Slasher-Katharsis

Self-Release/Independent
2014  

Brazilian thrash metal? Now where have I heard that phrase before? Wasn't there that one band that used to feature the brothers Max and Igor Cavalera? Whatever became of that? All kidding aside, Slasher (who hail from Itapira, Sao Paulo and shouldn't be confused with several other metal acts that hold the same moniker) prove that there is so much more to Brazil's scene then just Sepultura. Of course most of us in the metal community already knew that, but should further proof ever be needed to persuade the naysayers just point in the general direction of this aggressive band and let the metal doing the talking for you! Active since 2008 (with "Katharsis" here serving as the second full-length studio album from this fast, frenzied and fantastically fucking furious five-piece!) Slasher (who actually bring to mind bands like Testament, Slayer and Annihilator more than Sepultura!) first made it's mark with the EP "Broken Faith". That was back in the beginning of 2009 and since then the band (with a pair of singles sandwiching the 2011 debut-album, "Pray For The Dead") has shuffled the deck some line-up wise and (going by the hellfire sounds of this Tue Madse-produced album!) emerged all the stronger! With a terrifically terrifying new lead-singer added to the line-up (Paulo Skeeter) and a pair of top-tier guitarists (Lúcio Nunes and Lucas Aldigheri) that know the ends and outs of all things awesome (technical thrash, eighties thrash, modern metal and even death thrash make up the body of work known as "Katharsis") this band could and should go far! Both albums ("Pray For The Dead" and "Katharsis") can be downloaded for free at the link below, but for a band this good you really should toss a few bucks into the coffer (if for no other reason then just so that Slasher can continue on in it's attempt to rage and pummel it's way to the top of the pile!). And really, if Slasher can keep pumping out first bangin' metal like this there's no reason to think that they will remain unsigned for that much longer! 

http://www.slasher.com.br/en/?page_id=32

Sanity's Rage-You Are What You Swallow

Dead Inside Records
2014

"You Are What You Swallow" is the full-length debut from Belgian thrashers Sanity's Rage. Original released back in 2012 (with the band's first recording, "The Rage Of One", having appeared some six years earlier!) "You Are What You Swallow" hit the scene ten years after this five-piece first got together and for a band that saw a shit-load of line-up changes over the years it is not only a good album, but an amazingly consistent one to boot! Kenny Molly leads this band and for fans of classic thrash metal this 11-track album should feel like a long-lost friend! Aided by some technical thrash elements, Sanity’s Rage has performed with the likes of Saxon, Testament, Lääz Rockit, Hyades, Savage Messiah, Helstar, Rezet, Huntress, Sacred Oath, Holy Moses, Agent Steel, James Rivera and Onslaught and one would have to think that their Bay Area thrash meets classic, old-school thrash sound just goes over like gangbusters in a live setting! Other than recommending the band's debut album for thrash metal purists of young and old there isn't much more to say about this Belgian outfit that hasn't been said before. As the album has already been reviewed countless times over online I'll simply toss in my two cents and we'll leave it at that. While Sanity's Rage might be reinventing the wheel when it comes to this kind of metal they are at least bringing integrity to the party seeing as "You Are What You Swallow" is not so much more of the retro-thrash loving nonsense that's over-saturating the scene as it is the sound of a band that truly lives and breathes the genre. That alone bumps them up in my standings, but this is one band that has the chops to back it all up and the talent needed to stand on their own two feet and go the long-run. Here's hoping "You Are What You Swallow is just the tip of the iceberg then as this band sure sounds as if they have a lot left to say!

Explain-Just The Tip

Self-Release
2014

Here's a new one for ya-crossover thrash and jazzy/tech metal....combined. Oh, and there is also some punk rock and melodic death metal going on with this Vancouver, British Columbia-based outfit. Yep. That's Explain. Often-time humorous, sometimes just flat out weird. But, and this is a big old but friends, Explain are always spot-on (technically-speaking) and "Just The Tip" (their full-length debut which is now remaking the rounds thanks to Asher Media Relations) actually kicks! It empties you out with some menacing death growls, slick headbanging and sick (crossover) riffs before it fills you back up with some of the best jazz-inspired thrash this side of Atheist! And man, but does an album like "Just The Tip" ever stick to your ribs! Yummy! You can find them here:  https://www.facebook.com/Expainmetal and for further fun you won't want to miss you can listen as this lot tackles John Lennon's "Imagine" here: https://expainband.bandcamp.com/