French Metal Friday: Nomed

Thrash metal from France. Or at least that is all I had to go on when I initially downloaded "Like" online. Sure enough this band (who hail from Le Havre, Upper Normandy) offered up excellent thrash but there was so much more to the picture that writing them off as "thrash" is criminal. Nomed was "officially" born in 1986, but the roots actually go back further to 1984 and a young band called Sword. Without diving too far into the deep end (the band's history can be found online if you look hard enough or just do what I did and pick up the "Thrashing Insanity" compilation which has a nice run down on the group, pictures, etc.) Sword became Oxyde in 1985 (as there were already too many bands known as Sword in reality) and then Oxyde became Nomed in 1986. Once Nomed was unleashed upon the French countryside I'm not so sure anyone would have known what just hit them. Not since the Beast of Gévaudan had there been sure a vicious onslaught of violence and mayhem...or at least music wise. More then mere "thrash" the band were the very definition of "crossover" in all of it's glory. The band combined enough hardcore, metal, thrash and even death metal to cause a new revolution. After several demos the band released the "Troop Of Death" EP in 1988 followed by "Like..." the following year. Both of these releases are collected in the 2011 "Thrashing Insanity" compilation (again a very high recommended purchase folks). After the release of "Nomed-Live" in 1989 the band would split up. Two years would pass before they came charging back with the demo, "Requiem". The band's last full-length recording was "A Vision Of God" (2000) although several EPs would follow. Sadly one of the band's members, guitarist André Lemesle, took his own life in 2008 which put Nomed to eternal rest. It is unfortunate that so many musicians seem to die before their time (whether by suicide or drug overdose) and André Lemesle is no different. As a whole the band was a well-run unit, but André Lemesle guitar skills were over the top and insane. He brought epic solos to Nomed seldom seem other then in acts like Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer. Whatever drove him to take his own life he did leave a lasting legacy with Nomed. Fans of French metal might find Nomed a bit too extreme for their tastes, but crossover/heavy thrash freaks would do well to track down a copy of "Thrashing Insanity" or at least the "Troop Of Death" EP and "Like..." LP.