No Amnesty – Psychopathy

The rate at which labels like Xtreem Music and Punishment 18 Records continue to dig up new modern thrash bands is downright impressive. Europe seems to have no shortage of these bands, and fortunately, the former label has located yet another solid one. No Amnesty comes from Spain, and has just unleashed their debut record, “Psychopathy”. The band won’t throw many surprises at you, so once you get past the somewhat absurd vocals, you are left with a precise, but consistent thrashing.

It is worth addressing the band’s singer first: he can’t be defined as simply as many other thrash singers. He has a harsh edge to his voice, but is nowhere near death metal. Instead, he opts for a somewhat higher-pitched shouted shriek. He’s really one of those singers you have to hear to believe, but he definitely hearkens back to some of the more unique vocalists of the 1980s. On “Among The Blind”, he offers a nice surprise as he constantly aims for serious heights in his pitch. His aggressive sneer perfectly fits the crushing riffs that No Amnesty consistently offer.

Though “Psychopathy” isn’t an all-out thrasher akin to records like “Illusions” or “Decameron”, it rarely lacks speed or intensity. The moments where it does mellow out are done so in a very thrash way, reminding of classic Bay Area groups like Heathen or Death Angel. “Snake Eyes” marks one of the most impressive examples of the band’s ability to walk the line between brilliant melodicism and skull-fracturing thrash. Other efforts like “Evil Priest” and “Fight Below The Fire” show that the band can write solid hooks, even if none of these tracks are as strong as any of the classics they derive influence from. 

“Psychopathy” is the complete package as far as modern thrash goes. It helps that the production accents the thick rhythm guitars, but also highlights their more melodic moments. Both “NOTLD” and "Snake Eyes", for example, feature plenty of harmonized guitars, which gives the bass lots of room to breathe. Even though the bass is present all throughout the record, this is just one of many examples of No Amnesty’s attention to detail (both from a songwriting and production perspective) that causes them to excel. As a result, “Psychopathy” is a very satisfying modern effort that stands head and shoulders above much of the rest of the thrash scene!

Be sure to check out and like No Amnesty on Facebook!

Highlights

"Among The Blind"

"Evil Priest"

"Snake Eyes"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%. 

Panikk – Unbearable Conditions

One thrash metal scene that has received little discussion is the one in Slovenia. Alongside Eruption, another relatively new group is Panikk. Their debut record, “Unbearable Conditions”, was first released in 2013, but is seeing a re-release in late 2014 through the always-reliable Xtreem Music. Even before you hear this record, it has already hit most of the thrash clichés. They’ve even misspelled their name with a “K”. So it is no surprise then, that the music follows suit. This is thrash metal in the vein of the more standard Bay Area groups (Exodus, Testament). From the opening riff of “Panic Attack” to the final note of the title track, you are assaulted by a barrage of riffs. Unfortunately most of these riffs tend to be pretty predictable, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. One thing Panikk does really well that a lot of other riff-heavy bands could benefit from is switching up the tempos and riff styles. A lot of bands go for extreme speed for 40 minutes without slowing down, whereas Panikk has some heavier riffs that have some groove to them (think of groove as a Vio-lence or Exodus style groove, rather than a Pantera one).

Aside from the riffs, Panikk provide all of the other elements that make thrash great. There are plenty of shredding solos that leave every face melted. In addition, Panikk makes heavy use of gang vocals. They appear all throughout the album, and aren’t just relegated to the choruses of songs. The lead vocals likewise consist primarily of shouting, without too much variation in tone. As you might imagine, the songwriting tends to be pretty similar throughout. After a couple of listens, it becomes clear that “Panic Attack” and “Messiah of Decay” are a cut above the rest of the songs, but after even more listens, it can still be difficult to discern amongst the other tracks. This isn’t a major problem though. It seems songwriting is secondary in most thrash bands, and while that is also the case for Panikk, they thrash hard enough to overlook it for the duration of the record. The band will occasionally throw in something unique, such as the strange melodies on "Away From Reality", but for the most part, expect a solid thrashing force on this record. Ultimately, this album is well worth checking out.

Be sure to check out and like Panikk on Facebook!

Highlights

"Panic Attack"

"Messiah of Decay"

Final Rating

3.75/5 or 75%. 

Written by Scott

Rancor - Dark Future

While I’m sure Spain has a great thrash scene, I’ve only ever really come across two bands from the country: Angelus Apatrida, and Rancor. Based on my prior experience with Angelus Apatrida, expectations were pretty high for Rancor (especially when you consider the awesome name and killer album art!). Luckily, these guys do not disappoint at all. While the music is perhaps the most straightforward thrash in existence, Rancor has a few ways of keeping things interesting throughout the record.

The best place to start would be the vocals of Dani López. He has a unique tone to his singing. While he does use shouts often, he is definitely also has the melodic abilities needed to switch things up. One immediate comparison that came to mind is to Hyades; not because of the sound of his vocals, but just because of how much character they have. The rest of the band unfortunately doesn’t stand out as much, but they do their best to avoid making the songwriting too samey. For one thing, there is certainly a lot of thrashing, but there are also slower, heavier moments as well. The beginning of “The Last Drop of Blood” sets the stage with these brooding riffs before the high-speed thrashing kicks in for the verse.  At times, things can get quite melodic (think Iron Maiden), such as in "Deaf People". In addition, the riffs can get more technical than a simple 4/4 thrash riff (see the opening of “Addicted To Hate” for one example). Much like many new thrash bands, there are the occasional blast beats, but they are used to mix things up, rather than for simply upping the speed of the drumming. The lead guitars and bass are both unspectacular, but they get the job done. “Dark Future” is simply one of those albums that you don’t need to think too much about the performances, and can enjoy the thrashing nature of the music.

Rancor’s “Dark Future” is a slab of modern thrash that is definitely worth hearing. While it definitely sounds like a band that just wants to pay homage to their idols, they do so with more conviction than some of their contemporaries. Don’t miss out on this if you are a huge thrash fan! 

 Be sure to check out and like Rancor on Facebook!

Highlights

"The Last Drop of Blood"

"Addicted To Hate"

"There's No Love"

Final Rating

3.9/5 or 78%. 

Written by Scott