Tag Archives: speed metal

Friday Morning Metal – Sons of Hades – The Omen

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Coming straight out of Athens, it’s Sons of Hades with The Omen. These guys are pretty great speed metal and apparently got their start in 2023. I guess being the son of Hades would be different than being the son of the devil, given the pantheons and whatnot. I bet Hades’ kids would be relatively well adjusted, like that Zagreus. He didn’t have issues at all!

The song starts off with a killer guitar intro before kicking into gear. It’s a great frenetic pace, I bet the pit goes nuts during the song. I dig the drum fills within the chorus, they’re big and bombastic. No guitar solo in this one, but there’s some cool riffs throughout and some rhythm changes that are interesting. The song clocks in at 3 minutes and change. You probably don’t need more than that when your chorus is “Bow down to the antichrist.”

The video starts with a news report about a kid being creepy and hypnotizing people, as though he’s the spawn of satan. It’s interspersed with clips of the band that look pretty solid and not evil at all. And then the most interesting priest in the world goes out to stop the omen by the power of christ compelling them. Also there’s some wolves and creepy clouds. All together, it’s a solid video. Nice to see some acting in a music video.

Friday Morning Metal – Cruel Force – Savage Gods

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German speed metal! This week we’re checking out Savage Gods by Baden-Württemberg’s own Cruel Force. The band is made up of GG Alex, Slaughter, Carnivore, and Spider. Carnivore’s a pretty tough name. You wouldn’t want to mess with Carnivore. According to the Encyclopaedia Metallum they focus on themes of Satan, Blasphemy, and Heavy Metal Cult. I’m not sure what heavy metal cult is, but I bet they have good mixers.

The song kicks off with some guitar and drums that give off a Mediterranean vibe before dropping into the main riff. Frenetic guitars punctuate the growly metal vocals of Carnivore in a great way, and the noodly guitar fills after each line are fantastic. And the solo toward the end has just enough shred to hit the RDA for metal. The song does have a great breakdown at the end. Like they got so tired from being speedy metalheads that they need a nap. Despite the video coming out a week ago, the mix definitely sounds like 1985, especially on the drums. That kinda hollow-y echo is fun and makes me think of dragging my bench press out into the backyard in summer.

The video looks like they’re performing somewhere in Greece. Or like the steps of a courthouse. Lotta quick cuts between band members ensures you know who they all are. It is a little bummer they left the drummer in the recording studio. Maybe it was too expensive to ship his kit to the parthenon so he threw a tantrum and decided “he didn’t want to go to stupid Greece anyway.” I am not speaking from personal experience there, I’m just guessing why he didn’t get to go. Or maybe they won’t let him in because he said tzatziki sauce is weird.

Friday Morning Metal – Jet Jaguar – Mach 10

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Are you ready to blast off with some bigass speed metal? Coming straight out of Cancún, it’s Jet Jaguar with their blistering single Mach 10. They’ve been shredding since 2014 AND won the 2017 Wacken Open Air Metal Battle™. That’s pretty great to do three years after forming. I guess Jet Jaguar’s someone in a or many Godzillas, he’s probably stoked a band this rad is named after him.

The song kicks off with a quick drum fill before the guitars jump in. Right off the bat you can tell it’s going to be big bombastic and badass metal. The vocal harmonizing is refreshing to hear, especially as punctuation to each verse. Oooh the singer and his wingman are ready to engage. More metal songs should have jet fighter themes. There’s gotta be more than just Mach 10 and Hibria’s Tiger Punch. Hit us in the tittus if there are more. The bass is slappy and great to hear in the mix before the solo. And holy crap the guitar solo up in there with the finger taps and the sweeps picks, it’s so shreddy! Jet fuel can’t melt steel beams, but I’m pretty sure that guitarist could!

The video is just them playing in what looks like an empty office building. Or like one of the unfinished floors from Die Hard. There’s some visual overlays of jets locking on or something, which makes me wonder if they wanted to get some aerial dogfight footage to add too, but ran out of time. They should reach out to Hibria and see if they have extra footage from Tiger Punch. That’d be pretty rad.

Friday Morning Metal – Aquilla – Battalion 31

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HELL YES! HEAVY METAL WITH A TANK! Today we’re bringing you Battalion 31 by Warsaw’s on Aquilla. This is off their recently released album Sentinels of New Dawn, which sounds like a Twilight spin off. Google’s doofy AI drained one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes to tell me “Aquilla band” could refer to a Canadian metalcore band from Hamilton Ontario (go Hammer!) or a 1970’s Welsh art rock band. This band is clearly neither metalcore nor art rock, so thanks for that, Google!

Angry Metal Guy shared “Creed of Fire” in their review, which is a banger of a speed metal track. But there’s a music video for Battalion 31 and, while it’s not quite as fast, it’s still pretty great. The guitarists provide some solid noodling to kick the song off, on top of a good steady driving beat. I’m digging the vocals, he’s not trying to push too high or too low, and it fits in the tone of the song really well. Kicking off the guitar solo with a solid metal scream is fantastic. He gets a couple bites at the apple in the solo before an epic metal breakdown. The breakdown pivots into a more ballady refrain, with vocals that beg to be shouted by a whole arena of metalheads.

As I said up above, the video is the band gearing up for battle and then riding around in a big truck with space laser guns. I guess they’re Battalion 31, and they’re fighting to kill. Is a little funny there’s a “die by the sword” line in a video where they’re chucking grenades and riding tanks and stuff. It’s also interspersed with the band playing in a quarry and HOLY CRAP SOLO ON TOP OF A HILL! It’s not quite a mesa but it’s still pretty great. Seeing the whole band just standing around while the solo shreds was just a cherry on top. After the breakdown, I guess we’re seeing the aftermath of Battalion 31, torches blazing.

Friday Morning Metal – Ültra Raptör – Fossilized

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Oooh umlauted metal! Ültra Raptör is bringing crazed speed metal straight from Quebec City. Based on the umlauts I assume it’s pronounced oooltra raptuuuur, but I only took one Linguistics class so what do I know from dipthongs and glottal stops. I wonder if they know any degens from upcountry. They do know metal featuring Xenozoic Tales, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Fantasy, and more!

After a solid intro, we’re greeted with an OOOOHHH YEAHHHH before kicking into gear. Machine gun drums propel you into this dinosaur battle. Or the dinosaurs are listening to the music while they fight the little soldier dudes. Either way, the song is beefy and fast. Somehow the song is 4 minutes long and has not one, not two, but three guitar solos. Maybe four solos? If it sounds like a different guitar starts playing a different shred, is that a new solo? But if you’re feeling you’re not getting your recommended daily allowance of shred, ask your doctor if Ültra Raptör is right for you.

It’s a bummer I couldn’t find a video video of the band, but the song is just so fast and fun I had to share it. Also the picture of the cybersauruses fighting what appears to be the Earth Defense Force is shaking around, so that’s pretty fun. I hope at some point they can make this into something real. Maybe they can get the Velocipastor to join in! So c’mon Fighter Records, hook them up!

Friday Morning Metal – Phantom – The Tower of Seth

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Coming from Guadalajara and ready to shred your face off, it’s Phantom! This is The Tower of Seth, off their album Tyrants of Wrath. That’s a good album title right there. Also I had a buddy in high school named Seth who was really tall. He’s not the subject of the song, despite being a towering fella. These guys play the kind of speed/thrash metal that would fit right in as opener for Anthrax or Metallica.

The song has a good chuggy intro, giving vibes of early Metallica or 3 Inches of Blood’s Metal Woman. The intro having separate channels for lead/rhythm guitar is pretty fun, makes it feel like you’re in the middle of the band. It’s too bad the vocals are tuned down so much in the mix. It does give the rest of the band an opportunity to shine, but it also makes it sound like the singer is way in the back like “HEY GUYS I’M HERE TOO.” Maybe they mistook the vocal track for bass. There’s a pretty killer solo leading up to the video’s climax, plenty chuggy and throwback-adjacent. All in all, a really solid speedy metal song.

The video takes place out in the woods. It’s fun to see the drumsticks kind of get that rubber pencil vibe while he’s playing, I haven’t seen that before in a video. The band is playing in a stream which can’t be too comfortable, but then it’s interspersed with some like druids walking by a water treatment plant and a guy in a cape. Our caped crusader seems to be on a mission to take out a black metal band, or the druids. Except the druids have magic and summon Celtic Frost to fight him. Sadly, despite being from the band Phantom, we don’t see any Ben Affleck nor Billy Zane, he’s a cool guy.

Friday Morning Metal – Ambush – Evil in All Dimensions

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HAPPY FRIDAY Even though I do these every week I hope this one snuck up on you and Ambushed you, much like Ambush sneaks up and shreds some metal. Swedish metallers from Växjö, Kronoberg, Ambush has been melting faces since 2013. Apparently their themes are violence and war. And this video seems to cover some of that violence. Not sure about the war part.

A quick drum fill transitioning to dueling guitarmonies is a great way to kick off a song. The song itself is pretty badass and is kind of a speedy power metal. I dig the vocals and the layering/backing up that happens during the choruses. I don’t know if the rest of the band sings along, they seem to be rocking out pretty hard. Also the drummer in the leather vest, great touch. And the outdoor guitar solo on a roof or battlement! It’s the British equivalent of a mesa guitar solo! There’s also some great guitar poses by the band, can’t pass those up! All in all a pretty kickass song.

The video is like the guitarist from Alestorm woke up in a creepy Victorian house and is being chased by equally creepy bleeding children. Creepy children are the prime way to make anything scarier by at least 50%. Children of the Corn? Way creepy. Weird Blond Adults of the Corn? Sounds like an afternoon in Iowa. The house kinda looks like Hampton Court, but I don’t think the Royal Family would let a metal band get fake blood on the floor, let alone record themselves rocking out in it.

Friday Morning Metal – Crimson Storm – Abuse of Power

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More Italian speed metal! This time it’s Crimson Storm and their song Abuse of Power, from their album “Livin’ on the Bad Side” (they made a point to add the apostrophe so I made a point to include it.) This is their first full length album, and so far it’s a pretty fun shred fest.

A little feedback before jumpstarting into the song is fun, Prehistoric Dog does similar. Bet it makes it great as an “OH CRAP GOTTA GET INTO THE PIT” warning if they do it live. The singer has a solid set of pipes, hitting falsettos and harmonizing on some of the choruses. I dug on the shreddy solo, might help because the guitarist is rocking some killer fringe on his leather jacket. Add in white high tops and it definitely looks like a throwback to 1985. Clocking in at 4 minutes, the song isn’t overextending its stay, but is still chock full of shreds, driving drums, and the kind of music that’s perfect to blast out of your T-top Firebird.

The video is pretty straightforward performance on a sound stage. It does seem like they have a lot more space to work with, but they chose to be super close. Maybe they get separation anxiety and that’s the furthest they can be away from each other. Or they’re used to playing tiny stages and don’t know what happens if they spread out. Regardless, this is a rollicking great song, check it out!

Friday Morning Metal – Destruction – Fast as a Shark

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THRASH! Or SPEED! Destruction is here to kick you square in the solar plexus with Fast as a Shark. It’s a cover of an Accept song, and it shreds for a solid three and a half minutes. Minus a bit of the German folks singing something at the beginning.

The song stays pretty close to the source material, just sounding a bit more modern. Big fast drums drive the song along at breakneck pace, perhaps this is what goes through a shark’s head when they’re truckin along the ocean. Destruction’s vocalist has a good solid growl that fits on their vibe really well. Oooh yeah and a guitar solo that sounds like it’s pulling from a classical song. Those are great.

This is an “official visualizer” which I guess isn’t a music video, since it’s a series of animations and stills. There is a big fat great white shark up in there, which is rad. Parts of it do seem like filmed or something, but not much. Now I want to see a music video comprised entirely of stock footage, like all those Better Off Ted ads.

Friday Morning Metal – Angelus Apatrida – We Stand Alone

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Nothing like nutso speed/thrash metal to rouse you out of a post-Thanksgiving food coma. Angelus Apatrida is from Albacete Spain, and they bring a great level of bash your brains in drumming, chuggy guitars, and kickass vocals. This is definitely getting added to my “must concentrate, need fast metal” rotation.

The dueling guitar solo halfway through is pretty great, though I guess it’s a guitar duo. It’s fun to hear two guitars work through a solo and complement each other like that.

Also Google translate says Angelus Apatrida is Greek for “Stateless Angel” so I learned a thing today!