Join The Dead-Join The Dead

Roxx Records
2012


Join the dead? Well, I might feel like the dead first thing in the morning before my coffee (just fair warning to everyone out there-PLEASE do not approach me before I've had my coffee! I am dangerous when cornered!), but life does hold so much promise so maybe I'll hang on to the living for awhile. In reality what we have here is not so much a plea towards death or even an acceptance that you might become one of the walking dead (what with the zombie apocalypse in full bloom!), but rather a new thrash band from Roxx Records. This Northern California based thrash band features Michael Phillips (Deliverance, The Sacrificed, Fasedown) Paul White (Decadence) and Tim Kronyak (Deliverance) meaning while they might be "new" there is a lot of back bone to this outfit. This is full-on thrash meaning a bunch of guys moshing it up the old school way. Exodus, Forbidden, Vio-Lence, Death Angel, Testament, early Metallica, etc. Too be honest none of this is new as Join The Dead recycle a lot of classic thrash riffs. On their debut release the band blasts through four tracks of old school metal and what it lacks in originality it makes up for in epic thrashing. These four tracks will be released in digital format. That said, the EP will also be available in a "Limited Edition" CD pressing that will include 13 bonus tracks. This might just be the one to spring for if you are a Christian thrash freak. The bonus material features previously unreleased demos and live recordings that, more or less, tell the story of Join The Dead. These early recordings features material from some all time greats from the Christian thrash scene including The Crucified's Greg Minier (who by the way released one killer self-titled EP worth hunting down), Tim Kronyak, Michael Phillips, Paul White, Jim Chaffin and Jimmy Brown. The CD release will include a full color booklet telling the story and history of Join The Dead and offer up insight into the unreleased tracks. While all I had to review was the simple four track EP my gut tells me the CD release will be even better considering the who's who involved in it's making.