New Wave of Thrash Metal

Temple of Blood wrote:

I've heard most of these bands before but not all.

I'm just really not hearing much strong songwriting.

Or individuality. Many of these bands seem to be clones of one another. The newer thrash seems to be going the way of Euro-power metal.

Well, "Thrash" doesn't have much room to develop, the bands that have tried to broaden the scope of the style were labeled as "sellouts", if it doesn't sound exactly like 1985 people tend to cry foul.

DallasBlack wrote:

Or individuality. Many of these bands seem to be clones of one another. The newer thrash seems to be going the way of Euro-power metal.

Exactly!

S.D. wrote:

Well, "Thrash" doesn't have much room to develop, the bands that have tried to broaden the scope of the style were labeled as "sellouts", if it doesn't sound exactly like 1985 people tend to cry foul.

I totally disagree. It's no more limited than any other genre.

But there does have to be more of an effort to try something different from time to time. Too many of these bands have neglected that.

It's one reason I wanted to go in a different direction on our new album. The scene is flooded with bands trying to sound like a weird hybrid of KREATOR / SLAYER / AT THE GATES.

I'm usually picky about New wave thrash but this one I kinda like, some genuine late 80's vibe here, kick-ass Forbidden-inspired band

Madmaze sounds good, thanks for the heads up EE!

This is some more power thrash, but Sword of Judgement is one of my favs of the new wave. THey offer a free download on Reverbnation, and the singer is off the chart. He gets close to a Dangerous Toys sound at times......THe guitar riffs are too!

O ya, not from Portland, but Seattle..

For modern German thrash, I'd have to recommend these two bands:

Coram Deo wrote:

This is some more power thrash, but Sword of Judgement is one of my favs of the new wave. THey offer a free download on Reverbnation, and the singer is off the chart. He gets close to a Dangerous Toys sound at times......THe guitar riffs are too!

O ya, not from Portland, but Seattle..

Sounds pretty cool. Do they have an album out? The only thing I can find is a 3-song demo.

Coram Deo wrote:

This is some more power thrash, but Sword of Judgement is one of my favs of the new wave. THey offer a free download on Reverbnation, and the singer is off the chart. He gets close to a Dangerous Toys sound at times......THe guitar riffs are too!

O ya, not from Portland, but Seattle..

That's more like it! An actual singer in a new wave thrash band is what is sorely missing from this new crop. Everyone wants to growl, shout, or yell and it looked like people forgot that a lot of early thrash had some singing in it. Good to hear someone decided not to follw the trend.

That Madmaze was pretty good too (though the vocalist didn't sing any, he got pretty close). At least the music had melody and the guitar solos were not just spastic noodling.

Sword of Judgement only has two EPs out. They dramatically improved from the first one. I have been looking for an indication on the prospects of a full length. No updates or news on working on one. Or even live shows. Makes me think they are taking a break. At least I hope it's a break. And not a departure.

Temple of Blood wrote:

I totally disagree. It's no more limited than any other genre.

Oh it's limited, by the fans expectations. People are still bitching about the direction that Metallica and Megadeth took...over 20 years ago!

Everytime one of the older bands decides to do an album you get all these people going "I HOPE THEY GO BACK TO EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING IN 1987!"

These newer thrash bands are aware of all those old arguments and it's changing the way they approach the music, it's not a healthy thing if you're trying to create while hamstrung by these preconceived notions of what thrash "should" or "shouldn't" be.

Coram Deo wrote:

Madmaze sounds good, thanks for the heads up EE!

You need to listen to the whole album, man this one's a killer I tell ya, these guys can write some really good thrash tunes, the guitar player is really a standout here

Ravenscraig wrote:

Has anyone mentioned Legion Of The Damned?


Tremendous 4 piece from the Netherlands, formerly called Occult.


Check em out if ya can, pure adrenalyn rush they are...

Definitely not thrash, in a traditional Thrash sense....more like MDM / Death / Nu Metal to me..... LambchopsOfGod-ish (only faster)...in no way they can be classified as NWOT

EmoElmo wrote:

Definitely not thrash, in a traditional Thrash sense....more like MDM / Death / Nu Metal to me..... LambchopsOfGod-ish (only faster)...in no way they can be classified as NWOT

...and this example is exactly what I was referring to in my previous post.

Quote :

These newer thrash bands are aware of all those old arguments and it's changing the way they approach the music, it's not a healthy thing if you're trying to create while hamstrung by these preconceived notions of what thrash "should" or "shouldn't" be.

Quote :

These newer thrash bands are aware of all those old arguments and it's changing the way they approach the music, it's not a healthy thing if you're trying to create while hamstrung by these preconceived notions of what thrash "should" or "shouldn't" be.

As a big fan of thrash I'll admit to being very guilty, and very susceptible, to falling for the bands that promote themselves as "bringing the 80's sound" back. I'm more likely to check out those acts than I am somebody claiming to want to expand the genre. It's just a natural inclination I have with thrash. I can only speak for myself, but I'm a sucker for NWOTM bands that promote themselves this way. And I say this knowing full well there are probably acts I'm missing out on by not exploring further than those playing the retro style.

S.D. wrote:

Oh it's limited, by the fans expectations. People are still bitching about the direction that Metallica and Megadeth took...over 20 years ago!

Everytime one of the older bands decides to do an album you get all these people going "I HOPE THEY GO BACK TO EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING IN 1987!"

These newer thrash bands are aware of all those old arguments and it's changing the way they approach the music, it's not a healthy thing if you're trying to create while hamstrung by these preconceived notions of what thrash "should" or "shouldn't" be.

I would argue that it's the musical boundaries of the music itself that imposes these limitations. Thrash was conceived in the 80s, and everything that defines the thrash sound comes from that era. For a band to be labeled "thrash", their music must contain certain elements (and we all know what these elements are). If a band deviates from said elements, they cease to be a thrash band. By its very nature, the music has to sound somewhat reminiscent of the 80s bands. That's not being close-minded, that's just the way it is, IMO.

What separates the truly great bands from the generic is all in the presentation. Strong songwriting (catchy riffs, well-structured songs with hooks) is most essential, of course, but nearly as important is a strong, somewhat unique, instantly recognizable vocalist (Pretty much all the "legends of thrash" have this element), and musicians who are proficient on their instruments and play with conviction and attitude. They don't have to be a virtuoso, but they do need to be skilled. The only bands that seem to get away with sloppiness or subpar ability are the originators/pioneers of the genre.

Bottom line... you've got to have something that makes you stand out from the pack, while still operating within the natural boundaries of thrash.

Infinite wrote:

I would argue that it's the musical boundaries of the music itself that imposes these limitations.

I agree. But who put up those boundaries? Who do they benefit? Certainly not musicians. Where are the "rules" that indicate what bands are allowed to do?

Why does our society have to "package" everything? It's pathetic.

S.D. wrote:

Infinite wrote:

I would argue that it's the musical boundaries of the music itself that imposes these limitations.

I agree. But who put up those boundaries? Who do they benefit? Certainly not musicians. Where are the "rules" that indicate what bands are allowed to do?

Why does our society have to "package" everything? It's pathetic.

It is limiting artistically, but it's necessary if you wish to call yourself a "thrash" band. However, if you don't care about labels, you're free to write and play whatever you wish. There's a reason that almost every major classic "thrash" band broke beyond those boundaries for at least one album. It is limiting.

For the record, I've liked or loved most of the "sell-out" albums by the classic thrash bands (except Metallica). I think all the labels and limitations are silly. I was reminded of this while watching the "Get Thrashed" documentary the other day. All that "he likes glam metal! Let's kick his ass!" crap was/is just stupid. The same bands that were on there whining about how the grunge bands were close-minded for not taking thrash bands out on tour were every bit as close-minded themselves. Good music is good music, as far as I'm concerned.

An observation that popped into my head last week-

Take the last 8 or so years: A lot of Metalcore bands (and similar style stuff). People say: These Metalcore bands are all the same. They have their uniforms of swoop haircuts and V-neck shirts. The music all sounds the same. No originality. Give me true/classic Metal.

There's also been a resurgance of 80s style Thrash bands. And people say:
These new Thrash bands are all the same. They have their uniforms of jean jackets and high tops. The music all sounds the same. No originality. Give me something new.

Im not saying these generalizations are wrong. But Im grateful for the new 80s style Thrash bands because that's the style of music I love. Now there's new stuff to listen to and I can give my Lights Camera Revolution album a rest sometimes! I've been listening to Havok a lot the past month, and Im glad something like 'Time Is Up' exists nowadays. That album is a Thrash monster.

I love 80s thrash too, but the bands for most of these new wavers are modeled after Slayer, Sepultura, Death, later Exodus, Kreator, etc. Where is the thrash of Suicidal Tendencies, Anthrax, Overkill, Heathen, Death Angel, Xentrix, early Exodus, Flotsam And Jetsam, Metallica, Megadeth, etc.? All I want is some new thrash bands that give us the variety thrash used to have. Instead all we get are the harsh vocal variety. I love most of the bands that I mentioned in the first list (I have a distaste for later Exodus due to lyrical content), but there's more to old school thrash than the harsh vocal variety.

Some bands break the mold and are still thrash, and are great. Vektor comes to mind.

Other bands keep to the formula but are still great, such as Havok.

ultmetal wrote:

Some bands break the mold and are still thrash, and are great. Vektor comes to mind.

Other bands keep to the formula but are still great, such as Havok.

Both fantastic bands. I don't know that I'd consider Vektor to be breaking any kind of mold, though... to my ears, their sound borrows liberally from Voivod. They do their own thing with it, but it's not really groundbreaking, in my opinion. That said, compared to most of the new wave of thrash bands, they're a breath of fresh air.

I need to listen to Vektor again, the one song I heard reminded me of Kreator.