Post by GL on Jan 2, 2012 11:56:38 GMT -5
So, this turned out to be a fairly solid year for the genre, in most part to the fact that this produced not just one but two top contenders for Album of the Year, resulting in a genuinely close race that ultimately left both a bit short but still gave plenty of good stuff for the genre as a whole. As a result, the fact that the lower entries are a bit more on the shallower end of the list means it might be possible in the near future for this genre to start wanning a bit, but we'll see as it's certainly possible for this to return back to the glory it used to have.
10. Revocation-Chaos of Forms
A rather impressive combination of Technical-laced Thrash and Death overtones, this is a pretty promising band that has a lot of potential and could definitely be major players in the years to come. Not jumping on the retro-Thrash bandwagon most newer bands are doing, the group goes its own way and manages to come up with a fairly solid and engaging release that contains a lot of rather impressive moments, not the least of which is the phenomenal lock-step playing of the drumming, which is a highlight across the album and contains numerous moments of near-jaw-dropping precision that are almost Progressive in feeling, but sadly, the album itself is marred by a highly disjointed feeling as if the tracks are out-of-place, with fantastic thrashers placed in the second half of the album instead of upfront with the weaker tracks occupying the front end, which kills the mood enough to knock this one back here.
9. Megadeth-TH1RT3EN
So, what happened here? After two absolutely phenomenal albums (including one that won Thrash-Album-of-the-Year) this here has to be almost as great a disappointment as the other Big Four CDs. Thankfully, this one was the best so it got on the list, but this wasn’t all that great and what we got was a relatively weak, retread of the same few albums he’s done without any of the power in the musical performances or ingenuity of the writing. This one basically seems like a compilation of the past two albums merged together, making it hard to distinguish tracks from this with any of the others, and with a weak production job, as the drums especially have very little power. Thankfully, the guitar-work here saves this one as there’s just no shortage of great solos and riffs present, but it can’t overcome the fact that this is presented in a stew of the past melded together again.
8. Evile-Five Serpents’ Teeth
Surprisingly deciding to go a bit more melodic than most of their peers, this one manages to actually be a fairly unique and enjoyable experience providing that’s what you’re looking for. One of the fore-runners of the retro-Thrash movement earlier in their careers, this one takes a bit of a step-back in intensity and goes for more of a melodic, mid-paced feel throughout which actually manages to work at points, as the chaotic, technical nature of their past made some of the songs a bit too suffocating and this new here manages to make them a bit more open-ended even if the technicality is a bit scaled-back but still present. Still one of the better rhythm sections in the genre, they spit out some pretty enjoyable solos from time-to-time and the laid-back nature of the album does grow on you with repetition, but it’s not worthy of being much higher on the list than here.
7. Skeletonwitch-Forever Abomination
An intense and fairly extreme example of Black/Thrash, this here is actually a perfect increase in what they’ve been doing beforehand to finally get to this place where they can take the best elements of the past and put it into a solid, collective effort. Pouring on the speed from years’ past and increasing the already fun drumming, this one begins with a wallop and steadily increases in satisfaction with a vicious attack featuring stellar guitar-work, raspy-throated vocals and a bent for some memorable songwriting and moments scattered throughout it’s running time. That alone may be it’s biggest weakness, as the shortened time of the tracks makes for some frustrating moments as certain songs hit a groove but then segue into another song before you know, definitely not a wholly rewarding experience but definitely one that can provide some black-thrashing goodness when that’s all the requirements needed.
6. Artillery-My Blood
It’s always nice to see the international market (not being Germany and Sweden, though they’re more than welcome) participating in these genre’s, and these Dutch old-schoolers certainly make up a part of that. With a suitably fantastic and enjoyable old-school sounding production job that captures the raw intensity and violence of the original Thrash scene better than any of the other bands in here, it gives off a fantastically enjoyable experience as the bands roars through its tracks with a ferocity rarely matched in their past catalog, an accomplishment more than met with it’s outstanding vocals that are just insanely catchy and perfectly suited to the style. Though the production mix might be a bit rough and sound a bit muddy, it’s not enough to detract from an otherwise fine and truly fun album.
5. Havok-Time Is Up
Continuing to wear the Bay Area influences on their collective sleeve in a way that is both passionate and, yes, fiery, while doing so with just the right amount of identity to keep it fresh, this is one of the more impressive bands in the retro-Thrash revival going on and just might be among the better examples in the coming years with efforts like this. A full-on assault with every gun blazing, this one features superb writing throughout that never lets itself get bogged down in being familiar, explosive lead-work and fantastic change-ups that are increasingly catchy and vicious at the same time, with some absolutely frenetic guitar-work and a total drumming overload to spice it up even more. If there were to be a bit of a complaint here, it would be the vocal performance which really doesn’t do a lot beyond the same razor-throated roar, but it matches the violence in the musical attack and does seem to fit the overall picture. Overall, not a lot to complain about here.
4. Sodom-In War and Pieces
Like their brethren below in the next slot, the German wrecking crew is a great source for top-quality Old-School Thrash and again hit with a great album that really captures their best qualities in a fantastic mixture of their different influences all wrapped up together here. With a really great groove through the songs, despite a more mid-tempo style than what has been present in the past, this one manages to make it work here by upping the other qualities immensely, with perhaps the best drumming since their 80s heyday blasting through the background, some pleasing riffs spit out at a high range and the occasional thrashing where appropriate during the soloing that gives the songs some extra energy and impact at the right times. The problem with this one essentially boils down to a bit more
3. Destruction-Day of Reckoning
Getting stronger with every album since the reformation, the Germans are now on a spectacular roll with two very strong albums in a row and have perhaps their best one in their second series yet. With their typical crunch-and-thrash on full display, they let loose with a great album of full-on Thrash that retains the spirit of their past with a sense of the modern, playing well into their formula and keeping it from staying boring like they’ve done in the past. Also managing to introduce a bit more variety in the vocal performance also helps this one mightily, as this is the strongest and most intense album of their career, most due to the vocals which are pretty fun and definitely give it some extra motivation towards the top end of albums released, but won’t unseat the top two in any event even though this is still a fine album in its own regard.
2. Onslaught-Sounds of Violence
Perhaps the toughest second-place score I’ve ever given, as this one by all means had everything to place in the top spot but just fell short by the slightest, thinnest margins. Old-school riffs with an absolutely thunderous crunch, exploding drumming and a powerful vocal performance all wrapped together with an absolutely infectious tone give this one a high repeat-listening factor, yet another important factor here in making this so high. All the songs have a fantastic amount of energy and violence surrounding them, yet are sprinkled in just the right moments with hints of melody that aren’t out-of-place but totally supporting of the song which is perhaps the best aspect of the record that it’s destructive when it needs to be but can still round out a few melodic interludes when necessary. Again, this has all the qualities of a top-ranking situation but just isn’t placed there
1. Warbringer-Worlds Torn Asunder
This came so close to being Album of the Year, but being second is nothing to sneeze at, as the Los Angeles crew came out with perhaps the best album so far of the retro-revival movement going on right now, and even stranger enough, held out against tough competition from its’ own genre with an ultra-competitive second-place entry. This is the hardest-hitting, most explosive sound they’ve had yet with absolutely vicious riffs, killer drumming and a truly ferocious vocal performance that sticks out far more than in the past, which was great before, and gives itself a powerful new weapon going forward. Years ago I predicted they would be the one that breaks out of this group, and armed with this absolute monster of an album, they’ve done so nicely.
10. Revocation-Chaos of Forms
A rather impressive combination of Technical-laced Thrash and Death overtones, this is a pretty promising band that has a lot of potential and could definitely be major players in the years to come. Not jumping on the retro-Thrash bandwagon most newer bands are doing, the group goes its own way and manages to come up with a fairly solid and engaging release that contains a lot of rather impressive moments, not the least of which is the phenomenal lock-step playing of the drumming, which is a highlight across the album and contains numerous moments of near-jaw-dropping precision that are almost Progressive in feeling, but sadly, the album itself is marred by a highly disjointed feeling as if the tracks are out-of-place, with fantastic thrashers placed in the second half of the album instead of upfront with the weaker tracks occupying the front end, which kills the mood enough to knock this one back here.
9. Megadeth-TH1RT3EN
So, what happened here? After two absolutely phenomenal albums (including one that won Thrash-Album-of-the-Year) this here has to be almost as great a disappointment as the other Big Four CDs. Thankfully, this one was the best so it got on the list, but this wasn’t all that great and what we got was a relatively weak, retread of the same few albums he’s done without any of the power in the musical performances or ingenuity of the writing. This one basically seems like a compilation of the past two albums merged together, making it hard to distinguish tracks from this with any of the others, and with a weak production job, as the drums especially have very little power. Thankfully, the guitar-work here saves this one as there’s just no shortage of great solos and riffs present, but it can’t overcome the fact that this is presented in a stew of the past melded together again.
8. Evile-Five Serpents’ Teeth
Surprisingly deciding to go a bit more melodic than most of their peers, this one manages to actually be a fairly unique and enjoyable experience providing that’s what you’re looking for. One of the fore-runners of the retro-Thrash movement earlier in their careers, this one takes a bit of a step-back in intensity and goes for more of a melodic, mid-paced feel throughout which actually manages to work at points, as the chaotic, technical nature of their past made some of the songs a bit too suffocating and this new here manages to make them a bit more open-ended even if the technicality is a bit scaled-back but still present. Still one of the better rhythm sections in the genre, they spit out some pretty enjoyable solos from time-to-time and the laid-back nature of the album does grow on you with repetition, but it’s not worthy of being much higher on the list than here.
7. Skeletonwitch-Forever Abomination
An intense and fairly extreme example of Black/Thrash, this here is actually a perfect increase in what they’ve been doing beforehand to finally get to this place where they can take the best elements of the past and put it into a solid, collective effort. Pouring on the speed from years’ past and increasing the already fun drumming, this one begins with a wallop and steadily increases in satisfaction with a vicious attack featuring stellar guitar-work, raspy-throated vocals and a bent for some memorable songwriting and moments scattered throughout it’s running time. That alone may be it’s biggest weakness, as the shortened time of the tracks makes for some frustrating moments as certain songs hit a groove but then segue into another song before you know, definitely not a wholly rewarding experience but definitely one that can provide some black-thrashing goodness when that’s all the requirements needed.
6. Artillery-My Blood
It’s always nice to see the international market (not being Germany and Sweden, though they’re more than welcome) participating in these genre’s, and these Dutch old-schoolers certainly make up a part of that. With a suitably fantastic and enjoyable old-school sounding production job that captures the raw intensity and violence of the original Thrash scene better than any of the other bands in here, it gives off a fantastically enjoyable experience as the bands roars through its tracks with a ferocity rarely matched in their past catalog, an accomplishment more than met with it’s outstanding vocals that are just insanely catchy and perfectly suited to the style. Though the production mix might be a bit rough and sound a bit muddy, it’s not enough to detract from an otherwise fine and truly fun album.
5. Havok-Time Is Up
Continuing to wear the Bay Area influences on their collective sleeve in a way that is both passionate and, yes, fiery, while doing so with just the right amount of identity to keep it fresh, this is one of the more impressive bands in the retro-Thrash revival going on and just might be among the better examples in the coming years with efforts like this. A full-on assault with every gun blazing, this one features superb writing throughout that never lets itself get bogged down in being familiar, explosive lead-work and fantastic change-ups that are increasingly catchy and vicious at the same time, with some absolutely frenetic guitar-work and a total drumming overload to spice it up even more. If there were to be a bit of a complaint here, it would be the vocal performance which really doesn’t do a lot beyond the same razor-throated roar, but it matches the violence in the musical attack and does seem to fit the overall picture. Overall, not a lot to complain about here.
4. Sodom-In War and Pieces
Like their brethren below in the next slot, the German wrecking crew is a great source for top-quality Old-School Thrash and again hit with a great album that really captures their best qualities in a fantastic mixture of their different influences all wrapped up together here. With a really great groove through the songs, despite a more mid-tempo style than what has been present in the past, this one manages to make it work here by upping the other qualities immensely, with perhaps the best drumming since their 80s heyday blasting through the background, some pleasing riffs spit out at a high range and the occasional thrashing where appropriate during the soloing that gives the songs some extra energy and impact at the right times. The problem with this one essentially boils down to a bit more
3. Destruction-Day of Reckoning
Getting stronger with every album since the reformation, the Germans are now on a spectacular roll with two very strong albums in a row and have perhaps their best one in their second series yet. With their typical crunch-and-thrash on full display, they let loose with a great album of full-on Thrash that retains the spirit of their past with a sense of the modern, playing well into their formula and keeping it from staying boring like they’ve done in the past. Also managing to introduce a bit more variety in the vocal performance also helps this one mightily, as this is the strongest and most intense album of their career, most due to the vocals which are pretty fun and definitely give it some extra motivation towards the top end of albums released, but won’t unseat the top two in any event even though this is still a fine album in its own regard.
2. Onslaught-Sounds of Violence
Perhaps the toughest second-place score I’ve ever given, as this one by all means had everything to place in the top spot but just fell short by the slightest, thinnest margins. Old-school riffs with an absolutely thunderous crunch, exploding drumming and a powerful vocal performance all wrapped together with an absolutely infectious tone give this one a high repeat-listening factor, yet another important factor here in making this so high. All the songs have a fantastic amount of energy and violence surrounding them, yet are sprinkled in just the right moments with hints of melody that aren’t out-of-place but totally supporting of the song which is perhaps the best aspect of the record that it’s destructive when it needs to be but can still round out a few melodic interludes when necessary. Again, this has all the qualities of a top-ranking situation but just isn’t placed there
1. Warbringer-Worlds Torn Asunder
This came so close to being Album of the Year, but being second is nothing to sneeze at, as the Los Angeles crew came out with perhaps the best album so far of the retro-revival movement going on right now, and even stranger enough, held out against tough competition from its’ own genre with an ultra-competitive second-place entry. This is the hardest-hitting, most explosive sound they’ve had yet with absolutely vicious riffs, killer drumming and a truly ferocious vocal performance that sticks out far more than in the past, which was great before, and gives itself a powerful new weapon going forward. Years ago I predicted they would be the one that breaks out of this group, and armed with this absolute monster of an album, they’ve done so nicely.