Jun 212021
 

 

Without healthy doses of experimentation and evolution, metal (like all forms of music) would stagnate. And of course where innovation succeeds it can be especially exciting. But that doesn’t mean that bands who faithfully honor tradition are doomed to fail — far from it. It depends on how good they are at what they choose to emulate — on the strength of their songwriting prowess, their instrumental skill, and the authenticity of their spirit.

Which brings us to the Portuguese band Prayers of Sanity. This trio — bassist Carlos, guitarist André, and vocalist/drummer Tião — joined forces for the purpose of reminding everyone that ’80s thrash metal was still alive and kicking. They took their cues from such classic bands as Exodus, Nuclear Assault, and Testament, while charging their music with the raw intensity of punk and hardcore.

But while Prayers of Sanity devoted themselves to an old genre loaded with stand-out names and die-hard fans, their music is anything but stagnant. Even fans who’ve grown jaded about thrash (and that includes this writer) are going to have their eyes popped open by this group’s newest album (their fourth full-length), Doctrine of Misanthropy. It’s so riotously explosive (yet sharply executed), so vicious, and so immediately addictive, that it provides a huge thrill from beginning to end. And we are thrilled to let you hear all of it today in advance of its June 25 release by Rastilho Records. Continue reading »

Nov 142017
 

 

(TheMadIsraeli returns with another blast of fast recommendations, with music streams that will let you take the full plunge.)

Welcome back to rapid fire recommendations where I throw brief reviews or recommendations of albums that would have been reviewed already if we hadn’t been drowning in the metallic avalanche of 2017.

Deivos – Endemic Divine

Polish hyper-death titans Deivos have put out a killer death metal record bathed in rabies, bath salts, beefy guitars, schizophrenic riffs, and classically Polish militaristic technical drumwork. Continue reading »

Apr 182017
 

 

Do you feel dead inside? Do you hate your job, and your few friends hate you? Has hope abandoned your life like an empty pack of smokes tossed from the window of a passing car? Does the future seem to hold nothing but a steep and lonely descent into scowling bitterness and a wasteland of forgotten dreams?

If the answer is yes, we’re sorry to say that we haven’t yet mastered the power to call for a re-deal on your life. But we can do one thing for you. At least for a few minutes, we can make you feel explosively alive, like you stepped on a live power line while ringing wet, with all the motherfuckers in your life cowering in fear at the fireball that your head has turned into.

Actually, we can’t do that — but Prayers of Sanity can. Just hit the play button on “Dead Alive” down below. Continue reading »