One vocalist dead and another “You are dead to me,” Gary Holt keeps it alive with Rob Dukes. Like the thrash purity of Peter Dolving returning to The Haunted.
Sad rock/Goth rock with keys, guitar chugging (without being doom, or remotely close), this is full-bodied melodic, moody rock with a passionate vocalist.
Expecting Fiona Apple-ish, mainstream “girl group slick pop,” I was elated to hear The Ditty Bops’ spin on ragtime/jazz swing/cabaret for the 21st century.
Jupiter & Antenna were epic albums with delectable melodies at their hearts. Perfect Pitch Black hypnotically repeats refrains and riffs, leaving melody behind.
Philly’s A Life Once Lost throw guitar squawks into the dense mix, a few Euro licks, and a few Meshuggah stutters to break up the monotony of the howl.
If you’re 16 and pissed at your parents, A Wilhelm Scream make sense. Anthemic, fist-pumping choruses? Metal as fuck riffs? Self-loathing lyrics? Check ’em all.
The veteran thrash band’s brightest moments during its fabled Belladonna era, no doubt to coincide with the reunification and touring cycles of said line-up.