Yesterday evening I had the intense pleasure of going to one of my first local thrash metal shows in almost 4 years! As a result, I witnessed many, many necks snap to the rhythmic tempest, until they were left, trashed beyond repair. Saving my own, I opted out on the whirling tussle of headbanging, to instead listen and absorb the sights of heavy metal’s children releasing their terror, whipping in and out of view, under the warmth of the stage lights. The moments were like slices of surrealistic portraits, emblazoned with dark patches of night and nightmarish ghouls, out for the slaughter. In for the kill.
Between bands, the PA system pumped out legendary tracks from some of the underground thrash metal movements most well-respected progenitors, one being German mainstays, Sodom. The galloping strings, and the steel-like percussive pummel of their break-through record, “Agent Orange”, sneakily leaked out of the cabinets, caught me by the tail, and whipped bodies to-and-fro. Frantically, I searched for a friend who might know what these amazing noises I was hearing were, and when I found out, I slowly began a blackened descent into the thrash-extraordinary.
”Agent Orange” is a pulsating assault of metallic fury, summed up in 9 offerings of unimpeded musical technicality and speed. Lyrically, the album tells tales of the Vietnam War, and the band’s main lyricist, Tom Angelripper, paints unforgettable blood-soaked images of the murderous, war-infested jungles. From beginning to end, “Agent Orange” thrusts you a million different ways into heavy metal hell. It’s a perfect tribute to one of the greatest American militaristic follies of all time.
Beyond this reflection and in the last 24 hours, I’ve discovered more about heavy metal than I have in the last 24 years. With a whole new world of underground brutality before me and Sodom on tap, the room is filling with head-splitting, gut tearing, brutal thrash metal.
The volume in this heavy metal canine’s mind is quickly rising to 11.
Beware of the dog.
