Havok - Point of No Return (EP)

Moshers get your dirty, old concert shirts on, grit your teeth, and GET IN THE PIT!It's no secret I'm a thrash guy through and through. I love that balls out driving backbeat with its double bass drums rattling behind a thundering bass that sounds like a battalion of riders bursting from of the mouth of hell. It's metal at its rawest and most pure; angry, defiant, loud, with an energy that's barely contained.

Denver, Colorado's Havok may cause you to think they're another band doing that retro thing that's en vogue, but their music exudes an earnestness you can't deny. These guys are metal as fuck. And old school thrash fans should enjoy every bit of Havok's sound on their Point of No Return EP which gives a glimpse of things to come from this eager and brutal outfit from the mile high city.

And to think that I'm basing this on only two actual original songs from this 4 song EP; the latter two tracks are great covers of Sepultura's Arise and a melody of Slayer's Post Mortem and Raining Blood. But such is the apparent power of this band. Reece Scruggs and David Sanchez handle the guitar duties with ease, laying a nice crunchy topping over the solid backbeat of Jesse De Los Santos and Pete Webber's bass and drums, respectively. It's like a sonic, inside-out Snicker's bar. Wow, that's like the worst metaphor ever. I WIN (you lose)!

The Bottom Line: Thrash fans have a great new band to give them the call to the pit. So, throw on your boots, bang your head, and FUCKING MOSH!

Tracks to Make You Stage Dive Off Your Bed/Desk: All of them

- Genghis may be too old for the pit, but he'll stand on the outskirts...

Eddie: Greatest. Mascot. EVAR.

Seems like this would make a good topic for an upcoming tribute episode, but when you think of heavy metal and think of the mascots, who comes to mind first? Megadeth's Vic? Motörhead's Snaggletooth?

While those guys are totally cool, for me, it's always about Eddie the 'Ead, Iron Maiden's infamous ambassador and metal icon.

I came across this picture made up by artist Stan W. Decker who apparently had his own idea of who should be representing the true face of London for all of its Olympic pageantry:

- Genghis is jonesin' for some live Maiden action (just about two more weeks)...

Holy Knights - Between Daylight and Pain

Haven't heard some really great power metal in a while. Luckily Holy Knights came along from Italy to kick my fat ass.It's a testament to the talents of those involved that Sicilian power metalllers Holy Knights was able to put out their follow-up album to 2002's Gate Through The Past in spite of the inner turmoil the band has endured - something that delayed their sophomore effort for so long - in the last ten years. And I say this because 2012's Between Daylight and Pain is just fucking awesome. Sounding kind of like a cross between Symphony X and Angra, Holy Knights knows how to craft epic songs with everything you'd expect from the genre. Keyboardist/vocalist Dario Di Matteo sounds great, reminding me of the powerful voice of André Matos (Angra), while guitarist/bassist Simone Campione shreds all over the place, backed by the rhythm of Claudio Florio's thunderous drums. It's amazing that just 3 guys make music that sounds like a band twice this size.

There's a slight progressive element to it all, and a fair bit of orchestration that belies their expected Italian influence. Be warned, this is classic power metal, so if you're not prepared for the bombastic nature of the genre, you may be turned off. But while Rags is more the power metal guy between the two of us, I can easily get caught up in the energy of it all; the galloping rhythms, the fiery shredding of the abundant keyboard/guitar solos, the balls-out quasi-operatic wailing - it's all here, man. And it kicks ass.

The Bottom Line: Power metal fans (and Holy Knights fans especially) rejoice, for thy deliverance hath come. Holy Knights is here to rock you in a sonic maelstrom, and you're gonna love every minute of it.

Tracks to Air Jam to Until Your Hands Cramp: Mistery, 11 September, Awake

- Genghis broke out into a sweat jamming to this album...

Mares of Thrace - The Pilgrimage

If you still don't believe that there're chicks that can crank out heavy tunes as well as dudes. Check out Mares of Thrace.I had never heard of noise-doom duo Mares of Thrace until I received their new album for review. But according to the press release, their debut album The Moulting apparently made many Metal Album of 2011 lists in their native Canada. And while I have a hard time enjoying the more edgy doom metal stylings, this dynamic duo knows how to make a heavy groove sound good.

The whole shebang is held together by Thérèse Lanz (guitar/vocals) and Stefani MacKichan (drums), two chicks you would walk past on the street and probably never realize they can totally rock the shit out of a stage. If you require proof, check some of their impressive videos on YouTube to get a sense of the tightly wound mayhem they unleash on their audience. You'd find chunks of the Pussycat Dolls in their stools. And it's not that I don't dig doom metal, it's just that sometimes it's just too heavy (especially with the Angela Gossow-like screaming), and I find myself enjoying the more laid back moments, as on The Three-Legged Courtesan... or the opening to The Goat Thief. Still, there are some really great moments on this album that take me back to high school when I would have given my left nut to be in a band like this.

The Bottom Line: You know that indefinable quality of rock and roll that makes it so cool and alluring when you're young (where you just think "this is...bad-ass!")? Well these chicks radiate that with music that's raw but tight. You can't fuck with this groove!

Tracks to Make You Wanna Get Your Mind Right: The Goat Thief, The Three-Legged Courtesan..., ...and the Bird Surgeon

- Genghis can hardly believe that two quiet-looking chicks can rock this hard...

Trixter - New Audio Machine

It has been 20 years since Trixter have put out any new music.  Trixter is one of those one hit wonders, that could have been more, had it not been for their timing.  They came out right before the grunge implosion, and had some success, but by the time their 2nd CD Hear! came out, it was all over.  It was ashame, because I think Hear! was stronger than their debut.  Fast forward 20 years, and the band is back with New Audio Machine.  This is the first new material we have had from the band in awhile, so it will be interesting to see/hear how well they did.

New Audio Machine is Trxiter in the new millennium and sounding a little more mature and a tad more modern, which is what you would expect.  The CD starts off strong with the catchy as hell Drag Me Down.  It starts off acoustic, before kicking in with a killer groove.  As I mentioned before it has a catchy melody and chorus that will etch itself into your memory.  The next track Get On It, keeps the momentum going and rocks you just as hard, but after that the CD starts to drag a little.  There are some okay tunes, but nothing that grabs you.  It wasn't until the 5th track Live For the Day, that my ears perked up again.  It is a solid power ballad from the band, that'll bring a tear to your eye.  The rest of the disc was kind of a hit and miss.  Not a great CD, but not bad one either.  I think this one will grow on me in time.

Bottom Line:  Trixter showing that they can still deliver the goods.  Not their best effort, but definitely something to build on, in the event that there is another.  For fans of melodic hard rock.

Standout Tracks:  Drag Me Down, Get On It, Tattoos and Misery and The Coolest Thing.

-Ragman was hoping for a little more from this one.