4 hordes of thrashers: Death Mechanism (Italy), Havok (U.S.), Noisem (U.S.), Power Trip (U.S.)

Greetings to the thrashers! Here are 4 bands for the thrash-obsessed!

Death Mechanism (Italy): "Twenty-First Century"

Death Mechanism parties like this is 1985 and those speed metal riffs and high-speed soloing don't stop. Like someone turned this thrash machine "on" and the thing just doesn't know how else to go, except fast. Death Mechanism also has a distinctively angry gremlin for a vocalist. Seriously, the vocalist is not yelling or screaming, but rather vocalizes like a possessed gremlin or perhaps like a furious witch. Whatever you did to this vocalist, the gremlin witch will make you pay.

The riffs are total play-on, love-it-all thrashing speed. You will know the thrashing immediately and you will start swinging your elbows around. Retro-thrash, 80s thrash or simply thrash, Death Mechanism is exactly that.

Certainly not melodic nor memorable, the music flies by in a split second. Shredding is the objective. Search out this band if you want lean, mean, meat-and-potatoes thrash. "Just give me thrash now!," is the watchword for Death Mechanism. On this album, the band sounds pretty good. At the same time, their identity is not really the songwriting, but rather their strict allegiance to speeding thrash and headbanging.

www.scareletrecords.it

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Havok (U.S.): "Unnatural Selection"

Havok is angry-yelled traditional (think: Destruction's Schmier), hard-hitting, head banging thrash, with sharp riffs, head banging songs.

If you love thrash (possibly above all other genres), then: hello, moth, meet the flame.

Is Havok "Destruction, Junior"? Maybe, but Havok would not be offended by that. Havok is not a bunch old people, so it's ok if they sound like young thrash, because that's what this is.

Shredding, guitar solos, galloping riffs and headbanging riffs is the top priority. For those into Destruction and Overkill, and no-nonsense, bang-your-head, in-your-face thrash. Expect some good and capable soloing! While some people complain this or that "legendary" thrash band sounding tired or insincere, here's a young one, and certainly more exciting than those big famous names that are always in the news. Thrash fans, check out Havok today and be surprised!

www.facebook.com/HavokOfficial

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Power Trip (U.S.): "Manifest Decimation"

Like Havok, Power Trip is huge galloping riffs and the metal command is to bang your head.

Power Trip's vocalist is more of a semi-growl-furious-punk (not a yeller), and huge, fat riffs.

The guitar tone is a pretty thick thrashing style, and makes Power Trip sounds like serious business. In fact, I would say that this band would appeal to death metal fans, too, because the energy is heavier than just thrash, and crosses the line into semi-growling and thicker sounds.

Power Trip proves to be a pretty distinct and memorable band, in part because the production is a heavier sound, less retro-sounding, in my opinion, although, of course, classic thrash is present here, too. At any rate, Power Trip is no tribute band! They don't sound like a garage band, either. They sound like they have made an effort to deliver a good quality thrash album, and they have more than succeeded in that.

www.southernlord.com

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Noisem (U.S.): "Agony Defined"

Finally, here is Noisem.

Noisem is thrash, but a much more mutated form of thrash: the vocals are death metal-ish (not super guttural, but way, way closer to dm, than anything else). However, the riffs plant Noisem firmly in thrash territory.

I was impressed the first time I heard Noisem, and now after more listens, I am convinced that it is not simply a good first impression. The vibe is there, the quality is there, and the songs are intense.

It is also true that Noisem survives on high energy and tight thrashing. The songwriting depends on the intensity, while the memorability is pretty good, I will be curious to see how they work their songs in the future and how they make them more memorable.

www.a389records.com