The Lord of The Wasteland Speaks

Like black metal? Like thrash metal? Like a little bit of both? If so, then Toxic Holocaust is a band you need to check out. Now. They combine the old school metal sound of bands like Venom and Bathory and the punk sound of bands like Discharge. I talked with guitarist/vocalist Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust by phone earlier this week to discuss everything from his band's new album to the color of his hair.

The Metalman: How are you doing today?

Joel Grind: I'm doing good, man.

The Metalman: Are you ready to get started?

J.G.: Let's go!

The Metalman: Are you guys on tour right now?

J.G.: No, we've actually been off for a bit. We're taking a few months off just to wait for the new record to come out. We toured a lot for the last record so it was time to take a break and get started fresh and do the cities over again in the U.S. We're going to do some world touring and stuff on the new one. Go to Europe again and hit it hard, you know?

The Metalman: So you talked about the new album. It's called Conjure and Command, right?

J.G.: Yep.

The Metalman: And it's coming out on July 19th in the U.S.?

J.G.: Yep. That's correct.

The Metalman: You released one of the new songs on YouTube called "Nowhere To Run", right?

J.G.: Right. That was the first one.

The Metalman: It sounded a little bit different to me compared to your first two albums. Kind of more thrashy?

J.G.: Yeah. I think a lot of people have been saying it's less punky and more straight-up metal but, you know, people haven't really heard the full record yet. You can't really judge on one song. We just really chose to do that song first because we're thinking about doing a video and stuff for it so we wanted to get people familiar with it.

The Metalman: Well, personally, I like it.

J.G.: Yeah. I don't think it's that much different. A lot of people thought it was a lot different from what I've done. But, yeah, this new record is a lot more varied but it's all very extreme. That's an overused word but, you know what I mean, it's definitely been taken up a notch on this record. The new record's a lot faster and a lot more in your face. It's really an aggressive record.

The Metalman: Well I think we can all live with that. Going back to your first couple of records and even your demos it was always just you playing all of the instruments. But now there's three of you in the band, correct?

J.G.: That's correct. It's finally a full band. It took awhile but it was just one of those situations where finding the right people to do it, who wanted to put the work into being a band instead of just saying they are in a band. There's a couple kind of people that you can meet. Just because people play instruments and stuff doesn't mean they have what it takes to play in a band. And there's a lot of work that people don't realize. Last year we toured eight months in a van. We don't have a tour bus or anything like that. We drive ourselves, we sleep in the van and it's not very glamorous but we love it. You have to love it to be able to put up with the bullshit that goes along with it.

The Metalman: Did you write all the songs on the new album or did the new members contribute?

J.G.: Yeah, I actually did write all the songs again on this record. I'm at home and I kind of just demo out the stuff. Like, I use a drum machine program to kind of just get the parts ready and show to the other guys. They know. It's not me being a dictator or anything like that. It's just because I've always done it. I have the vision for the band and always move forward with it. Those guys are cool because they can realize my vision. When I want to do stuff that I can't actually pull off myself, the guys are there and it's cool.

The Metalman: That sounds awesome!

J.G.: It's great. It's a really great way of working. There's a lot of things that I hear in my head that I would never be able to play on drums, you now what I mean?

The Metalman: Who produced the record?

J.G.: We did. We recorded it and produced it ourselves. Our drummer owns a studio in Connecticut and we spent a couple weeks there and did it ourselves and got to get it the way we wanted it and not be under the gun. In the past, [the record's] cost so much money and your working with other people. I mean, I'm happy with An Overdose of Death but it's different when you do it yourself. You make it sound the way you want. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I think it sounds really heavy but it's still raw. That's the fine line I always like to walk. I like it to sound good. I don't really want it to sound like it was recorded in a trash can. But, I want it to sound still raw and heavy and I want it to sound like a band playing it. Not triggered drums that sound like anyone could have just programmed them on a drum machine.

The Metalman: Speaking of records that sound like they were produced in a trash can, I know your a big fan of band's like Bathory and Venom. How did you get into those bands? Because you have to be looking for stuff like that. That music is not just out there.

J.G.: I got into it when I was in my mid-teens. It was just one of those things. I got into the normal metal bands like Metallica and Megadeth and all that stuff from friends. And then all of a sudden when I started to buy my own music I started going to some record shops in Philadelphia when I could drive. I would go up there and go to some record stores and find stuff with really cool album covers and like occult stuff. Just stuff that really stuck out. I actually remember one trip I went on a weekend up to Philadelphia and I got Onslaught's Power From Hell. That cover just speaks to you. I saw that and I was like, man, that's gotta be good. Then I bought it and that was before eBay was even around. So it wasn't like people were eBaying records and everybody was getting them. These were like $5 records. It was in the cut-bin because thrash was so dead at that point. These were just like shitty records. It was awesome. I remember getting Voivod and Nuclear Assault all for like five bucks. I wish I'd had more money back then. I remember seeing records back then, shit that was like ten bucks that I couldn't afford. I wish that  I had bought, now, because it is worth so much more now.

The Metalman: You're from Maryland. I know you now live in Oregon but what do you think of the Maryland metal scene right now?

J.G.: You know, I don't really know about it. To be honest, I have a bunch of friends from Maryland still and my friend Tim [Paler] who runs the Diabolic Force Distribution thing in Maryland, he's a really good dude and is into all the underground stuff. You know, finding people like that was really few and far between in Maryland and that wasn't really the factor why I moved. The only difference is that Toxic still would probably be a solo project if I still lived there. The real reason why I moved is I went on tour and saw the west coast and especially Portland and I really liked it a lot so I decided to move out here. I don't really know too much about the Maryland metal scene. To me there hasn't been a lot bands that have stuck out, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any. That's not an insult to the Maryland metal scene.

The Metalman: Why do you think about the current black metal that is being released?

J.G.: There's some interesting stuff. There's this band on Relapse [Records] called Black Anvil and we did a few shows with them. I took to them because they kind of do the whole Celtic Frost kind of way. It almost sounds like Celtic Frost meets Destroyer 666. It's pretty cool, I like it a lot. There's always bands popping up. It's kind of cool because there's always new stuff in all kinds of scenes. I keep my eyes open for all kinds of stuff. I don't really focus on one style. If it's good it's good.

The Metalman: Like you said, when you got into this scene, thrash was dead. How were you able to learn those old-school vocals? Were you self-taught?

J.G.: Yeah. Just screwing around with a four track at home. Some of the old demos that weren't even released are pretty embarrassing, man. Awful. That's kind of where I honed my style. Just doing those demos.

The Metalman: What kind of guitars are you playing now?

J.G.: I always have my Gibson V's. I got a couple of those. Those are always like my standard guitar. This company that, it's kind of funny to say what it is, it's First Act. You know what that is?

The Metalman: Yeah, the people that make the guitar picks they sell at Target.

J.G.: Exactly. Like the Target guitars. They make bands like Converge, High on Fire,  and Mastodon's guitars. And they are like custom shop guitars. A lot of people from the Gibson custom shop went on to start First Act. They're awesome and they made me a white Flying V that looks kind of like the old Scorpion's V's and they would get sued if they didn't change the headstock. That's how close it is to the Gibson. It's a really cool guitar and it has a radiation symbol inlay at the 12th fret and I really like that guitar a lot. It sounds really good so I play it mostly live now. It actually stays in tune better than my Gibson. It's awesome. And then I have a Les Paul that I use for home stuff. It's too big. Les Paul's are really heavy and bulky and for the thrash kind of stuff it's really hard to play those live. If I was playing slower stuff I could understand it but with thrash and speed picking and stuff it's hard. And then, standing up with a strap. But, yeah, that's usually what I play. I put JB humbuckers and Seymour Duncans in all my guitars. I've tried a lot of other stuff. I've tried the active stuff but the passive pick-ups are better for me.

The Metalman: Any new bands that you are into these days?

J.G.:  Yeah. Let me think. There's a band called Murderous from Portland. They're really cool. They're more d-beat kind of punk stuff. Midnight from Ohio is really cool. Hmmm. Man, you put me on the spot. I can't really think of anything right now. That's the ones that come off the top of my head right now.

The Metalman: I got one final question that I have to ask you. Is your hair dyed?

J.G.: Oh, yeah. (laughing) Yep.

The Metalman: Alright, I'm gonna let you go. Thanks for the interview.

J.G.: Yeah, no problem, dude.

The Metalman: Have a good day.

J.G.: You to.

You can check out Toxic Holocaust's new song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iSzL26B2HI

You can pre-order Conjure and Command on iTunes or here: http://www.amazon.com/Conjure-Command-Toxic-Holocaust/dp/B0052SNNWW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306607577&sr=8-1

The Hall Awaits-Slayer Thrash Metal Hall of Fame Class of 2011

One of the most famous thrash bands came together because of a pizza delivery.

In 1981 bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King were playing in a band called Quits when future drummer Dave Lombardo met King while delivering a pizza. The rest is thrash metal history.

The band began playing Judas Priest and Iron Maiden covers live and were discovered by Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel, who signed the band to a record contract.

In 1983 Slayer would record and release their debut album Show No Mercy on Metal Blade Records. Metal Blade did not pay for the record to be made so Araya and King had to use their own money to pay for the recording. Show No Mercy quickly became the best selling record in Metal Blade history. The band went on their first tour in 1984 playing with future thrash legends Venom and Exodus.

In 1984 the band went into the recording studio once again. This time to record an EP entitled Haunting the Chapel. Following the release of the EP, guitarist King decided to join Megadeth and played a few shows with the band. After returning to Slayer, a decades long feud would develop between King and Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine.

By 1985 Slayer had recorded their second studio album. This time, however, Metal Blade agreed to finance the release. The album, entitled Hell Awaits, is often cited as Slayer's most progressive effort and became well-known for the controversy that it generated. The title track featured a backmasked demonic sounding voice repeating "Join us" and the album artwork showed demons ripping people up as they were damned to hell.

Following Hell Awaits, Slayer would be signed to major hip-hop label Def Jam Records in 1986. Their first album on the new label, Reign In Blood, was considered an instant thrash classic and would be certified Gold for sales of over 500,000 units. Much like Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood generated lots of controversy before and after it's release. Def Jam distributor Columbia Records refused to release the album due to it's graphic cover artwork and the song "Angel of Death" was criticized by many people  who were offended due to it's perceived sympathy for Nazi physician Josef Mengele. Regardless of the controversy, the album managed to reach number 94 on the Billboard 200.

After the 28 minute assault that was Reign In Blood, Slayer decided to release a slower, longer album as it's follow-up. 1988's South of Heaven initially received mixed reviews, with guitarist King stating, "that album was my most lackluster performance," and Rolling Stone Magazine calling it, "genuinely offensive Satanic drivel." Despite the reviews the album debuted at number 57 on the Billboard 200 and is today considered a classic Slayer record with future live staples "South of Heaven" and "Mandatory Suicide" included on it.

In 1990 the band decided to return to playing fast songs while keeping some of the more melodic qualities from their previous effort. The resulting album was Seasons in the Abyss. Seasons debuted at number 44 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold within two years. The album spawned Slayer's first hit single and music video in the title track. The band joined Megadeth, Anthrax, and Testament in 1991 on the Clash of the Titans Tour. In the middle of the tour drummer Dave Lombardo quit the band.

Lombardo's replacement, Forbidden drummer Paul Bostaph,  would appear on the bands next three studio albums: 1994's Divine Intervention, 1998's Diabolus in Musica, and 2001's God Hates Us All. God Hates Us All would once again see Slayer at the center of controversy. The album cover was changed in North America due to the original depicting a bloody and burned Bible with the words Slayer across the front and Bible verses crossed out in the liner notes. The album sold poorly, however, due to it's unfortunate release date: September 11, 2001.

In 2002 drummer Dave Lombardo rejoined the band and the original line-up has appeared on the band's last two studio releases Christ Illusion and World Painted Blood. Slayer is often cited as one of the most influential thrash metal bands of all time and are considered among the "Big Four" of American thrash metal.

Do You Want To Die?

Come join The Metalman and ThrashHead at Maryland Deathfest IX at Sonar in Baltimore, Md. on Sunday, May 29th. We'll be there all day and so should you! Bands playing include: Nuclear Assault, Ghost, and Coroner.

For tickets go to: http://www.marylanddeathfest.com/tickets.html

Band Spotlight: Diamond Plate

Haven't heard of Diamond Plate? Take note now, fellow thrashers, because this is a band that could jump straight to the forefront of the New Wave of Thrash Metal.

The band are from Chicago, Illinois and are signed to Earache Records (home of Evile, Bonded By Blood, Municipal Waste, and Gamma Bomb). I chatted with lead guitarist Konrad Kupiec by phone the other day.

The Metalman: How did you guys get started in thrash metal?

Konrad Kupiec: To us itwas just kind of a natural thing, you know, we grew up listening to bands like Metallica and Testament and Pantera and all that and it was just a natural thing. It was just us kind of wearing our influences on our sleeves, so to speak. When we started we were just 15 year-old kids living in the suburbs of Chicago, not really knowing there was this whole scene about to erupt all over the U.S. of new thrash bands. We just kind of released our stuff and realized that there was already so many other bands already doing it. It was cool to become part of a scene without really knowing about it.

The Metalman: Off the top of my head I can't really think of any thrash bands from Chicago. How did you guys end up getting noticed in a town with almost no thrash scene?

K.K.: That's another thing that caught us by surprise. You know, discovering that there were so many other bands doing it all over the U.S., but that in Chicago there was really no one doing it. I guess it just gave us more motivation and put some fire under us to really start a scene out here.

The Metalman: You guys have got an E.P. called Relativity. However, I believe that you have sold out of the physical copies of that E.P., right?

K.K.: Yeah. The E.P. was released in mid-2009 and I think it sold out maybe a year ago or so.

The Metalman: I've been looking on websites like Amazon.com and iTunes and I noticed that the Relativity E.P. is available for purchase there.

K.K: Yeah, you can still get it through all the digital outlets and I'm sure it's somewhere on torrents and shit so you can definitely get it for free.

The Metalman: You guys get the money from the digital sales, right?

K.K.: Yeah. iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, all that stuff we definitely get money for still.

The Metalman: So you guys are signed to Earache Records now and you've got your new album coming out in August. Am I correct about that?

K.K: Yep, I don't think there's a set release date yet for which day in August but it'll definitely be in August. Probably within the first or second week.

The Metalman: I saw your Earache label mates Evile are also releasing an album in August. That's gotta be cool, right?

K.K: Yeah, there's comes out August 29th so our's should be a good 2 weeks before that, at least.

The Metalman: So what's the title of your debut album going to be?

K.K: The title is Generation Why?. It's a little play on words.

The Metalman: Awesome title! Are you guys still recording the record or is it finished?

K.K: The actual recording of the record has been done since February/March and by the end of April we were pretty much done with mixing and mastering it. We've just been working on artwork and all that. Apparently the record is in the production phase now. Were just waiting on Earache to release all the info to the world. So the record's been done. It's just a waiting game now.

The Metalman: Can you tell us who produced the album?

K.K: It was produced by Neil Kernon. He's worked with everyone from Cannibal Corpse to Nevermore.   He's just an absolute genius when it comes to producing metal and records period.

The Metalman: Are you guys going to have a tour to support the new record when it comes out?

K.K: Yeah, that's something that we've been working on over the past 2 weeks. We'll definitely be going out on a full U.S. tour in August/September and then we've already started planning for some stuff in the spring. I can't say anything about that yet but will definitely be touring our asses off as soon as the record comes out.

The Metalman: Planning on touring Europe any time soon or are you just sticking to the States for right now?

K.K: Just the U.S. for right now. I know Earache kind of wants to break us into the U.S. right now and then as soon as we've got some buzz going we'll bring it over to Europe and pretty much everywhere else. That's the plan.

The Metalman: Do you get to see any of the other big name acts on Earache? Are you hoping to go on tour with them?

K.K: Yeah, hopefully we'll be seeing them a lot on the road. We're good friends with Bonded By Blood.  I've met Evile a few times when they've come through Chicago. They are all really cool guys. Definitely looking forward to meeting them more and spending some time with them. Hopefully we'll tour together.

The Metalman: You mind if I ask a few guitar-related questions seeing as your Diamond Plate's guitar player?

K.K:  No, of course, man. Go for it.

The Metalman: What kind of guitars are you playing these days?

K.K: Right now my main axe is the ESP. ESP guitars are definitely my favorite. On the album I played a whole variety of guitars to get different tones. Everything from my new Gibson ES-355, which totally, totally rules, to Fender guitars for some nice clean tones. As far as live, ESP is the way to go.

The Metalman: You got anybody endorsing you at this point?

K.K: Not yet. Hopefully once we start touring and getting the name out there someone will pick us up.

The Metalman: Got any favorite amps to speak of?

K.K: Engle all the way. It's just the perfect amp for metal, I think.

The Metalman: Any favorite new bands that push you to be even better?

K.K: I think as far as The New Wave of Thrash goes my 2 personal favorites at the moment are Havok and Revocation. I been listening to them a lot lately. Them releasing really good albums has kind of been like motivation for us to kind of blow them away, in a non-competitve kind of way, of course.

The Metalman: Any non-metal bands that inspire you?

K.K.: As far as guitar playing goes, I'm really inspired by a lot of the jazz musicians. Not even guitar players. Guys like John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk are just huge influences on me, just as far as musicianship and everything. Were all huge fans of bands like Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, and Faith No More, which aren't necessarily metal but they are still huge influences on all of us.

The Metalman: I've got one more question for you and then I'll let you go.

K.K.: No problem, dude.

The Metalman: I know you guys have talked about adding a second guitar player. Have you found one yet?

K.K: We just announced a few weeks ago that a good friend of ours, Mario (Cianci), is going to be joining us full time. Up until this point we've always been a three piece. After a lot of self-evaluation and thinking about what we could improve on we all agreed that adding a second guitar player would just kind of enhance our live sound. We reached out to Mario who lives in Florida and he flew out here and auditioned and he was just the perfect guy for it. He's actually been in the band since late last year but we didn't officially announce until a few weeks ago.

The Metalman: So are you going to play lead guitar?

K.K: Yeah, predominantly him rhythm and me lead, but, I'm sure that there will be some nice twin solos on the second album and live.

The Metalman: I think that's about all I have for you.

K.K.: Awesome man. Thanks for the interview

The Metalman: Have a good day.

K.K: Later man.

Keep checking back in with Metal Up Your Thrash for Diamond Plate updates. As soon as the tour is announced we will post the dates, here.

You can purchase the Relativity E.P. here:
http://www.amazon.com/Relativity-E-P/dp/B002SL1UQ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305950857&sr=8-1

Take No Prisoners-Megadeth Thrash Metal Hall Of Fame Class of 2011

Megadeth began life with one goal. To be become better than Metallica. As band founder, vocalist, and guitarist Dave Mustaine put it, "I wanted to be heavier and faster than them." Mustaine formed the band in 1983 with bassist Dave Ellefson, and in 1984 the band recorded their first demo.

By 1984 Megadeth had a solid line-up for the first time in Mustaine, Ellefson, guitarist Chris Poland, and drummer Gar Samuelson and in 1985 recorded their first album with Combat Records, Killing is My Business... And Business is Good! While the album garnered positive reviews it was poorly produced and featured an album cover that Mustaine said made him "mortified".

In 1986 Megadeth completed their second studio album for Combat entitled Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? The album was positively received by critics and allowed for the band to be signed to Capitol Records. Today the album is considered a thrash classic and has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States.

By the time 1987 rolled around Megadeth were a band in turmoil. The drug habits of Poland and Samuleson had led to them being kicked out of the band. Chuck Behler took over for Samuelson while Poland's replacement on guitar, Jay Reynolds, was replaced during the recording of Megadeth's third album by his guitar teacher Jeff Young. 

In early 1988 the band released their third studio effort entitled So Far, So Good... So What! The album was not as well received by critics as the band's previous efforts, however, the album is certified platinum in the U.S. for sales over 1 million. So Far, So Good... So What! also contains two Megadeth songs that have long been considered fan favorites; "In My Darkest Hour,"Mustaine's tribute to late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, and "Set The World Afire," a song about nuclear annihilation.

After the world tour supporting So Far, So Good... So What! both Behler and Young were fired from Megadeth. Their replacements were Behler's drum tech Nick Menza and ex-Cacophony guitarist Marty Friedman. In early 1990 the band recorded their fourth album, Rust In Peace. The album was both a critical and commercial success and featured the hits "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due," and "Hangar 18." The album would become Megadeth's third straight album to be certified platinum.

In late 1990 Megadeth would embark on a tour called "Clash of the Titans" with fellow big four acts Slayer and Anthrax, as well as thrash legends Testament. The next year their song "Go To Hell" would be featured in the movie Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. 

Following the success of Rust in Peace, in 1992 Megadeth released their fifth album Countdown To Extinction. The album featured a more streamlined sound, not unlike what Metallica had done the year before with their self-titled album. Countdown debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned three rock radio hits, "Sweating Bullets", "Foreclosure of a Dream", and "Symphony of Destruction." To date the album is Megadeth's best selling and is certified double platinum in America.

In 1994 Megadeth released Youthanasia. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and would become Megadeth's fifth consecutive album to go platinum. The album would also yield two hit singles in "Train of Consequences" and "A Tout le Monde." 

As the 1990's progressed and metal began to fall from the mainstream, Megadeth began to go for a different sound on their next two albums. 1997's Cryptic Writings was a more hard rock oriented album that unleashed the hits "Trust", "Almost Honest", "Use The Man", and "A Secret Place" and 1999's Risk was just that, a risk. It was an almost pop album that was not well-recieved by both critics and Megadeth fans alike. Following Cryptic Writings, long-time drummer Nick Menza was let go and replaced by Jimmy DeGrasso and after Risk Marty Friedman decided to quit the band.

After the 2001 release of The World Needs A Hero Dave Mustaine entered rehab. While there he injured his arm so badly that he was told that he would never play guitar again. Mustaine disbanded the band and focused on trying to re-learn how to play the guitar.

In 2004 Mustaine re-formed Megadeth, albeit without longtime bassist Dave Ellefson. The band once again became popular following the critically acclaimed releases of their next three albums; The System Has Failed, United Abominations, and Endgame. Following the release of Endgame, Ellefson decided to re-join the band. To date, Megadeth has sold over 25 million albums and is currently touring with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax on the Big Four tour. The band are often cited as one of the most influential metal acts of all time and Dave Mustaine is frequently mentioned with the top metal guitar players of all time.

Thrash Metal Hall of Fame Inductees-Inaugural Class 2011

Voting has finished for the inaugural Thrash Metal Hall of Fame class. The bands that were nominated for induction were; Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Overkill, Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator. The three bands that received the most votes are to be inducted. Without further stalling, I would like to announce which three bands will be in the inaugural class for the Thrash Metal Hall of Fame.

One of the members of the American "Big Four" of thrash metal, Megadeth have sold over 25 million records worldwide and singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine is often credited as being the "Godfather" of thrash metal. The band are still active to this day and are currently on tour with our next inductee...

Another member of the "Big Four" Slayer may be the most extreme thrash band to gain a large following and impressive album sales. Their 1986 opus Reign in Blood is often considered to be the greatest thrash album of all time and was highly influential in the formation of both death and black metal. The band's original line-up is still intact, however, in the 1990's drummer Dave Lombardo left, later coming back.

The final inductee into the Thrash Metal Hall of Fame are Exodus. The band that kick-started Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett's career are well-known for their 1985 release Bonded By Blood. Original singer Paul Baloff was known for humiliating "posers" at shows and calling out audience members with hair metal band patches. Today, Exodus are still active and have continued to release excellent albums.

In the coming week, Metal Up Your Thrash will more closely profile these bands in a series of articles dedicated to the inaugural class of the Thrash Metal Hall of Fame.

Kreator To Begin Working On New Album

According to Kreator's official website the band have begun writing a follow-up to 2009's Hordes of Chaos. According to guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza the band already have five songs written for the new disc. For our European friends, you can catch the final part of the Hordes of Chaos tour this summer across the continent.

Ghost's Cover Blown?

I hate to do this, I really do. It goes against all of my journalistic ethics, all of my morals, and sadly one of my favorite new bands, but I do believe that the members of Ghost are from a band called, are you ready for this... In Solitude. Nope, not Fenriz from Darkthrone or Erik Danielsson from Waitain or any other famous metal band. In freaking Solitude! By this point I'm sure some of you are saying, "The Metalman has completely lost it, I wish he would just shut up". But, hold on for a second and I will tell you why I believe In Solitude and Ghost are one and the same.
I was turned on to In Solitude by the latest issue of Decibel Magazine where they are featured in the upFront profile section. They were compared by the writer to Ghost and King Diamond. Seeing as I love Mercyful Fate and Ghost I had to check these guys out. Upon looking for their records, I couldn't find them anywhere in the States so I went YouTubeing. After a quick search I found a song by them called "Witches Sabbath". While browsing through the comments I saw one stating that In Solitude doesn't sound like Ghost, Ghost sound like In Solitude because they are older. The comment above that one by a user named aocidicoa agreed that they are older than Ghost and that they just might be Ghost. After carefully listening to the vocals of both Ghost and In Solitude over a couple different songs, I was shocked at how similar their vocals were.

This strange coincidence? led me to check out In Solitude's MySpace page. Sure enough, they are signed to Metal Blade Records just like Ghost. Then I checked out different concerts that each band has played.  Funny enough, both bands are playing Maryland Deathfest at the end of May one day apart. Both bands are from Sweden and The Nameless Ghoul from Ghost certainly has a similar facial structure to In Solitude vocalist Hornper Ahman. Oh, yeah and guess who's on the cover of the new issue of Decibel with In Solitude in it? Yep, Ghost.

So are you convinced? No? Well actually, I'm not either. According to the two bands MySpace's they have shows on the same day coming up in different countries throughout Europe. It will be interesting to see if some of these shows end up cancelled, which would be a tell-tale sign. Regardless, let's enjoy both bands great retro music and maybe one day we can laugh at how ridiculous this article was. Or maybe not.

Metal Up Your Thrash On Facebook

The Metalman is proud to announce that Metal Up Your Thrash now has a Facebook page! Here's the address:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metal-Up-Your-Thrash/143635935709504

Diamond Plate To Release Debut Album

Chicago band Diamond Plate are set to release their debut album in August according to their official Twitter page:

diamondplate1 Diamond Plate 

@ 

@Vegard1010 - Thanks even more for spreading the madness! New album out in August

13 hours ago 

The band was recently signed to Earache Records. In 2008 they released their first EP titled Mountains of Madness.

Evile New Album Title Announced

U.K. thrashers Evile have announced via youtube that their new album Five Serpent's Teeth will be unleashed upon the world in August. Vocalist/guitarist Matt Drake says that the band are purposely not releasing much info about the upcoming album because they "want it to be like the old days when you went out and bought an album blind." Drake also said that the album will feature the band's first ballad, about late bassist Mike Alexander.

Metal Up Your Thrash Hall of Fame

I am proud to announce the addition of a new feature to Metal Up Your Thrash, the premier thrash metal blog on the internet! We are adding a Hall of Fame for the best thrash bands of all time. I, The Metalman, as dictator of this site will pick the nominees and then you, the readers, will select which bands you want in the Hall of Fame. We will induct three bands each year. All nominees are listed at the bottom of the site and you may choose what band you want to be in the Hall of Fame most. The three bands with the most votes will be inducted. Voting begins now, and ends in one week.