Feb 192015
 

Agostino Arrivabene – “Vanitas In Refraction”

 

(NCS writer TheMadIsraeli presents his list of thrash metal’s Top 10 albums of all time. The first five picks appear in this post, and the remaining five will appear in Part 2 tomorrow [here].)

This particular list is something that’s going to piss some people off and perhaps spark some sarcastic comments.  It would probably do that regardless of the contents. When you don’t include anything by The Big Four, of course you don’t understand the roots of the genre and are dissing genre-defining classics.  But if you do pick anything from The Big Four, you’re unoriginal, have no underground cred, etc., etc.

Thrash is a style of metal that gets taken pretty fucking seriously, as opposed to others where there definitely seems to be a more “you like what you like” mentality.  In my observation, It’s also the sub-genre of metal where the recognition and respect of the eldership are most likely to make or break your credibility as a fan of the music.  The thrash community is almost zealot-like in the way it can ostracize you because you don’t think Metallica and Megadeth were the pinnacles of the style.

I’m gonna be one of those guys who has nothing from The Big Four on his list, so I’ll be expecting the hipster comments for sure.  My list, as per usual, is not numbered in any kind of order that denotes anything. Continue reading »

Oct 222011
 

(Here’s yet another Revisiting the Classics piece by TheMadIsraeli.)

I know. Another thrash album. Tell me it’s not your thing all you want, but this genre is still the shit AND I THINK YOU GUYS MIGHT ACTUALLY DIG THIS ONE, as it has a bit of a death-thrash vibe going on.

Devastation were, and are, one of my favorite cult bands from the late 80’s/early 90’s. They combined death metal ferocity and riffing with the speed and technicality of thrash metal, and it is all too unfortunate that they released their masterpiece in the form of Idolatry at the wrong time. Released in 1991, this album, full of speed and brutality, hit just as a groove-focused surge was starting to take over in heavy music.  This album had no realistic chance of getting anywhere, and really, it didn’t, but solely because of the musical landscape of the time period surrounding it.

Let it be known, though, that this album is just utter chaos. The riffs are atonal, dissonant, frightening, and full of fury. The vocals are as well, vocalist Rodney Dunsmore delivering a Chuck Schuldiner-esque howl that foams at the mouth and gnashes with blood-hungry fangs. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »