I already posted mine on Facebook and on
www.brutalism.com but here;
5. Gama Bomb - Tales From The Grave In Space
Instead of being hypocritical bastards, these self-confessed pirate monkeys actively gave their new record away for absolutely fuck all. That aside, TFTGIS fucking rips - its a vast improvement upon 2008's "Citizen Brain" in both terms of production and songwriting. The band still retains the nice upbeat side of thrash whilst making the music heavier, faster and... well, just better. If you liked the last album, you'll fucking love this - it also gains bonus points for having a song entitled 'Escape From Scarecrow Mountain' which is probably the best song title in history. Nothing more to say, this is just really fucking good thrash metal of the highest quality!
4. Hospital of Death - Surge Kill Steal
Fuck me running! These guys have been one of my favourite UK thrash bands for awhile now, as last year's "Beer Bitches Blood" album was probably the best album of the year. A nice power-thrash sound going on with lashings of Judas Priest in there, and this second release shows more of everything much in the same way as Gama Bomb's new record up there. Keeping the humor intact with titles like 'Let's Go Apeshit!' yet keeping the music extremely enjoyable all the way through (especially with 'Deadly Wheels of Steel'), I anticipate even bigger and better things from these guys in the future. The cover of the Quincy theme tagged on the end is a massive bonus on top of an already tasty cake, and - again like Gama Bomb - the whole album is available for free download. Get it!
3. Mutant - Laserdrome
This release is almost at the status of 'legendary'. I still remember the immense buzz that was everywhere around the time of its release - usually I'd pass it off as needless hype and that the delivery will certainly disappoint. Man, I was so fucking wrong there! For a CD of only four songs, "Laserdrome" is an absolute behemoth! It goes without saying that the closing track 'The Rauncher' is one of the greatest songs of the year, if not the decade - and the rest of the EP, especally 'Scrap Brain Zone', will be chanted drunkenly for many years to come. The songwriting and musicianship is absolutely fucking astounding, and the sheer energy is just... it's mad, you usually only get a buzz like that from a live show! A really welcome surprise from these lads, who you could call a strange mix between Kreator, Coroner and Watchtower. Hey, that kinda sounds like....
2. Vektor - Black Future
... These guys! Holy fuck! Just... holy FUCK! A progressive tech-thrash band! A NEW one! SHIT! Where the fuck have they been hiding? I remember gossip about Vektor started up not too long ago, and after my assumptions being proven wrong beforehand by Mutant (hey, we all make mistakes) I checked them out straight away - I think they had samples from "Black Future" floating around here and there. Jesus fucking christ, this is EXACTLY what the so-called 'new wave of thrash' needed, they sound like Mutant only... dare I say this, slightly better (Note to Mutant: No offence, I love you guys). Think Mutant, Watchtower, Coroner, Destruction, Pariah and Voivod in a thrashing blender (especially Voivod! Massive Voivod influence here) and you have Vektor. A seriously impressive release, with two ten minute long songs and one thirteen minute long closing track that, oddly enough, don't get boring in the slightest. Probably the biggest surprise of the whole year for me - check out "Black Future" as soon as you can, because it fucking RIPS!
And the best album of the year goes to...
1. Evile - Infected Nations
I suppose a lot of people saw this coming, but.. well, up yours. When the band released the first three tracks online I had some slightly mixed feelings on it - Matt's vocals for one. Not that they're bad, but they were so radically different from his previous works that it kind of knocked me back. On top of that, I just thought the track didn't flow together too well, but then of course, I bought the full album and... needless to say, once again my initial judgement was flawed. "Infected Nations" is quite possibly the best metal album I've heard since Onslaught's "The Force", and those of you who know me will understand what a big deal that is. The album flows together absolutely fucking perfectly, in one of those strange ways where no song sounds alike yet, when listened from start to finish, it fits like a glove. Most of all, the band has actively tried to break away from the bog-standard thrash metal pigeonhole by exploiting their vast array of influences to the maximum - its still a thrash album, but there are countless progressive, doom, classical and death metal influences in there and I think that's helped keep everything fresh. These guys obviously knew what they were doing and they took their ideas and fucking ran with 'em, creating a truely magnificent piece of work that stands as a statement to these other thrash bands that says "We're trying something new, so step up your fucking game and stop pretending that it's 1986". And of course, with the recent passing of bassist Mike Alexander... well I needn't say anything there. At the end of the day, "Infected Nations" is a fucking colossal achievement and the band has set a brilliant example. In fact I actually called Ol after my first listen through and spent about five minutes stuttering, I was in complete disbelief. This is a mandatory album for anyone who claims they're a metal fan.
Thats all for the countdown folks, but before I go here are some special mentions for those who didn't make the top five;
Seregon - Disposable Suffering: I haven't actually heard the full EP yet, but what I heard knocked me flat on my ass and then kicked me in the tits. Like a bastard cross of Exhorder, Sepultura and Demolition Hammer, it's truely aggressive stuff and highly recommended!
Covet Chaos - Trailblazer In Space: An odd one, this. A very groovy, death metal-sludge-thrash mix reminiscent of Sepultura, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death and Entombed. SHIT guitar tone (sorry Dan) but the songs are well done and its a solid release. Worth checking out.
Bone Gnawer - Feast of Flesh: Ahhh Kam Lee, how I love you so! This is death metal at its finest by the master himself, energetic and heavy as fuck. Full of fucking killer riffs and vile, venomous vocals with some brilliant solos and great production - what the hell, it's Kam Fucking Lee, I shouldn't have to persuade you to buy this. Just go and fucking buy it!
Warbringer - Waking Into Nightmares: A MASSIVE imprvement upon the rather shitty "War Without End". Warbringer upped their game big time on their second album and nowhave a much bigger death-thrash influence than before, and the execution is slick as they come. If they keep going in ths direction, they'll be unbeatable. A really fucking solid album.
Vindicator (UK) - Outbreak: Impressive to say the least, some very catchy stuff here and some blisteringly heavy material too ('The Unburied Dead' in particular stands out) but the vocals won't be to everyone's taste. Slightly inconsistant arrangement as the EP goes 'heavy-melodic-heavy-melodic' but it's a minor complaint. Up for free download on the Vindicator MySpace page so you've no excuse to miss out!
Bulldozer - Unexpected Fate: I was worried this wouldn't live up to my expectations, as I fucking loved Bulldozer's earlier works, but the and have managed to deliver. Their first release in about 20 years, Bulldozer have gone for a slightly more tech-thrash sound this time around bu their Motorhead-styled riffs are s present as ever before, so "Unexpcted Fate" gets a massive thumbs up.
Onslaught - Live Damnation: Its kind of cheating to include live albums here, but y'know... fuck it. I was actually at this show and I have to say that, from first-hand experience, this fucking rips. Sy Keeler and Andy Rosser-Davies in particular are on prime form and Andy Sneap did a fantastic production job here. Probably one of the best live albums you'll ever come across from one of the best bands you'll ever hear.
Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague: Well... it's Cannibal Corpse. You're not going to find anything radically different from their previous album here but saying that, its a solid slab of aggressive, heavy music that only Cannibal Corpse can deliver this way. Often imitated, seldom bettered - a good release so long as you do't expect anything too new.
Destruction - The Curse of the Antichrist (Live in Agony): Well fuck me sideways with a tank! This 2CD live album is quite the bundle of thrashing joy, with tracks spanning Destruction's entire career being featured and some spectacular performances. It's a shame that it feels a little short, as it only contains tracks from Wacken and Tokyo when an L.A show was intended to be included too, but this does very little to detract from the quality that lies here. It's Destruction, you know exactly what you're in for - brilliance.
