The new album from Dreamlord, Artificial Imprisonment is an album that "explores the inner struggle of man with artificial isolation, digital addiction and modern social alienation" through the medium of a damn good thrashing (to quote Basil Fawlty).
Having formed way back in 1995 but not really realising anything significant until 2007's Dreamlord compilation, much of this due to military service. Their full length debut came out in 2019 but in the midst of a pandemic they started writing a follow up as if making up for lost time, they enters the studio on 2023 and out of that came Artificial Imprisonment.
From the title track you can pinpoint the influences on offer here, Dreamlord owe plenty to Megadeth and early Metallic with a bit of Testament in there's too. Essentially a Greek band playing Bay Area thrash that snarls with political and ideological anger.
Babis' rhythm guitars are razor sharp, all down picked and rapid, while he shouts down the mic with a sneering thrash tone that you would think comes from the USA. Behind him is the rhythm section of bassist Christos Peveretos and drummer Nikos Kousounis who add an Anthrax like bounce to No Room For The Dead and a mighty chug to Against Control or the while with No Way Out they take a more measured approach.
There's of course some lead guitars, these being the realm of Yiannis Glykiotis who widdles away gleefully when he's not doubling down on the thrashing with Global Decay.
Artificial Imprisonment brings American thrash from Greece and I'm here for it. 8/10
Blizzard - Forgotten Gods (Self Released)
Some classic heavy metal from Thessaloniki now and it's another band with a potted existence, their most recent reactivation being 2018 and this has led to their first official album entitled Forgotten Gods. Now they have plenty of experience behind them and as they entered Infected Studios with George Stournaras to record this album of music that owes an awful lot to the NWOBHM style crossing into power and thrash metal too.
Blizzard - Forgotten Gods (Self Released)
Some classic heavy metal from Thessaloniki now and it's another band with a potted existence, their most recent reactivation being 2018 and this has led to their first official album entitled Forgotten Gods. Now they have plenty of experience behind them and as they entered Infected Studios with George Stournaras to record this album of music that owes an awful lot to the NWOBHM style crossing into power and thrash metal too.
The title track is very Iron Maiden as is the galloping (courtesy of Giorgos' bass) Hunters In The Dark, the bass is also the way they lock down the strutting Moonlight as they shift to some sleazy 80's sounds. On the other side of things Alexis Alexandri and Aggelos Eleftheriadis lead the charge with some twin guitar antics on Sum Of Your Fears and Gardens Of The Light where the marching drum beat of John Filippidis drives the track. Vocally Andreas Oikonomidis is muscular and low giving off the style of the US power style rather than the European one.
After a long existence Forgotten Gods is full of NWOBHM riffs and is a strong debut from Blizzard. 7/10
Toxic Terror - Isolation (Self Released)
Cretan thrash from Heraklion based Toxic Terror now as the faster style of thrashing is unleashed from the first moments of Empty Shell and never really relents. Many of the modern thrash bands try to outpace each other and Toxic Terror do the same, with less influence from Megadeth and Metallica and much more from the scuzzy speed metal sounds of Overkill, Nuclear Assault and Exodus.
Toxic Terror - Isolation (Self Released)
Cretan thrash from Heraklion based Toxic Terror now as the faster style of thrashing is unleashed from the first moments of Empty Shell and never really relents. Many of the modern thrash bands try to outpace each other and Toxic Terror do the same, with less influence from Megadeth and Metallica and much more from the scuzzy speed metal sounds of Overkill, Nuclear Assault and Exodus.
Isolation is as old school as it gets vicious and stays vicious, the guitars like laser guided missiles, the vocals raw and the drumming full of snare on tracks like Song Of Sadness. It's only Imprisonment that slows down a little before getting nearer to death metal than any other track. Then it's back to speed and if Against The Wall, doesn't get you wanting to run in a circle then I don't know what's wrong with you.
There's plenty of mosh-minded, technical thrash from Toxic Terror to enjoy on Isolation. 7/10
Pellocuse - Burst In Exosphere (Self Released)
Concluding our journey through the Greek thrash/classic metal scene it's another debut album this time from Thessaloniki's Pellocuse. Now Pellocuse are a much younger band than the others we've featured here, not that you can tell as they deliver a mature debut on Burst In Exosphere. Again there's Testament in their sound as soon as your hit play on Underworld, but with Seekers they bring a little bit of classic metal in the leads taking from Motorhead here.
Pellocuse - Burst In Exosphere (Self Released)
Concluding our journey through the Greek thrash/classic metal scene it's another debut album this time from Thessaloniki's Pellocuse. Now Pellocuse are a much younger band than the others we've featured here, not that you can tell as they deliver a mature debut on Burst In Exosphere. Again there's Testament in their sound as soon as your hit play on Underworld, but with Seekers they bring a little bit of classic metal in the leads taking from Motorhead here.
As they are a new band Pellocuse try to do a lot with their debut, they slow down with Terminal Image and the middle section of Irrational before the solos kick in, they have a bit of atmospheric interlude on Morphine before Substance At Fault takes in some Death Angel prog. The production is very D.I.Y, making for a rough listen but then that never really effects thrash too much as it's made for being a bit raw.
Burst In Exosphere is a debut with a load of talent, if you're a thrash fan you'll be liking what you here. 7/10
Pellocuse!!! 🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽
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