In the late 80s, thrash metal was king. Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax and (slightly later) Sepultura ruled the scene, but there were literally hundreds of other bands languishing in the second division whom churned out records that have stood the test of time: Testament, Kreator. The UK’s Metallica obsessed Xentrix, Annihilator…the list goes on. With a great musical blueprint, thrash never seemed to get old…and then at some point in the early 90s, as far as the likes of Metal Hammer were concerned, it kind of burned itself out.
Tag Archives: metal
IMPERIUM – Titanomachy
Formed by ex-members of Trigger The Bloodshed and The Bridal Procession, Imperium came together in 2010 to unleash a brand of tech-death metal upon the world. A debut album quickly followed, but their momentum was then shattered by a huge split, leaving only guitarist Mike Alexander to pick up the pieces. A new band was formed around Alexander in 2015 and ‘Titanomachy’ presents the first fruits of the rejuvenated line-up.
BACKDAWN – I Shall Burn Your Empire
French metallers Backdawn released their first full length release ‘Through Extermination’ in 2013. The hard working band then spent the following years promoting that album and setting about creating even stronger material for its successor. That successor, 2016’s ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire’, was crowdfunded by fans and mixed by Annihilator’s Jeff Waters. The results are spectacular.
EXTERMINAS – Dichotomy
On ‘Dichotomy’, Exterminas’ third release – their second full length – the Italian extreme metallers take the basics of black and death metal sounds and shake them by their foundations. The guitars and drums still attack at lightning speed, the voice – if it could be called as such – veers towards the rather typical growl, and yet there’s something within these eight tracks which suggests at least one band member has a couple of musical interests within the classical sphere. You won’t find any orchestrated parts, though; that sense comes rather more from the way the guitar riffs occasionally leap from the more typical speed and into intricate tunes that sound as if they’ve been mangled from melodies centuries old.
ENSIGHT – Hybrid
Back in the 90s when progressive metal was very much still a niche genre as opposed to a dominant force within prog music, Symphony X and Eldritch were at the more extreme end of the scale. Eldritch’s 1997 outing ‘Headquake’ in particular, was very much a headcrusher in places, with the band’s blend of prog metal and power metal taken to extremes. Ensight brings together ex-Eldritch keysman Gabriele Casale, drummer Raffahell Dridge and ex-Fallen Angel vocalist Antonio Cannolletta, in a union which works exceptionally well indeed. The eight songs (plus intro) on this debut album should appeal to ardent fans of Symphony X, Aeon Zen and Silent Call, as well as potentially appealing those open to some very technical and rather heavy riffing.