Tankard
Vol(l)ume 14
AFM
Street: 02.22
Tankard = Destruction + Artillery + Sodom + Kreator
Kings of beer, thrash and party metal Tankard have returned to kick some ass further and kick all the retro-thrashers that think they’re Satan’s gift to metal right smack in the balls. The aptly titled Vol(l)ume 14 is the Frankfurt, Germany-based band’s … well, 14th album. Tankard’s been thrashing shit up since 1982 and their last album, Thirst, ruled and this one kicks the shit out of Thirst. Seriously, fuck retro anything, listen to the real shit instead of silly imitators. Vol. 14 offers such lyrical insights as: rules are lame, dieting is stupid, dissing on BP’s oil spill mess, band fan boy morons, thrash-metal speed-dating and other great topics; they’re actually fun as hell and the songs immediately stick in your head. “Weekend Warriors,” is my thrash anthem as of late and I don’t anticipate it changing. There was a time when bands made records where just about every song had its quality and stood memorable; that’s exactly where Tankard’s new record lies for me—it includes great thrash riffing, some terrific guitar melodies and vocals and lyrics that get you singing in the shower after a huge hangover. I reiterate, fuck retro thrash in its lame orifices, Tankard just pissed in an empty Beck’s bottle and handed it to the retro scene. –Bryer Wharton

Woebegone Obscured
Deathstination
I Voidhanger/ATMF
Street: 01.24
Woebegone Obscured = Evoken + Disembowelment + Esoteric
Originally released in 2007 after vocalist/drummer D Woe spent time in a mental hospital, this release from Denmark’s Woebegone Obscured is getting a deservedly wider release. “Extreme doom” is the categorization because Woebegone use death, black, melodic, funeral elements to their madness the opening track “A Gust of Demention,” gets the harsh rolling out quick then quickly subdues with some transfixing and intriguing melodic semblances striking an initiation of the more maddening and depressed sounds to come. With about 45-minutes worth of music and five tracks the album is built to tear at your sanity but also keep you intrigued and hanging on every not and the songs/albums many transitions. This really isn’t worth slapping any sort of label on it, Woebegone Obscured offer an album of madness, anger, depression, confusion and frustration, close the blinds and share the pains suffered in the creation of this music. Only after we go through pain do we become stronger. –Bryer Wharton