Bangers And Mosh
Evoking thoughts of home, of comfort and warmth and joy, for many it’s the ultimate food, I appreciate it’s just a little play on words my friends, but the message is profound and heart-breaking. To provide essential support to the plight of the homeless, this 2 CD smasher has been created to raise funds and spread the word farther and wider. People are aware, I think but sometimes we are too embroiled in our own troubles, that we struggle to see how we can possibly help. Through our mutual love and respect for the metal scene we can hope to make a difference and share some of the burden that the homeless carry.
So, my friends we have chant of the year with a mild case of anastomosis with Thrashsquatch! and ‘Head Transplant’, a one minute wonderous car crash, one of your five a day please. Novichok add their ‘Force Of Habit’ which gives very Motorhead style vibes with its fast pace , but then the riff at 2.24 is quite genteel in Thrash circles. We get the contrast next with beguiling frets from Sin Theta with ‘Obsolescence’ before the big boys kick in at 1.15, loud, proud and commanding. Standing tall in the ‘Deprecation Zone’ are Black Talon, this is turning out to be mighty enjoyable folks. With Sawticide in mind our friends announce how ‘We Came To Kill’ and it’s time to run, someone please tell me when they’ve gone. A majestic, far away place sounding name is up next with Elyrean, and ‘Fallen Ground’ is the type of music that wins battles, at 7.48 it is monolithic and masterful. A Solitary effort now to rip out ‘The Diseased Heart Of Society’ as he of the rusted voice box and gloriously gifted riffs flings you heavenwards. With 26 years in the business, take a bow my friends! Now Siderian are self-confessed ‘horrible and noisy’ and well I have to agree, but with their ‘Origins’ rooted in high speed moshing, I can forgive the horrible. A ‘Bad Attitude’ in our scene is not something we tolerate but with Blacklist at the helm, bow your heads, and let us riff in time with the vice grip vocals. Steady yourselves for the ‘Panzer Charge’ as our friends in Militia bounce around in a basement in a rough and ready kind of way. With a voice from the gravel pit, it is full steam ahead. Feed your ‘Gluttony For War’ as Dislocator give the harrowing lyric ‘genocide with no remorse’ and it is game over. Obzidian show their hand as they embark on a voyage on ‘Raven’s Wing’ and leave us to bathe in the blistering fierce volcanic ash they have created.
To finish CD 1 there is some Eastern promise from Forgotten Fear and their Arabic influenced ‘Inshallah’ which translates as ‘ God willing’ and we cover the whole spectrum from the neurotic to the exotic. With strong, clear vocals and galloping frets, well let us take this moment to reflect and resuscitate our weary bones.
Time for a quick cuppa and we slam on CD 2 and hear ye the ‘Commandment’ as Unburier have spoken in the tones of Deep Purple/Black Sabbath with that chug, chug, chug and the cut throat lyric of ‘an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’ well you better shape up or end up unburied. Riptide declare themselves ‘Masters Of The Apocalypse’ in the sci-fi style echo feature at 0.55 and leading us neatly to a classic thrash guitar/bass combo and spitting teeth vocals at 1.10, quite tasty really. After I put my teeth back in it is Bangover time and we are under the watchful eye of ‘Grand Moff Tarkin’, gliding across the universe and he is ‘imposing order through fear’ and with some furious guitaring at 5.29 we close with a little humour as the vocals sound like ‘Grandma talking’ at the end. Seeing to it that we have Tempered the heat a touch, we ‘Strive’ with our chaotic cousins as we continue going around and around on this mad carousel and the lunatic fairground master barking orders through the megaphone. With a deep and dark rock groove we are ‘locked in the house, you can’t get out’ and I get a little ‘nasty streak’ vocal in the style of Jello Biafra from Hydra Vein, let us revel in the discomfort ladies and gents. An angry track follows now from Day Of Wrath and in ‘I Drown’ we find the familiar lyric ‘I can’t put across what I feel inside’, brutal vocals, and gut -skewering guitars are in abundance here and throughout this record. Out of the gutter come Scarred By Truth as they tell us of ‘The Plight’ with their creepy crawly feel and tone. The ‘Fractured’ opus is courtesy of Hellfekted, blasting out of the speakers and placing their delicate hands around my throat. Armed with a ‘Death Wish’ here are Target Earth, resolute in their manner and tack sharp in their execution. If you feel ‘Beatdown’ then Steel Mage are your friends in this hour of need, with the slice and dice action, they are sure to see off any foe.
The Grimsby growlers Chimp In A Box are next with ‘Baby, I’m The King’ with the 1-2-3. 1-2-3, 1-2,1-2 rhythm and at 0.58 is that Dani Filth? An Excursia perhaps as we have ‘Precious’ little time to act, but this formidable 4.21 minutes is powerful and punishing. Finally, we must take our vows at the Blood Church where we hear tell of how ‘Jesus Wept’.
There is a Gothic/Industrial feel to this ‘strum like you mean it’ effort and wait for it… there it is at 2.06, that warm and friendly growl.
Intelligently crafted and a fine example of the UK Thrash scene, sonically charged, invigorating and full of life, hats off to all involved. After we emerge from this lockdown, there will be some glorious moshpits waiting for us all.
No Place Like Home
We see ourselves as civilised, a nation of civilised people, living civilised lives, in a semi-detached with a white picket fence and 2.4 children. Further to my article on mental health it pains me to shine a light on another section of our society, the homeless, who are living and surviving on the fringes. The ragged and rain-soaked bodies vying for your attention to spare your loose change, sitting amongst the cardboard and blankets, fashioned into a makeshift shelter, a coffee cup placed front and centre. Once again it is up to the ordinary folk to pick up the gauntlet and tackle this subject head on. Our friends at UK Thrashers have created a 2 CD metal thrashing mad soundtrack to raise awareness and much needed funds to help the homeless. The project called ‘Moshin’ The Roof On’ showcases 26 of our own British talent, uniting for a noble cause, and hoping to garner the spirit of generosity and kindness that we are known for. It is sad to see how homeless people are perceived; as scroungers, a drain on society, lazy, timewasters, and how some wish they would disappear, and others wish they would die. For those of us with a roof over our heads it is the most natural thing to say, ‘I’m going home’ but what of our friends who brave the streets night after night? The metal community knows what it is like to get stared at, feel like an outsider and therefore can empathise to a degree, just because we don’t tick your boxes, doesn’t mean we have less of a life. The basic concept of how we all have something to share and contribute when given the correct options and circumstances is an idea that has been long forgotten. I am sure you metalheads will do your bit to help, especially when the lockdown is over, and shows/tours can be organised again. For more information please visit ukthrash.bandcamp.com to show your support.
Open up your hearts and minds and in time we will open up the pit and get in there my friends!
Thrash Brigade
Roof on, roof off
A convertible you got a choice,
It’s roof off all the while for me
I don’t have a voice.
While I thrash around on the streets
UK Thrashers they speak for me,
They shout, they scream,
They holler, they let off steam
Releasing the pressure built up inside of me.
So,
By the wisdom of the Grand Moff Tarkin
And the masters of the apocalypse
With Target Earth in their sights
Bangover and bang to rights
A hangover, hung out to dry,
We’ve got a bad Tempered Thrashquatch
Kicking down your door
He’s got the head transplant you’ve been waiting for,
It’ll only take a minute, you can headbang better than before.
My Novichok is a force of habit
A deer in the headlights, a frightened rabbit,
So, fire up the guitars, put pedal to the metal
Light up the flares and let them have it,
‘cos baby I’m the king of the streets
You side -step, you side sweep,
I’m in your way on your Day Of Wrath
When Jesus wept, we crossed the path,
When the guerrilla warfare
Highlights my despair
In a fight I’ll never win,
Scarred By Truth disguised as sin.
You need to start your moshing
So, I can stop my sobbing
Stop the verbal grenades lobbing
And the thieving and the robbing,
Up to speed with Hellfekted to keep you in check,
As your bad attitude sticks you on the Blacklist
Don’t like your tone or the cut of your jib,
You won’t find me on your Dislocator
Suburbanite, now a streetwise facilitator,
I see your Solitary army, and I raise you a Militia,
On fallen ground with Elyrean we came to kill,
Fed on the deprecation, you’ll get no appreciation,
Be on your way, clear of my zone
Away from my home,
Take flight on raven’s wing
Leave me to my origins,
Show yourself Siderian
In the lustre of the Obzidian,
Inshallah is the buzzword
Your Forgotten Fear shall be heard,
For a better tomorrow
As we go crashing side to side
Steadfast on my Sawticide, against the rising Riptide,
See me at rock bottom and turn the tide
On thundering drums and breakneck guitars
Allay my death wish yet still I drown
My fractured plight makes me precious
Broken, beatdown,
Trapped in a Steel Mage
No light, no escape, no Excursia,
Say Sin Theta with the fragrance of obsolescence
My unregistered absence
Is a sacrifice for your gluttony of war
As I run for cover, away from the Panzer charge and
take a pew at the Blood Church, for what it’s worth.
I’m your lab rat, your Chimp In A Box,
Feed me your poison, I’ll swallow the lot,
Push it through my Hydra Vein
Watch me plummet, and struggle and strive,
As I nosedive into the house I’ll never get.
When the Unburier presents his commandments
You won’t know what he meant
Until it’s too late and the time’s been spent,
Your value, your worth, your time
Have always been the same as mine,
Activate the Black Talon
To rip out the diseased heart of society,
Not only will I see you clearly,
You’ll also see the real me.
Azra Pathan © 2020
For Moshin’ The Roof On