Category 7

"Most anyone still doubting Coroner's merits as anything but "the band formed by Celtic Frost's old roadies" was likely silenced by their very impressive second album, 1988's Punishment for Decadence. Though not nearly as adventurous as their previous employers early on, the members of Coroner had the clear advantage of being incredibly gifted musicians from day one; and aesthetically, they evidently already aspired to become the thrash metal power trio equivalent of Rush by splitting songwriting duties between guitarist Tommy T. Baron and bassist/singer Ron Royce, while drummer Marquis Marky handled the lyric-writing. The analogy may seem a tad far-fetched, but though Punishment for Decadence's focus was still very much on speed (as if the players are simply relishing the joys of pulling off such complex technical gymnastics in the first place), there's no disguising Coroner's amazing compositional talents to make it all work. To be sure, songs like "Absorbed" and "Shadow of a Lost Dream" stay true to thrash metal's melody-averse philosophy, but careful listeners will notice Baron's solos becoming more musical by the minute -- especially obvious on the frenetic "Arc-Lite," which features a spellbinding workout of Yngwie Malmsteen-like speed and dexterity. More accomplished tracks like "Masked Jackal," "Sudden Fall" and the semi-industrial "The New Breed" all have their moments, but it's the excellent "Skeleton on Your Shoulder" which offers the most hints of the band's incredible output in later years. Plus, many thrash enthusiasts will find Coroner's over-the-top rendition of "Purple Haze" reason enough to investigate this rough-hewn gem." - Allmusic 

Possessed was the death metal band that featured Larry Lalonde before he went to play with Primus.

"Artillery - one of the best thrash metal bands around returns with a brand new studio album! New material entitled "My Blood" is the follow up to the highly acclaimed album "When Death Comes" from 2009! The new album contains 11 blistering tracks that fill the void between past glory and future splendor. The material was recorded between November 2010 and January 2011 at Medley Studios in Denmark with Soren Andersen as the producer. The band will promote the new album with a video clip to the track "Warrior Blood." What can we expect from the musical side of the new album' Guitarist Michael Stutzer says: "The sound is a bit more heavy than it was on 'When Death Comes.' The music is a mixture of our previous albums 'When Death Comes' and 'By Inheritance', with a slight touch of 'Terror Squad' and 'Fear of Tomorrow' with some oriental pieces." The producer Soren Andersen added: "There is an almost rock and roll feeling in some of the songs.""

New edition of this thrash classic is remastered, has a 20 page booklet and 4 bonus live tracks.

2018 reissue of the first album by the legendary thrash band. This was originally released on Combat.  Includes 7 live bonus tracks as well as Megadeth's 1984 three track demo.  Liner notes from Dave Mustaine.

"Seems like everyone and their mutter is re-hashing classic Teutonic thrash metal these days. That’s just peachy, as I love In the Sign of Evil as much as the next guy, but a huge part of what makes Catalyst such a satisfying spin is the fact that it explores an entirely separate branch of “thrashy” that many of us were equally obsessed with in the mid-to-late 80s: the power, progressive, technical, whatchamahoozit faction occupied by bands such as Heathen, Realm, Heretic, et al. These bands also marched under thrash’s speedier clip, but they cleaned up the raw ‘n’ callous technique of the Sodoms and Kreators of the day in favor of a tidier, more melodic approach that appealed to a broad spectrum of fans. By the time 1990 rolled around, the immensely distinctive puffy white high-top footprint was found in nearly every corner of the globe, and every hair-farming kid on the block was doing what they could to emulate the style.Prototype‘s whole approach falls neatly within this camp, but it also tosses in just enough modern era touches as to not sound purposely throw-back. So while I could easily imagine each member spent a good part of their youth endlessly spinning records such as Blessing in Disguise and Twisted into Form, the more modernized riffing that favors a crunchy, scooting form of aggression also makes it apparent that the band has spent an equal share of time studying the rejuvenating techniques employed by enduring bands such as Testament and Forbidden, or even any of the more progressive/power-slanted bands like Nevermore or Communic.But aggression is only a fraction of Catalyst‘s overall intention. The album’s true selling point is how well the band manages to meld animus with simple beauty, whether it be through an infectious chorus, or via the countless mellow stretches that crop up throughout the album. The bulk of the tunes are long (four out of twelve hit 7+ minutes), so ample time is given to exploring multiple shades of a fundamentally dark atmosphere driven by smooth shifts in tempo. And the lead guitar work that jumps into the spotlight every few minutes is some of the tastiest I’ve encountered on an album of this ilk in some time — melodic as balls, and exquisitely precise, but never quite extending into unduly noodly or bloated terrain.Catalyst‘s biggest transgression is that it’s too long for its own good. That may seem silly, considering the band’s last release was six years ago, but it’s something that’s noticeable when trying to fully absorb twelve songs in one sitting that stretch to over an hour long. The band does, however, do an admirable job of mixing things up — not just musically, but vocally as well. Vince Levalois primarily employs a gravelly style quite reminiscent of the late 80s/early 90s thrash scene in the US (think Meliah Rage, Faith or Fear, etc.), but later songs also adopt a rather satisfying ‘deathish rasp’ akin to Mitch Harris to further supplement the album’s harsher angles.Perhaps I don’t spend enough time digging through the proper channels, but it seems increasingly rare to find modern bands doing this particular style this effectively. In that regard, Catalyst sounds weirdly refreshing when stacked against all the young bands exploring the more aggressive side of the spectrum. Hell, a number of folks probably wouldn’t even consider material such as this to be thrash, which is fine, really. Whatever you want to call it — power, progressive, technical, what-the-hell-ever — Catalyst, when stripped to its core, simply exemplifies ‘good heavy metal.’ Remember the days when we were happy with just that? And for those of you already familiar with the band through any of their previous releases, I have a feeling you’ll be very pleased with the direction Prototype is about to take you." - Your Last Rites