I was originally due to go on holiday later in the week but family circumstances meant we made a last minute decision to bring it forward a few days. All of this resulted in me being scheduled to fly to Lanzarote tomorrow morning, meaning that I could only really come for a couple of hours of this years Thrashchester rather than the full day. Sadly, this meant missing Lawnmower Deth and Devastator but I would still hopefully catch a few bands.
Youthful Welsh thrashers Exaust are the first band I catch. The fast parts are rapid speed metal which reminds me of the faster tracks on Annihilator's 'King Of The Kill', only less technical. This is mixed with slower parts which are much more hardcore sounding, and the rough vocals add a hardcore feel too. The singer Dewi looks like he could be queuing up for a Marilyn Manson concert rather than fronting an up and coming thrash act but he carries himself like a veteran hardcore frontman, and he and the band do an excellent job of getting the crowd moving. The slower parts are less successful but thankfully, there are more faster parts which are excellent. The drumming is the key element driving them along, and this largely non-stop pace is what makes them so exciting.
Crusaders open with 'Spartacus' which is a mixture of '80s Metallica with a more aggressive style reminiscent of Slayer or Dark Angel. The vocals are a bit lacklustre but the musicianship is great. 'V' is pretty powerful with a memorable chorus. The guitars are loud and sound pretty incisive. The dazzling melodic leads which introduce 'Terminate' give it a late '80s Testament feel. They are pretty tight musically and their set absolutely flies by, which is a large compliment. The closing track has some classic metal touches too and is excellent.
The intro and chorus to Mörti Viventi's opening track 'The Day The Dead Returned' has a doomy My Dying Bride influence but the rest of the track is a thrash/trad metal hybrid (I suppose it's what would have been termed power metal in the late '80s). The singer Aidy has a really good voice with an expressive higher range. 'Whorehouse Of The Undead' is a similar combination of styles but is more clumsily done. 'The Day After' is much stronger. They have a very British feel, sounding like those '80s bands who straddled both the traditional and thrash camps, such as Toranaga. 'Hell On Earth' is where they go all out thrash and it has an Exodus feel musically whilst 'Thrash Or Die' ups the speed and intensity with its Slayer-esque attack.
Crusaders' Jamie Paterson is pulling double duty today as he also plays guitar for Catalysis. The singer, Andrew Downie, has a great voice which is somewhere between death metal and the heavier side of hardcore. Musically, their deathrash seems a bit more rudimentary and less inspired than any of the other bands I've watched today. They're certainly heavy enough but they're just not connecting with me so I retire to the back for a short break.
Struck A Nerve open with the ripping 'Nocturnal Terror', a slice of thrash which is more crossover influenced than much of what we've been served today and it has a big Municipal Waste influence. There is a real energy which courses through everything they play. Aarran Tucker's higher pitched voice is great and really suits the music. His voice is reminiscent of Tony Foresta which only adds to the Municipal Waste comparison. They are very tight musically which always helps with this style of music. Struck A Nerve are seriously good. Unfortunately I promised my wife that I'd be home by 7 so I reluctantly have to cut their set short.
What I caught of Thrashchester this year was good fun. I already have my ticket for the next event (which will see it expand to two days) so hopefully I'll be able to catch the full event next year.
Struck A Nerve ****
Catalysis ***
Mörti Viventi ****
Crusaders ****
Exaust ****
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