Vektor

Thrash is dying, but the old bastards are doing what they can to keep the flame alive.

Were you around in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s? Thrash was almost as extinct as the dinosaurs All the old guys had gone alternative/groove or broken up. There were no new bands.

I got excited by Iced Earth, The Haunted and Witchery because they merely had hints of Thrash.

Thrash is as healthy now as any of the other genres. It might not be innovative but pure Thrash hasn't been innovative since about 1986.

And most of the other genres ala Death or Power Metal haven't seen innovation for a long time either.

As for what I meant about it being dead now, it's all shit.

I know most bands dissappeared in the mid 90s, but good ol Tankard never took more than 4 years off, Sodom also churned out albums. Swedens Guillotine, etc.. I may not be old enough to have experienced the dryness that was the 90s, was pre-occupied with kid things. But I know my history.

As for what I meant about it being dead now, it's all shit. Besides Hexen and Vektor, they all suck. A couple bands release the odd decent thing, but besides the old-school bands, thrash is dead. I want a new Merciless Death or Mantic Ritual. Those are the new bands I enjoy.

Ramble, ramble.

Most of these new thrash bands are cool for nostalgia, but are pretty cookie cutterish and don't really bring anything new to the table. I can't help but think of them as a fun novelty.

I just can't see in what ways thrash could have evolved. It kinda had to become repetitive. If it incorporates death metal, it becomes Arsis or if it incorporates black metal it becomes Aura Noir and Absu. It just doesn't seem as malleable as black and death metal are. And Vektor is worth a listen if you got the time.

Of course I agree with this, and I like Vektor as well. Generally I only need a revolving door of about 5 thrash albums in my listening rotation every couple years though, so extremely biased perspective coming from here.

@trapt: all good stuff on your list there, but surely there is at least one or two albums you really like by such bands as Kreator, Exodus, Overkill, Destruction, Sodom, Mekong Delta, Holy Moses, Exhorder, Demolition Hammer, Carnivore, Artillery.....etc.....Surely?!?! I can't imagine out of the discographies of all those bands listed (and probably more I'll think of later) that there isn't at least one or two albums you (as in you, trapt) need to own.

Lastly, still @trapt: have you tried Short Sharp Shock (SSS) from the UK? It's crossover, but punky as fuck, and I think way cooler than Municipal Waste.