Gospel of the Horns - The Satanist's Dream (Demo 1994)

The Satanist's Dream is the very first release by Aussie black/thrashers Gospel of the Horns. guess the original label that put this band out completely stabbed the band in the back by releasing a a shoddy product, completely with a picture of an entirely different band on the label. I'm not sure if the band even received any money for it, as the band has asked fans not to buy that particular edition of the demo. Fortunately for metalheads, Kneel Before the Master's Throne records gave it the "diehard" vinyl treatment in 2009. I believe they're sold out of the release, but you might be able to snag it in a trade or get it on ebay or some shit if you /really/ want it.

But moving on! This demo is some great Celtic Frost/Hellhammer worship. It sounds great for a demo, and while it doesn't give you that much of an idea of the band's sound to come, it's nonetheless a ton of fun to listen to. Even though it's a very "simple" sounding album in terms of composition, it's well-played and apparent that the musicians are all proficient at their various instruments. This demo showcases the black metal side of the band more than later releases, and comes highly recommended from myself. A great demo from a great band. Enjoy!

ARTIST: GOSPEL OF THE HORNS

ALBUM: THE SATANIST'S DREAM (DEMO 1994)

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

SATAN

Grenade - The Howling Damned

Grenade were a black/thrash metal band from Sydney, NSW, Australia. They never got as far as a lot other bands in the Australian scene, but they're still well regarded among those who remember them. Probably the most forgettable part of their material is the vocals to be honest -- they're not bad, but they tend to fade into the guitars (which, luckily for them, are really good!) If you enjoy black/thrash metal, you'll definitely like this album. However, if you're not already, this probably won't be the album to make or break the bank. It certainly SOUNDS like Aussie black/thrash, and I wouldn't go as far to say that Grenade are mediocre -- just don't expect anything particularly groundbreaking here.

The Howling Damned is not actually a full-length, but a compilation of all their previous material. Some of the members have gone on to perform in the black/thrash project Innsmouth, whom I'm sure I will post about here soon, because they're also fantastic!

ARTIST: GRENADE

ALBUM: THE HOWLING DAMNED

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Gospel of the Horns - Realm of the Damned

Gospel of the Horns are one of the best black/thrash bands, ever. Hailing from Australia, they've been putting out amazing metal since the release of their 1994 demo, The Satanist's Dream. They produced two full-length albums before disbanding around 2008-2009 (though they've recently gotten back together): A Call to Arms and Realm of the Damned. They're both magnificient albums, but I've always found RotD to be the stronger album.

Everything about it just works. The production, the riffs, the musicianship....it's just a great metal album, and probably one of the strongest albums to come out the Australian metal scene -- which is saying A LOT, when you factor how strong the black/thrash/death scene is down there. If you're a fan of any of the Australian metal bands -- Destroyer 666, Sadistik Exekution, Vomitor etc. and you haven't heard this album yet, GET ON THAT SHIT!!!

Gospel of the Horns were defunct for a while, but they've recently reunited to play gigs and release some new music -- their new EP, Ceremonial Conjuration, came out in June on Invictus Productions.

ARTIST: GOSPEL OF THE HORNS

ALBUM: REALM OF THE DAMNED

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Toxic Holocaust - Critical Mass (Demo 2002)

Although Toxic Holocaust's sound has changed pretty dramatically since their signing to Relapse Records/Release of Conjuration, TH plays a mix of black/thrash metal. TH was originally a one-man project until An Overdose Of Death... in 2008, and Joel Grind would simply recruit musicians to allow him to go on tour/do live gigs. Inspired by the 'old masters' like Onslaught, Bathory and Slayer, Toxic Holocaust -- while nothing spectacular -- up until Hell On Earth is some awesome, catchy, black/thrash metal.

Critical Mass is the second Toxic Holocaust demo, and contains many of the songs that would go to be on Evil Never Dies. The songs that didn't make it to END tend to be extremely short and fast punk songs, and they work quite well. It's interesting to hear samples of the crust-punk direction that Toxic Holocaust could've taken -- not to mention they're decent tunes. The sound quality is actually quite decent here, and it's probably one of the best TH recordings out there.

ARTIST: TOXIC HOLOCAUST

ALBUM: CRITICAL MASS (DEMO 2002)

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Sodom - Persecution Mania

Persecution Mania is the second album by German black/thrash legends Sodom. For those who don't know them, Sodom have been cranking out awesome black/thrash music since the 1980s, and are considered one of the founders of the black/thrash genre. If you're on this blog, you probably know that Sodom certainly live up to their name (and likely already have this album on your computer). But, I only realized last night that this was one of the albums that I never bothered to put back on my laptop after it crashed a couple of years back, and man am I glad I did!

Although In The Sign of Evil is extremely raw and catchy, I really don't care for Obssessed By Cruelty. I've heard that the European press is better than the North American version, but despite multiple listens, I just can't stand it. It's not that they're bad musicians on that album, it's more so that they play together really poorly: it sounds more like a first jam session/first take for the album than a finished product. Persecution Mania does NOT have this problem whatsoever: the musicianship is awesome, the timing is awesome, the production is awesome, the lyrical themes are awesome...it's dark enough for black metal fans, fast enough for thrash metal fans...hell, even if you don't like black/thrash metal as a genre, you'll probably still enjoy this if you're into exclusively thrash or black metal. Definitely essential listening, and comes highly recommended. Enjoy!

ARTIST: SODOM

ALBUM: PERSECUTION MANIA

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Nocturnal Graves/Hell Spirit - The Grave Spirit Sessions (split LP)

 Put out by NWN! productions in 2010, this split LP features some great black/thrash material from Aussie metal masters Nocturnal Graves and the obscure Hell Spirit from Finland. The Nocturnal Graves side, while having some great material on it, feels a bit all over the place -- the first track sounds more stereotypically "death metal," the Bathory-worship track after it sounds like pre-Relapse Toxic Holocaust (keeping in mind that J. was at one point a live Toxic Holocaust member). This would be the last Nocturnal Graves release before J. decided to call it quits and move onto greater things, and the inconsistency of the material for this split now seems like a clear warning sign of what was to come.

In contrast, the Hell Spirit side is much more consistent -- and because of that, comes off as the stronger side of the LP. I don't know much about Hell Spirit other than they're a Finnish black/thrash act who've released two demos besides this split. Nothing since then, and this split came out in 2010, so not sure what to make of them.

Bottom line being, while it's a bit of an odd split, it's still really good and worth listening to!

ARTIST: NOCTURNAL GRAVES and HELL SPIRIT

ALBUM: THE GRAVE SPIRIT SESSIONS

GENRE: BESTIAL BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Martire - Legions of the Brutal Apocalypse

Back when I was in high school, I was SUPER into Australian black/thrash/death metal. Destroyer 666, Trench Hell, Atomizer, Vomitor, Nocturnal Graves...you name it, and I probably loved it. And Martire were no exception. I listened to their 1991 EP on vinyl again and again when I was in high school. I couldn't wait for their full-length to come out (and considering that these guys have been around since 1988, it's been a LONG fucking time). Finally, it's here! And while it's not the /best/ thing to come out of Australia, it's certainly not a dissapointment. Similar to Vomitor, these guys play a perfect combination of black, death and thrash metal in the raw-as-fuck aussie tradition. If you haven't heard them yet, give this a listen!

ARTIST: MARTIRE

ALBUM: LEGIONS OF THE BRUTAL APOCALYPSE

GENRE: BLACK/DEATH/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Sabbat (jpn) - Karisma

...If that picture alone doesn't send chills running down your spine, there's not a lot of hope for ye. Sabbat are a Japanese black/thrash metal band that have been consistently putting out killer releases since the 1980s. Not only is their music loud and evil as hell, but they're all super talented dudes, and Karisma in particular has some FANTASTIC guitar playing on it. I like a ton of their stuff, but because the band has been running so long, there's a LOT of material to choose from. I'll likely upload their other releases on here in time, but Karisma and Evoke are my two personal favorites, and both are good starting points for someone looking to get into them. HAILS!

ARTIST: SABBAT

ALBUM: KARISMA

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE