Speedclaw-Iron Speed

Shadow Kingdom
2017

Hailing from Croatia, Speedclaw have knocked a six song tape with five originals and a cover of Exciter's Heavy Metal Maniac. Let's get to the positives- they have tried to travel back in time to 82-83 and play a style of metal that draws on both NWOBHM such as Saxon, Maiden, Raven and they draw from early speed metal like Exciter and Slayer. I'm all for drawing from that period and those type of bands. The vocals are pretty good and manage to compliment the music well enough. Normally if a band does an EP I hate to see a cover because it means less originals, but their Exciter cover does the  original justice. Now to the negatives. While what is  here is mostly good I just couldn't get past how basic it was at some spots. They are certainly better than other bands playing this style, but if I compare to debuts from other band s playing this style in the last decade like say Enforcer or Cauldron I'd say Speedclaw come up short. They have to potential to really be something, but just have to work on fleshing out their songs a bit more. I wish them luck in future and look forward to seeing what they do next.

Rusted Brain-High Voltage Thrash

Slaney Records*
2013

Warsaw-based Rusted Brain, who possess a killer name for a metal band, are a relatively new outfit having formed back in 2009. The group issued a 9-track demo, "Juggler", in 2011 with "High Voltage Thrash" being their full-length debut album. While the title gives away what Poland's Rusted Brain are all about (ie. fast and furious, high voltage thrash) theirs is a sound firmly rooted in the 80's scene. Metallica's "Kill Em' All" is the most obvious influence of this 4-piece act, but the band does toss in elements of Exodus, Razor, Overkill and Slayer to keep things churning in the right direction. Here and there you'll find some nwobhm moments (Iron Maiden and Satan come to mind), but all in all this is raw thrash and damn, is it every fine! Rumcayz (Damian Lodowski) handles vocals and bass on the album and his style can be traced back to underground death/thrash acts of the 80s. Rogal (Przemek Rogalski) takes care of lead and rhythm guitars and backing vocals while Kretu (Michal Czerniakowski) joins him as they shred through lead solos like Freddy Kruger slashing up his latest victim. Meanwhile drummer Beny (Benedykt Zwoliński)bashes the hell out of his set and as these four whip everything into a frenzied assault all you can do is stand back and enjoy the show! Again, my copy came from Tridoid Records and hearing "High Voltage Thrash" on headphones transported me back to high school and a time when these sort of bands were coming up the pipe-line faster then the speed of light! For old-school thrash fanatics this is a no-brainer!


*Cassette version released on Tridoid Records

Hidden Intent-Demo 2012 (Mastered Version)

Self-Release
2012



Never mind vomit-inducting line "You had me at hello" as these 3 guys had me at "influenced by Slayer, Megadeth, Coroner, etc." Anytime you've got a band that lists those bands (as well as Annihilator and Sacred Reich) as their influences then you know their heart is in the right place! Formed in early 2011 by bassist/vocalist Chris McEwen (Abyzmal, Troops of Doom, Obsidian Aspect, Beyond Mortal Dreams) and guitarist Phil Bennett (Desert Eagle, Metallica Black Album Tribute, Iron Maiden Tribute), Hidden Intent set out to craft a "old school thrash sound mixed with elements of groove and darkness". Soon enough the pair were able to enlist another fellow-minded thrash enthusiast (drummer Jay Rahaley of Blood Mason & Treachery) and, after tossing about a variety of band names, Hidden Intent were soon thrashing their way happily down the road. What this Adelaide, South Australia-based band might lack in originality (quite honestly they sound a lot like a more thrash oriented version of Scared Reich)  they more then make up in youthful enthusiasm. Hidden Intent play a form of thrash metal that isn't so much retro in it's approach. Instead this band sounds as if it was plucked right out of the late eighties/early nineties and deposited in 2012. If someone were to have given me this album and then told me it was a uncovered/dusted off demo from WAY BACK WHEN I  most likely would have believed them. I guess it really could be called retro in that sense. Even if the demo is a "Mastered Version" it sounds as if it was recorded with yesterday's studio equipment. Personally that is a big part of the appeal for me. I often say how much I miss the old days and thrash metal's once glorious scene so Hidden Intent are a really nice treat for someone like me. I mean they have a song called "Good Friday Thrash" so how can you not appreciate that? Since thrash is back in (in a retro kind of way) it is possible that, with a little bit of luck and some hard work, Hidden Intent could get caught up in the movement and find themselves staring at a record contract. Truthfully, they do need a bit of work as the edges are a bit dull and the overall product needs to be tightened up some. But, the foundation is there as is the talent. Hopefully they'll stick to their guns, work on being a tad bit more original and keep on keeping on as they do show a lot of promise and they do play with heavy metal passion.

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hidden-Intent/181391271911581

 http://www.reverbnation.com/hiddenintentofficial

http://hiddenintent.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2012-mastered-version

Lich King-Born of the bomb

2012

I remember first hearing these guys a few years ago and I could recognize the potential, but definitely hoped they would tighten up plus some better production values wouldn't hurt. They were genuine in their love of old school thrash, but they were often sloppy around the edges and didn't always seem 100% sure of their musical direction on certain songs. Fast forward a few years and Lich King have improved a little with each album and they definitely showed some drastic improvement on 2010's "World gone dead" which heard them settling in and being more comfortable with just being a retro-thrash band. Now we are up to this year's "Born of the bomb" and again I think we get less goofiness and more thrash. They still mix some humor in with the lyrics and that's fine because that will always be part of their personality. Let's look at some of the songs here. "All hail" is the opening introduction that eventually on to "We came to conquer" which a heavy does of solid old school thrash with a touch of crossover tied in. Nothing fancy but a tight mostly straight ahead track. "In the end devastation" launches out with a heavy, mid tempo pace that follows a rather controlled path before speeding up and really letting go. The build-up on this one had my attention all the way so nicely played. "Combat Mosh" is simplistic and just when I thought the lyrics were going to make me cringe so much I'd have to to fast forward it they got it together and pulled it out. "Wage slave" rips straight ahead with various riffs cutting underneath that really had some depth. The music on the other tracks certainly isn't lacking, but this was one of my favorites because they pushed to add something extra to it. "Axe cop" is another basic track that just pulled me in very quickly. Honestly the only track on the album I wasn't fond of was the detour of "Fan massacre" which is sort of a DRI/MOD crossover type track only it's far too one dimensional and even as a joke song it falls flat. The rest of the album is probably one of the stronger retro-thrash albums I have heard so far this year. Lich King have come a long ways in a few years. They are very capable of constructing some blasting thrash and they are even starting to put more of their own brand on the music as well. A fine effort with very good results.

Possessor-City built with skulls

Slaney
2012

Viriginia's Possessor have been around for a few years and are not to be confused the other bands called Possessor that. Prior to 2012 they recorded two demos and were on a split album in 2010. Now they unleash their full length debut. Judging by their logo band, album cover and band picture I figured it was going to be retro-thrash. For background I loved thrash from the mid-80's to the early 90's. I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner on many days. However that was a long time ago and a lot of good bands did a lot with that genre. So my view on younger bands repeating/copying/imitating that style is that if they do it they better bring something new or different to the sound or else they are just their spinning their wheels and possible wasting their time and mine. Since this review continues on you can assume that this band did something right. Perhaps I should add they did enough to make it worthwhile. The influences include big name acts Slayer, Metallica and lesser known bands like Whiplash. I also hear slight hardcore sounds at times. This includes DRI and surprisingly enough Nardcore legends Dr. Know. To add to the slight musical nods to Dr. Know the vocalist on occasion sounds like that band's best singer Kyle Toucher on a couple of songs as well. The overall is rough and there are some definite clunky moments. While those elements make them sound like they could have done this album in 1984, it also shows they have some real work to do as well. For the most part they do enough to make me care about their music and that's what I was hoping for.