honest and forthright fashion is doubly cool. Before, it was just a matter of waiting for a few stalwarts to put out an album, like Overkill who is still laboring with their infused thrash hardcore sound. Today we are getting new groups throwing the gauntlet down hard, like the assault of Gamma Bomb, the pure delivery of Warbringer, to veterans playing in the scene for the first time like the math technical machinery of post-thrash Meshuggah. Yea, I went there, apologies to the few thrash purest that last band just pissed off. I can see why people would not like there last album (I didn't on the first listen), but the band is approaching a thrash/progressive blend from a different direction and is part of the conversation, simply because they are building off the template as well.

But there is some cold water for the thought as well. The idea of revival brings to mind dominating sales and I think it's safe to say that no one really expects the illusion of the big days of the 80's to return. I say illusion because, outside of the big four, sales were dominated by the glam bands. So it's not like thrash was that huge in the cultural sense of the idea, only that it was huge in the metal scene. And while thrash has certainly made a comeback I don't see it still working on the level that it did. There is a TON of music out there now, so this is like most revivals in that it is keeping pace with the current trends.


The Ultra-Violence

Part of the idea of a revival is that it is a fad of sorts, a sort of second lease on life that will have a short expiration date. See my earlier comments on bellbottoms and swing for classic examples. Sadly, there is no reason for that to not happen here as well. I think the problem is born in the very nature of thrash in general. Thrash was a form of music that lent itself to change and development. Some kinds of music reach a sort of creative dead end, but thrash by its nature was the building block of many new generations of music. People might be going back and rediscovering the pure win that was this classic form of music, but there is no reason why those bands will also follow the same course and develop the sound further. Inevitably, that is something that will happen again for most bands.

But… I said most bands. Today is not 20 years ago, and technology along with the music scene are not the same. First of all, the metal scene is a whole hell of a lot bigger and diverse than it was then. The scene not only supports more acts but it also supports more varieties of them. Second is the fact that there are a lot more small labels out there to support those bands. In the 80's, we have the major labels and a number of secondary ones. Evolving with trends was a part of life, especially if you had to pull sales to stay on the bigger labels. Today's slew of smaller labels support nitch markets and allow for much more creative freedom. Hell, it's not that big of a deal for people to start their own label or self produce if they need to. Bottom line is that the playing field is a lot friendlier to bands today and can support many bands doing many more things.

So I expect this revival to run its course to an extent and fade back, but I don't see it going away. The real surge will depend on how strong metal stays in general, and as long as heavy metal commands the interest it does there will be room to support all the subgenres running about. Not just thrash, but even death, black, doom, folk, progressive, power, and even real specific things like grindcore or drone. So I see thrash losing some of it's newness soon, drifting back as another color in the vast tapestry of heavy, but always commanding a few acts that keeps the faith alive and a number of loyal jean jackets happy. Yours truly included.

But in the interim, we're getting some music from some classic bands as well as some burners from the new guard.


Classic Bands Doing It Right
No way I could cover all of them, so I'm just doing the ones most likely to hit my stereo system. Interesting in that I left out Slayer and Anthrax. I honestly wasn't that impressed with their last albums, a;though I am really curious as to what the new Anthrax will do.

Feel free to add your own, mix or match, and create your own list. That is why we're here!



Overkill

These guys have been working the trenches of club warfare for over a quarter century. Blitz and the rest of the wrecking crew have been one of the loyal soldiers of the underground and have managed to build the kind of loyal fan base many bands would die for. There are many who consider them the first thrash band proper, the story being they started as a punk cover band and hit it right in the bars live well before the Bay Area got it slapped down onto vinyl. Only if history would have let them get their studio albums out sooner. They evolved into some groove and hardcore frash into the 90's and settled into a happy medium today. Their last album was a bit raw, but damn if the second half didn't scorch the earth. Still, my favorite of the new stuff was three albums back.

Classic Cut: Horrorscope

Newer Greatness: Killbox 13



Death Angel

A neat trick, being the only Bay Area thrash band to not come from the Bay Area. I've always really liked this group of Filipinos, and each album is a treasure to unlock and explore. The band puts many off due to the fact that they change things up over each album, and thrash fans were not happy that they didn't stick with the sound of their brilliant debut The Ultra-Violence. Once over it though, you discover each album for the force that it is as the band evolved from thrash through traditional (and untraditional) structures over time, all to return after a long hiatus to a second career. Their last album saw the band go back to their thrash roots, albeit with some groove along the way. Color me a happy camper, as this band is just great and always worth checking out.

Classic Cut: The Ultra-Violence

Newer Greatness: Killing Season


Megadeth

Any thrash fan will likely tell you Big Dave doesn't really play thrash, it's more of a technical speed metal with a few thrash and traditional overtones. Fair enough, because it's true. But they're considered one of the big four of thrash so here you go. Also, Megadeth isn't that close to thrash today, but their last album certainly had a few classic cuts that played to the bands early strengths so I'm calling it close enough. "Burnt Ice" and "Blessed Are The Dead" seriously rocked my world.

Classic Cut: Rust In Peace

Newer Greatness: United Abominations


Testament

Talk about a band that just set a pace and took their time getting there. Testament is a band that is also polarizing to the metal underground, as they are a really love it or hate it affair. I can see why as some of their albums are cold starters that take time to warm to you. But hey, despite that fact the band showed that performing and work ethic means just as much to us punters in the streets as does a well timed riff. I'm talking a few older albums because the new one just seriously kicked all kinds of ass. As far as I'm concerned, The Formation of Damnation stood toe to toe with, and honestly surpassed, most of the last releases from the original big four.

Classic Cut: The Legacy

Newer Greatness: The Formation of Damnation


Metallica

Do I really even need to get into this? I didn't think so. You've already made up your mind so I'm just doing it for completion reasons.

Classic Cut: Ride The Lightning

Newer Greatness: Death Magnetic


Kreator

If you ever wanted to see the missing link between Venom and Death, well here you go. German engineered aggression taken to thrash that rattles and shakes at high speeds (also a veiled reference to Venom) and this just burns the pavement at high speed, running over anything that gets in the way. Pleasure to Kill is almost to OTT for it's own good but at the end of the day metal is about the riffs and GOD DAMN the riffs in here just command you to respect it. They're new album was a bit of a sleeper for me. I mean, I liked it a lot but I keep playing the damn thing so I suspect it might make ye' old Top 10 list this year.

Oh hell, I just end up saying all of that about every Kreator album. Pick them up and may God have mercy upon your neck.

Classic Cut: Tie between Pleasure To Kill and Extreme Aggression

Newer Greatness: Hordes Of Chaos






New Thrash Bands!
And here we are. For those wondering where the discussion on all the new great bands are… Here ya go! These are some of the great new bands taking of the thrash torch (flamethrower?) and taking it to the streets. Listen at the risk of your own neck…



Lair of the Minotaur

Proving that thrash still has room to play around its core concept, Lair of the Minotaur is as much traditional and hardcore styling's painted onto a thrash base that borders on fast doom (?!). But it is thrash, only that the riffs cut less and bludgeon more, less scars and more bruises. This is a little more towards the deep end of the metal pool, and is a no nonsense brutal attack, but damn if the guys just don't pull out the stops and beat your ears to a pulp. Just to give you an idea, their last album was a concept album about solving your problems with a big axe. That pretty much describes the music too. Check out "Doomtrooper" for a song that is seven ways from Sunday awesome.


Warbringer

Probably the biggest name of the new thrash vanguard, Warbringer has been crisscrossing this country on tour after tour earning respect the hard way – On the stage. They made a huge splash on their awesome debut EP, and turned around and kept the attack going on their first full release the following year. Now, I liked the EP better than the debut, but both are good stuff. I'm just encouraging you to check out the former since it smokes. In fact, as far as the ideas of this column go I think you can watch this band to see how the thrash revival plays out. What they do with their next album or two, and how it is received will tell the story. Will they stick to pure thrash or change things up? Will the albums be well received or not? I'd bet money on it. All right, I'll likely just write about it.



Evile

Ever since England first gave us the old guard of the 70's and NWOBHM, heavy metal has been something not exactly the British Isles have been known. Yes, they got their bands, but many are underground. Every so often we got someone like Cradle of Filth however that makes it big, and I have a suspicion these guys could go there if they play their cards right. Out of the new thrash bands I have heard, these guys are the ones that I really return to and give a spin and damned if their debut just doesn't sound as alive and vital as when I first got it. While Warbringer are going to be the name of American thrash for a while, I think these dudes won the first round and are the band to watch for more great music to come. Hopefully their up coming sophomore release proves me right.


Gama Bomb

OK, here is the second English band, although I think these guys are so trve to the thrash underground that it will keep them a bit locked within that underground even today. Because really, when you listen to this album, you get the pitched tones and vocals that sounds like the dude could have opened for Overkill in a small pub in 1984; the only thing to this literally encyclopedia of underground thrash conventions that isn't text book underground old school is the modern production it has to bolster it all and give it some oomph. If you're really into your metal from the pure thrash stand point your going to love this band. If you are a more mainstream casual kind of fan then they might be just a little to eclectic for you. I totally missed these guys, something a few of you point blank told me to check out. That's the really cool part of this column – Getting feedback from you guys, fans just like me. So I did and damn were you right. Tough goodness right here in these dudes. They might be playing to a really nitch audience, but count me there and picking up a concert shirt.



Bonded By Blood

Interesting idea there, naming your band after the famous album from Exodus. I think, however, that it is misleading since these dudes from LA don't sound like that. Yes, they're thrash, but they're really a beast of their own concoction. Think Bay Area catchiness combined with German thrash aggression, some east coast punk chants tossed in for good measure and finally put Kerry King's favorite fan on solos and you're pretty much there. But really, it works out in quite the brilliant way by the end if you're into the mash up. It's catchy thrash trying to keep its street cred, and doing a damn fine job of it. I think the clichés pile up a bit much, however, for some people so I don't know how much staying power they'll have in the long run without some growth. But that is just me being a critic, really Feed The Beast is a great fun listen and I pop it in now and then.


Toxic Holocaust

What was basically the Joel Grind project up until the last album when he hired a real band – A good thing because the drumming has a welcome new depth to it these days - Toxic Holocaust is a blackened speed frash attack through thrash and dark soundscapes. Think Celtic Frost at it's thrashy, proto-death/black best but with better production and honestly technique. It's a roaring ride through neck breaking change ups and experiments gone wrong, sort of cold and brutal without being alien. This is likely to be the hardest for the casual fan to get into, as in a way this band could have been a bridge from thrash to death or black metal if it would have came out in the mid 80's. Great stuff, even if a bit of a mood spin.


Municipal Waste

Wow. I'm still not sure if these guys are a bit of a novelty group or are really serious. I mean, they go balls to the wall, but damn all the cheese really piles up at times. Think S.O.D. performing on the Sunset Strip for a teenager crowd. Quick songs played with punk like thrash while praising the virtues of partying, getting drunk, head banging, partying, getting high, partying, and the occasional political point (?). Really, this is a fun crazy good time like how we use to play S.O.D. while getting shit faced and singing along (I use that term loosely to describe me and my friends roaring drunk at 3 AM), and that is the whole point. If you want an epic, look elsewhere. These guys are here to have fun and that is exactly what they do - Great in a guilty pleasure sort of way.





Well, that is it for anther week in the pit. Someday I'll have to highlight specific albums, but hey, this thing is already clocking in at 13 pages without the artwork. You guys know the drill, go grab something loud from the shelf and crank it all the way up. If someone complains tell them all of us here at the Mosh Pit said Hi. Now get out there and enjoy the weekend!