The War Metal scene is a name given to a bunch of Australian bands who draw influences from thrash, death, and black metal. They all play very fast, evil, chaotic sounding music. Guitar solos come out of nowhere in a frenzy of riffs and pummelling drums, and vocals typically consist of raspy death growling. This is one of my favorite scenes because of the extreme energy of the bands involved. Destroyer 666 is the most well-known of the bands, but there are several others. The scene gets its name because many of the bands prefer lyrical themes about warfare. Many of the band members switch from one band to another frequently.
Here are just some of the bands involved in the war metal scene:
ABOMINATOR
Abominator was discussed briefly in one of the reviews, so I won't go into too much detail here. Abominator was one of the earlier bands in the scene. They took the groundwork laid by groups like Slaughter Lord and added various extreme elements to it. Abominator is much more of a death metal band with black and thrash influences than many of the other bands. They are heavier, dirtier, and rawer than some of the others. The band is still active, although they have not released anything since 2006.
ATOMIZER
Atomizer is probably my favorite band from this scene, next to Destroyer 666. Atomizer started off playing a style of blackened thrash with death metal influences. The vocals were harsh and extreme and there really was not anything making them different from the litany of other bands that played that style. Then, they started experimenting a little bit with a cleaner sound. It's tough for me to tell just what their other influences are, but the music got significantly catchier. The vocals were still harsh but were not quite as raspy, they were more spoken that screamed and it was much easier to tell what Jason Healey was saying. The music was a little more restrained, still fast with driving drums and frequent guitar solos, but not as out of control as it was previously. The music was calculated to be infectious and the band succeeded. They went a little too far away from the thrash sound on their final album, which was not as good as their prior albums. Unfortunately the original drummer Suds died in 2006 which is why the band split. A great band who had a bright future, it's unfortunate.
BESTIAL WARLUST
Along with Abominator, Bestial Warlust was one of the earliest bands in this scene. Unlike Abominator, Bestial Warlust has split up. However, their influence can be heard in many of the other bands. Bestial Warlust also played an extremely raw and brutal style of death metal with black and thrash influences. The production value on their albums is terrible, making them a little difficult to hear well, but the speed, power, harsh vocals, and blazing guitar solos that make up the war metal sound are all here. While Bestial Warlust was still together, guitarist KK Warslut formed a side project called Destroyer 666, the leading band in the scene. The band recorded two full length albums, each one extremely ugly and brutal.
DESTROYER 666
Destroyer 666 is probably the most well-known band in the scene. I have discussed Destroyer 666 before, so I won't go into a lot of detail here. They play a frequently evolving mix of black, death, and thrash metal. On their earlier recordings, they were mostly a black metal band but they began mixing in the other genres as they continued to record. The most recent full length Cold Steel...For an Iron Age was essentially just blackened thrash and was an amazing album. They have recently posted a new song on their Myspace, so apparently a new album is coming, finally.
DESTRUKTOR
Destruktor is very similar in style to later Destroyer 666 and for good reason as former members of Destroyer 666 are in this band. They play mostly blackened thrash metal with some death metal influences. Their sound is fast, chaotic, and powerful. They play thrashy riffs with a heavy bass tone and feature similar raspy screams as Destroyer 666. They are not real well-known yet as they have only released a couple of EPs, splits, and demos, but they are a force to be reckoned with.
GOSPEL OF THE HORNS
As ugly-sounding as many of the bands in this scene are, few hold a candle to Gospel of the Horns. Gospel is the only band that is far more influenced by black metal than thrash or death, other than the earliest recordings by Destroyer 666. The vocals of Mark Howitser are extremely raspy and half-growled at the same time. He achieves a tone rarely heard before, actually sounding like some of the instrumentation at times. Gospel does use a better production than many of the other bands from the area, but that doesn't make their sound any less filthy. The band's status is constantly changing, it would appear at this time that they have split up, but they tend to reunite quickly.
GRENADE
I am not entirely convinced of Grenade's inclusion in this scene. They seem to meet the style requirements, playing mostly blackened thrash with some death metal elements. The riffs are similar, the tremolo swirling guitar riffs are there, the vocals are raspy, but the lyrical theme is different. Grenade, despite the band's name, does not actually deal much with warfare. Many of their themes are anti-Christian, humorous, or about metal. Grenade is kind of a throwback band, with a lot of speed metal parts, solos that whizz by, and strange lyrical themes, it's easy to imagine them coming out of the 1980's. They have only released one full length so far, but it is a good one.
RAZOR OF OCCAM
Razor of Occam is a band made up of Shrapnel and Matt from Destroyer 666. The band plays music mostly similar to Destroyer 666's Cold Steel. The lyrical themes do not always deal with warfare, choosing instead to deal with diverse themes. The band is actually on Metal Blade, which is a surprise for a mostly underground movement. Their first full length Homage to Martyrs was released earlier this year and is a frontrunner for album of the year at this point.
SLAUGHTER LORD
Slaughter Lord is another band that really doesn't belong in this scene, but I am mentioning them only because they were a major influence on it. Slaughter Lord is more of a thrash metal band taking influences from German thrash metal bands like Sodom and Destruction. They are long since broken up and only released three demos in the 1980's. The demos were collected together and released as a compilation in 1998. Other influences on the scene included Sadistik Exekution, Hobbs' Angel of Death, and Blasphemy (from Canada).
TRENCH HELL
Trench Hell is a relatively new band to the scene. They wear their very clear Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influence on their sleeve, even covering the classic "The Third of the Storms" on their demo. They do play a little faster than the much doomier Swiss icons, but with the same punk energy, down-tuned riffs, menace, and even a pretty good approximation of Tom Warrior's husky grunting vocals. Thus far, Trench Hell has only released a demo, and EP, and a promo for the EP. I am eagerly anticipating a new full length album. Hellhammer worship is never a bad thing.
URGRUND
Urgrund is one of the lesser-known bands in this scene. Urgrund plays a slower form of thrash metal with black metal influences and filthy-sounding production. The band basically sounds like a combination of Kreator and Mayhem. The band is not as chaotic-sounding as groups above like Abominator and Gospel of the Horns. Instead, they are a little bit more restrained in the speed department, but make up for it in the heaviness. This band is extremely heavy.
Other bands that I have yet to hear include: Denouncement Pyre, Nocturnal Graves, and others.
