Kingdom

in 2007, you see all these thrash revivalist bands appearing (such as the new UK boom) but the thing is, all they're doing is bad emulations of 80's shit, with nothing in the way of even attempting to sound like they're original and have balls.

But people, thats what Cataract is for. This Swiss powerhouse utterly lays waste to all those "BRING BACK THE 80'S" metalheads. Bringing a guitar/drum tone together with ridiculous riffing speeds, subtle use of melody and crushing hardcore breaks, this band is what thrash in the 00's should be about. Not singing about the take over of machines in a half falsetto voice over pedestrian "thrash" riffs, NO, try screaming in your ear about the struggles of imprisonment over brutal riffs and Beneath the Remains -esque speed. Anyone who says thrash couldn't be downtuned was horribly wrong and this band is living proof.

As a band, Cataract are one of the heaviest bands on this site, and the world included. This is not 'Death Angel', you're not getting metal-lite right here. A decent comparison would be All Out War, but more concise and less Slayer worship, but the general idea is still the same. Taking the harder side of thrash and blending it with the politics and tone of hardcore. So pretty much 'speed - crush - speed - crush' would be the song structure to expect here. Bass drops included (that random kick every now and then you hear that makes your woofer wave loudly, that's a bass drop).

The production on this record is a fucking beast. Just a total assault on the senses, it just pounds and waves relentlessly. Runs your ears/chest through the fucking gauntlet. It totally reaffirms why Tue Madsen is one of the greatest producers ever to touch a metal record. He gives albums such a punch its insane. Some of the heaviest records in existence come from him.

In conclusion, if you like thrash like I do, but hate when its not violent and brutal, this shit is for you. The first 10 seconds of 'Denial of Life' should be enough to convert you, listen to it.

Recommended Listening: War of Cultures, Denial of Life, Sacrificed for the Wealth