I've had many interesting, illuminating debates with other fans about the qualities of the new crop of thrashers (often dubbed 'retro-thrash', for their harking back to the original thrashers). Now, in the past, I've often loudly complained and lamented how too little of New Thrash shows too little originality and often just sounds like microwaved retreads of sorts of the older thrash that preceded them. I always got the feeling as if these newbies were needlessly trying too hard to sound like the veteran legends in many ways----and the results were often pretty disappointing. However, I've given extensive listens to lots more new thrash acts' recent releases and I gotta say I've changed my mind somewhat in the sense that I now feel quite a lot of the new thrash material is actually very good-to-great in its own right.
So, if any of you have heard even just a handful of the new thrash hotshots, vote for your personal favourite here. I find a few of the bands I list here rather second-rate, still. But they are 'new' generation acts, nevertheless, and have their fans.
Oh, my vote swiftly goes to to awesome Dew-Scented (though they are normally regarded as 'death-thrash') which still qualifies them to be on a proper thrash poll of any kind, I reckon. Which is yours? Vote now!
I share your initial opinion of the new crop to the genre. In all fairness, there were plenty of bands back in the heyday of Thrash that had a modicum of recognition etc. that didn't ever do it for me either. So to say it's just these new bands that don't cut it for me wouldn't be an accurate assessment. With that said I've yet to hear ANY that really bowl me over in a big way. There's just something lacking in the material for me, and most sound like they're just sort of doing it by the numbers. I've sampled tracks by Dew Scented, Evile, Warbringer, Toxic Holocaust, Municipal Waste, Boned By Blood, & Merciless Death. The others mentioned above I haven't listened to, or I don't recall hearing so I will investigate further and see what I think.
With the bands back in the day most were influenced by Venom and other NWOBHM, and Hardcore/Punk. These newer bands seem to be influenced by the first three waves of 80's - 90's thrash. But have they also delved into the Maiden, Angel Witch, Mercyful Fate, Raven, Venom, Minor Threat, Black Flag, MDC, DRI, GBH catalog? Doesn't really sound like it. And dare I say it, maybe thats why I don't get the same vibe from a lot of these new bands.
While they themselves aren't high on my list of favorite bands. From the bands listed, Dekapitator are the only ones that I can say pull it off without it sounding forced. Through my association with the Sf. Bay local band scene, I have had opportunity to speak with Matt & Cole numerous times in the past 15 - 18 years. Those guys definitely have been influenced by the same bands that inspired the old school. Aside from them, one of the only post 80's bands that I think play thrash convincingly is Witchery.
I don't really get all of the hate for retro-thrash. Like you said, there's plenty of mediocre (or worse) bands in the scene, but that can be said for pretty much every type of music ever.
I went with Warbringer, but Gamma Bomb almost beat them out. I also may have voted for Mantic Ritual had they been on the poll.
I haven't heard a lot of these new, retro-thrash bands. :S
The ones I have heard though, or at least, a lot of them, have been great though. Skeletonwitch is ace, and could become one of my favorite bands. I saw them live and they're 1000x more intense than on disc. Evile, the few songs I've heard were rockin'.
Municipal Waste, I haven't checked out, but they're fucking boooooring live.
I voted Skeletonwitch and Evile.
(12-10-2009 04:23 PM)The Butt Wrote: [ -> ]I haven't heard a lot of these new, retro-thrash bands. :S
The ones I have heard though, or at least, a lot of them, have been great though. Skeletonwitch is ace, and could become one of my favorite bands. I saw them live and they're 1000x more intense than on disc. Evile, the few songs I've heard were rockin'.
Municipal Waste, I haven't checked out, but they're fucking boooooring live.
I voted Skeletonwitch and Evile.
Municipal Waste was fairly boring live but their music is all right. I mean the lead singer was really trying to get people going but it was a no-go.
It's a hard choice between Evile, Toxic Holocaust, Warbringer and Skeletonwitch. But I went with Skeletonwitch and Evile because like The Butt said Skeletonwitch fucking SLAY live. They were amazing.
Skeletonwitch was fucking GREAT that night.
I voted for three acts: Skeletonwitch, Gama Bomb and Evile. They're the best I've heard, seen Gama Bomb and Evile live last summer which also effected. I just love them for reviving the thrash scene
Great to see you guys pitch in and state your take on this thread topic. So it seems you guys happily voted for more than one band here. Maybe, I should have done the same but I forgot to, when I voted Dew-Scented cos I genuinely love them most. I wanted to put in a few more names, but I think the limit was 15----I certainly missed out on Mantic Ritual that twins mentioned. That is a cool new act, for sure. Though I haven't heard anything by Witchery yet, that Warlock praised, earlier. You all oughta give Violator and Dekapitator a serious try-out, sometime.
I've properly heard ALL 15 bands on my poll; I rate six of them highly; of the rest, half of them are mostly pretty decent without being anything stand-out special, and 3-4 of the others are actually rather mediocre, also-rans.
Some of the latest releases by several of these bands sound to me like marked strides up, in overall coolness, from their earlier efforts. Certainly, Warbringer's latest, for one, is blatantly better than their prior record.
Bottom line is, keep checking 'em out, especially the ones you have yet to even hear for the first time. Maybe, with our support these bands will strive to improve their thrashing game----and we'd be there to watch and hear, and bitch or go bravo, depending on what they do and how we feel about it.
Hey, anybody heard of Invection? They're one of the most promising new thrash bands out there.
^heard just 2-3 songs by them several months ago....can't exactly remember how I felt. At least, they couldn't be sucky, or else I'd have remembered straight-away.
I'll have to seek them out and sample them, properly, this time.