Forgery - Hellbringer

Australian Thrash Metal, what's not to love about it? Since the 80's we've been blessed with a ton of great bands (Slaughter Lord, Mortal Sin, Armoured Angel, Addictive, Destroyer 666, Grenade and Gospel of the Horns to name a few.)from this wonderful land down under. Forgery are one such Australian Thrash band, hailing from Canberra these 3 young men proudly wear their influences on their sleeve (there's obvious Sodom and Venom influences to be found all over the place here) and are here to do one thing, and that thing is; THRASH!

The EP kicks off with a haunting intro that leads into the ripping title track which thrashes without mercy and lets you know you're in for one hell of a neck-snapping listen. The best way to describe the sound on this EP is Venom jamming on Whiplash songs with Tom Angelripper on vocals (The bassist/vocalist, sounds a LOT like Onkel Tom).

The riffs in every song simply slay and are varied enough to keep you from getting bored. The guitar tone is violent and evil which fits in perfectly with pounding drums and thumping bass (that you can actually hear!). What you are in for here is a thrash assault that does not let up until these boys are done.

My personal favourite track on Hellbringer is "Spawns of the Void" which builds up with a Metallica-esque intro that leads into an evil sounding mid-paced thrasher. It is hard to choose a stand-out track on such a consistant EP, though.

Watch out for these guys, true THRASH METAL runs in their blood. Posers need not apply.

4/5

Support the band and buy this EP by messaging them over myspace at www.myspace.com/forgerythrash or emailing them at forgery101@hotmail.com.

Simplistic Genocide - Hazardous Thrash

Simplistic Genocide are a Thrash Metal band hailing from Connecticut USA. I don't know much else about them aside from the fact this is their first demo and it shows a lot of potential, under the low quality production and obvious DIY attitude.

The intro and opening track set the mood quite well and you know right from the get-go that you're in for some straight up, punky as fuck Thrash Metal. The production quality is pretty bad, but you can still hear enough of what's going on to know what these guys are all about, and it adds a touch of personality to the music. Not that this group need any more personality added, they have great charisma.

While the production may be low-fi, you can still here all the instruments (yes, even the bass!) and the songs still kick plenty of arse. The best way to describe their sound would be a mix of crossover punk attitude and thrash metal aggression. My favourite track off this demo would have to be the second track "Dying on the Front Line", it's simply a kick-arse fast thrash number that reminds me of crossover era Sodom.

All in all, Simplistic Genocide aren't trying to do anything new or original, rather just sticking to what they like and having a good time doing it. There is a lot of potential shown in this demo, and I would love to hear more from these young'uns in the future.

3.5/5

www.myspace.com/simplisticgenocide