1. Zombie Creeping Flesh 2. Steel Teeth (The Metal Jaw) 3. Zombie Kommand 4. Atomizer 5. Fortified Zone 6. Racists! 7. Scientists? 8. Hell Trucker 9. Nuke The Skeets 10. Skellington Crew 11. Bullet Belt 12. The Survival Option (bonus) 13. M.A.D. (bonus)

For a band labeled as thrash metal, Gama Bomb's debut album turned out to be somewhat lacking. Apart from occasional short speed bursts, Survival Of The Fastest sounds surprisingly restrained, as if the band were continuously holding back. At least the fastest pieces like Atomizer and Scientists? seem more satisfactory in this company, despite their generally average qualities. As every track here is on the short side, the album doesn't get too dull although its expendable nature is quite obvious. There is hardly any deep message behind it all, the lyrics are mostly pretty silly, and everything tends to demonstrate that it was not the band's goal to create a new milestone in thrash metal. Survival Of The Fastest is not as bad as it may appear, it's just hard to get enthusiastic over the result when you consider all the competition around nowadays.

1. Zombie Blood Nightmare 2. Evil Voices 3. Final Fight 4. Time Crime 5. Global Warning 6. OCP 7. Hammer Slammer 8. Sentenced To Thrash 9. Zombi Brew 10. Hell Trucker 11. Return Of The Technodrome 12. Thrashaholic 13. In The Court Of General Zod 14. Space Invaders 15. Bullet Belt

In comparison to Gama Bomb's early works, Citizen Brain removes all doubts, being a release full of almost non-stop high-speed thrashing with a sharp sound quality. But although the songs are quite short and compact and the speed is more than sufficient, this album can have a downright numbing effect on you. Except for some bizarre lyrics that draw elements from various areas of pop culture, there are very few distinctive features to speak of, and most tracks just resemble each other more than really necessary. Despite some similar attitude, Gama Bomb's music does not express the same kind of spontaneous energy and imagination as Municipal Waste, for example. Citizen Brain is like a thrash metal equivalent of popcorn - it may be good in small snippets, but if you take too much then it can become nauseating, to say the least.

1. Slam Anthem 2. New Eliminators Of Atlantis B.C. 3. Three Witches 4. Last Ninjas Unite 5. Escape From Scarecrow Mountain 6. Mussolini Mosh 7. We Respect You 8. Apocalypse 1997 9. Return To Blood Castle 10. Polterghost 11. Skeletron 12. Mummy Invasion

If Tales From The Grave In Space had been composed around the same time as Citizen Brain, they could have been released together as a double album, that's how similar to each other they sound. In this sense, satisfaction or the lack of it is almost guaranteed to those already familiar with the band. The music is again constantly fast and fairly fluent, and speed hounds will get everything they can hope for from this one. On the other hand, the songs effectively lack all hooks, and without knowing the performer it could be difficult to guess the band based on the sound of it only. From a technical point of view there's nothing left to add, and Gama Bomb's relentless musical hack and slash is kind of respectable. Now it would be a good time to give songwriting some more thought in order to raise their next album above the forgettable level.

1. Endangered Species 2. Fossilized 3. Shock Treatment 4. Victims Of Science 5. Gutter Rats 6. Walking Plague 7. Chemical Imbalance 8. Incubus 9. Observations

This little rarity provides raw energy in its most pure form. Gammacide's Victims Of Science is close to being the definite prototype of rapid fire in musical format - during the nine tracks the band don't show even the slightest hint of slowing down for a second. The feel of this album can remind you of Aggression from Canada though the production is definitely better, as both bands seem to share the same kind of undisputed attitude and immense intensity in their music. Even the roaring vocals on this album carry a close resemblance to Aggression's style, almost bordering on being overdone but still blending seamlessly with the crushing sound wall that this album so wonderfully builds up. In this sense, the level of extreme aggression that Gammacide delivered on Victims Of Science is admirable - although the result inevitably lacks some nuances, the impact on a careless listener can equal to a medium shock treatment.

1. Defeating The Gods 2. Trenchcoat Justice 3. Raped To Death 4. Unleashing The Disease 5. Hurricane Of Blood 6. Violent Obsession 7. Civil War 8. Death In The Gaschamber

The debut release of Gaschamber sounds good. This is fast and vigorous thrash metal, many signs suggesting that the band's style was modeled after Slayer's more frantic moments. There are no progressive aspirations whatsoever, the tempo hardly ever slows down, and the vocal tone is even surprisingly gimmick-free in the most straightforward shouty vein. It should be taken for granted that with this kind of approach the songs are going to sound quite similar to each other, but as most tracks stop around the three minute mark, the album may eventually feel almost unusually short and compact, therefore effectively avoiding real boredom. While this recording surely does not make a milestone of great significance in thrash metal, it could be used as a fine example of how to go back to basics and do it with style.

1. The Fallen Race 2. Yossarian 3. The Last Letter 4. Catching Broadness 5. D.I.O.W. To S.Y.S. 6. Necropolis 7. Among The Lies 8. Self Centered Ultradeath (S.C.U.D.)

Geisha Goner's impressive heavy attack greets you right at the start of Catching Broadness. Another long lost thrash metal release from Poland, this album unarguably has a very powerful sound and feel, but for some reason it doesn't quite catch on. This happens maybe only because of the fact that the songwriting appears patchy at best. The band's performance is considerably strong and you are tempted to think that there is an enthusiastic attitude behind it all, therefore it is a slight pity that these tracks seem to be filled with technical touches just for the sake of it. Insert a couple of actually catchy riffs somewhere, and it might have worked out better in the end. Now you are left with an album full of potential that is never really fully realized, just continously hinted at. Without truly memorable songs you can get only so far.

1. Over The Oversight 2. Profitable Losses 3. Bastard Death 4. Mortal Glare 5. Designation 6. Sorrow 7. Morbid Murdering 8. Bloody Property 9. Stinking Masses 10. Useless Child

It's certainly a rare event to find old thrash metal created in Slovakia, but with Gladiator's Designation that is actually one of the least surprising things. Listening to this album for the first time, you'd be hard pressed not to check if someone had actually slipped an old Sepultura demo recording in the player by accident. Consider the semi-complex song structures, the general sound of the band, especially the vocals that are an exact match for Max Cavalera from the late eighties, and Gladiator's debut is essentially Sepultura through and through. Naturally the result doesn't exactly come across as a highly original piece of work, but as an extremely close impersonation of the band's way more famous counterparts from Brazil, it more than fits the purpose. If albums like Schizophrenia and Beneath The Remains are the high staples of your collection, Designation is well worth checking out, even if for the curiosity value only.

1. Made Of Pain 2. Blood 3. Sound Of Deep Silence 4. Warsouls 5. Creator Of Hell 6. No Fate 7. Debtor Of Rest 8. My World 9. Your World 10. For All Gods

Making some difference from Gladiator's debut, the style of Made Of Pain is generally a lot more straightforward than the one heard on Designation. While this does clearly reduce reasons for direct Sepultura comparisons, the outcome sounds more typical and unsurprising than the band's previous release ever did. Although it can be refreshing to hear this kind of no-tricks thrash metal every now and then, Gladiator were hardly alone in this field - which in turn leads from one major problem to another. In other words, you cannot help but feel that you've heard this already countless times before. Made Of Pain is fairly listenable but undeniably very basic, making it just a bit difficult to become too enthusiastic over this one. In comparison, Designation is still the more interesting recording of these two, even taking into account its blatant unoriginality in a certain different way.

1. Skankin 2. Living To Survive 3. Stryker 4. Bedlam 5. Tormentor 6. Killer Instinct 7. Stand Up And Fight 8. Fought For Death

Gothic Slam's style may be best described as urban thrash metal with a certain kind of "street credible" sound. The band's debut Killer Instinct is a fairly energetic release but naturally not too distinctive, although the music itself is basically fine. The first couple of tracks sound particularly fresh and vivid and can inspire the listener to jump around just for the sake of it, but the rest of the album gets a little repetitious and doesn't quite manage to raise the same level of enthusiasm anymore. Still, there's something undeniably positive in Gothic Slam's sound, which compensates for some lack of appeal in other areas. Killer Instinct is certainly not the most impressive thrash metal album around, but it serves its purpose as a provider of brief amusement well enough.

1. Why Not? 2. Who Died And Made You God 3. Battered Youth 4. Thunder And Lightning 5. Feel The Pain 6. Cry Freedom 7. Violence Imprisoned 8. Keep The Faith 9. Demented Obsession 10. Contract Killer

For their second album Gothic Slam seemed to adopt some influences from Nuclear Assault although the band did preserve their customary, even slightly original sound. Just A Face In The Crowd is not very heavy for a thrash metal album, but some of its appeal comes from the light street sound of the music. Although there are no actual highlights among these songs, the overall feel of this album is quite smooth and entertaining. By accident, it became noticeable that Gothic Slam's music can work particularly well in the background, whether this should be taken as a praise or not. While this is not an outstanding release by any means, Just A Face In The Crowd does actually provide a fairly good flow of music.

1. Evil 2. The Plague 3. Kill Again 4. Future Daze 5. Eroticide 6. The Pit 7. Solitude 8. Out Of Control 9. Graphic Violence

Released around the time when it was a rare event to see a new proper thrash metal album coming out, the full-length debut of Graphic Violence would have deserved another look already based on its historical context. In practice, despite little or no competition upon its release, this album appears more promising than outright impressive. The production is of the standard fare, suitably emphatic and clear, and technically everything should be quite fine. The problem is that the songs don't draw too much attention - while there is enough of audible effort, the mundane style does not result in much praise. The vocals are also somehow off the target, sounding occasionally like an external addition rather than an integral part of the band's output. Certainly this is an interesting album even considering the time frame alone, but it is better not to expect anything highly noteworthy here.

1. Hatred Burns 2. Rat Race 3. Sown By Greed 4. Don't Walk Away 5. Distrust 6. Eternal Curse 7. Blind From The Facts 8. Resist 9. Blood Lust 10. The Judgment Day

If there had to be any specific details worth highlighting from Grief Of War's debut album, the selection might not include much else than the lengthy title. While A Mounting Crisis... As Their Fury Got Released is fairly adequate from a pure technical point of view, real inspirational moments are few and far between. Arguably the guitar has some commendable cool moments, mainly during intros and solos, but most of the time the riffs and vocal parts on this album turn out to be quite ordinary. The band's sound has something of a forced feel around it, and the music does not quite flow in an optimal way. Especially the slower songs here can be quite dull experiences to wade through. Although Grief Of War's style is not without potential, at least this full-length album seems more likely to have a numbing effect on a casual listener.

1. Lunatic 2. God Cries! World Dies! 3. World Of Chaos 4. The Sin Of The Blackest Dye 5. Dig Your Own Grave 6. The Dead To Be Judged 7. Struggle

Grim Force could be initially viewed as a band of fair interest already for their Ritual Carnage connections. But while Circulation To Conclusion admittedly shares some of the grim and determined feel that the other group's early works became known for, the overall result is much less exciting. If you happened to hear only one random song from this release, the experience could lead to a careful nod of approval, but a whole album of the same seriously starts to repeat itself very quickly. The vocals are quite hoarse barks, which effectively adds to the depressive tone of the whole. There may be some powerful spirit behind it all, but the lack of catchy riffs or practically any uplifting elements makes it a bit too tiresome to listen through this recording without having a break every now and then.

1. Obsession 2. Dawn For The Living 3. Sinners Exile 4. Magician 5. Frenzied Hatred 6. Dying Flesh 7. Delirium 8. Traitor 9. F.O.A.D.

Grinder's first album does not exactly represent the most typical German thrash metal of the eighties. Instead, the style of this music is somewhat closer to the American scene of the time. Dawn For The Living features some basic, adequate thrash metal that in a way sounds awfully generic and undistinguishable. Technically there is little to complain about and the band maintain some fair speed, but as a whole this thing is about as unmemorable as it gets. A couple of tracks like the smooth Sinners Exile and the energetic F.O.A.D. are a little more convincing than the rest, but otherwise this is pretty standard stuff on all counts. Dawn For The Living is just a fair debut release, not really too interesting or anything.

1. Agent Orange 2. Dead End 3. The Blade Is Back 4. Inside 5. Just Another Scar 6. Total Control 7. Why 8. Train Raid 9. Unlock The Morgue

Compared to Grinder's debut, Dead End is a considerably smoother and better release from the band. The music is still a bit on the generic side but executed with some genuine style. At times the band actually sound like Flotsam And Jetsam around the No Place For Disgrace era but with a better production. Apart from the amusing rocker Train Raid (a song about the Dalton brothers in the old west!) these songs are not too distinctive, but the stylish delivery and attention to details make tracks like Agent Orange and The Blade Is Back pretty cool and enjoyable. Regardless of comparisons to countless other bands and the undeniably American sound, Dead End manages to give a fairly good impression in its category of polished, well-produced thrash metal.

1. Reeling On The Edge 2. Incarnation Off 3. Truth In The Hands Of Judas 4. Just Another Scar (live) 5. Dawn For The Living (live) 6. F.O.A.D. (live)

The wittily named mini album The First EP was basically just a teaser between Grinder's full-length albums. The featured three studio tracks could be directly from Dead End as the style and production are quite identical to the mentioned release. It's still good but not too remarkable or anything. As for the live tracks, I'm not exactly into live recordings but these are actually very well done - with a sound quality that rivals and even surpasses the studio albums of many other bands. Briefly put, The First EP is a satisfying Grinder release although it is also quite short and contains nothing to be considered too essential.

1. Drifting For 99 Seconds 2. Hymn For The Isolated 3. The Spirit Of Violence 4. Nothing Is Sacred 5. None Of The Brighter Days 6. Superior Being 7. Dear Mr. Sinister 8. Pavement Tango 9. The Nothing Song 10. NME

Grinder's last album doesn't differ too much from the band's proven formula, except that the generic nature of the music finally starts to show signs of wearing out. Nothing Is Sacred is not a completely pointless release, but it lacks even some of the fresh attitude present on the previous albums. Most tracks here are just as forgettable as ever, and while songs like Pavement Tango and Nothing Song may have felt like promising ideas at first, they do not work all that well in practice. One major factor contributing to the general numb feel of this album may be the production that is simply not as crisp as before. While Grinder did put out also some fairly interesting music, Nothing Is Sacred is not really one of their better albums.

1. Driven To The Wall 2. Strange Shadow 3. Gate Of Death 4. Be Cruel To The Betrayer 5. World War 3 6. Suicide!

It must be pretty obvious that Ground Zero's mini album is something of a true curiosity item, hardly well-known in its time period and even less so nowadays. Regardless of its origins in the past, Gate Of Death is quite unexceptional for a thrash metal release. The style is rather ordinary and forgettable in every sense, and none of these songs could be seen as a serious candidate in the contest for most memorable moments in thrash metal. It must be said that the rough sound quality only makes everything appear more authentic as far as pure underground mentality goes. Ultimately this is just a typical collector's release - it may be worth hunting for in order to fill an empty slot, but it would be quite surprising to hear about someone appreciating this thing for its actual content.

1. Executioner 2. Grave Desecrator 3. Leprosy 4. Guillotine 5. Death Penalty 6. Crucifixion 7. Night Stalker 8. Tormentor 9. Total Mayhem 10. Violence

Under The Guillotine is an amusing album. Among the peculiar group of blatant "retro" thrash metal bands that surfaced in the mid-to-late nineties, Guillotine were not as cute as Cranium but not as wooden as Witchburner either. Every song is played at an identical tempo, and drumming is so steady that the drummer must have been a real machine - probably literally. You can't deny that these tracks are almost insanely catchy though also awfully similar to each other, and the neat guitar leads definitely stick out. In fact, all songs are practically so sleek that without the rough vocals this album could be almost considered as an option for background music in supermarkets. With short and uncomplicated tracks like these, Guillotine's music is like bubblegum thrash metal of a sort, suitable for a soft introduction to the topic but probably of less value to more experienced listeners.

1. Insane Oppression 2. Rebellion 3. Insanity 4. Liar 5. Die / Live? 6. Skeleton City 7. Madness 8. Dying World 9. Welcome To Dying (Death, Destruction And Pain) 10. War 11. Our Darkest Day 12. Blood Money

With a surprising return to the music scene, Guillotine demonstrated notable development since Under The Guillotine. The band's new incarnation sounds actually quite similar to Destruction these days, with a major difference that Blood Money practically runs circles around D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. The fast and furious Insane Oppression opens the album in a highly convincing fashion, closely followed by almost equally hard-hitting Rebellion. It is easily noticeable that most songs pretty much follow the same formula from start to finish, but the structure of the album is generally well thought-out and the pacing is good. Although Blood Money sounds quite different from Guillotine's debut release, it is certainly a lot more street-credible as well as entertaining performance - not a masterpiece but easily worth the time.

1. My Satanic Rite 2. Kill Again Tonight 3. Graveyard Fantasies 4. Invert The Cross 5. Thor 6. Ashes To Ashes 7. Logarithm 8. Hasta La Vista 9. Priest Of Lucifer 10. Strike Of Death

Although the name of Gumo Maniacs may not ring a bell unless you keep a close track of every single band out there, based on their music this group is not among the most unnecessary recent acts. Priest Of Lucifer starts in a very convincing way, as My Satanic Rite must be one of the fastest opening tracks ever heard on a thrash metal album. The overall direction turns out to be more varied than that, though. While a few songs like Invert The Cross run in the same kind of unrestricted and outright unstoppable vein, the album as a whole does not take the speed as deliberately over the top all the time. The most important thing is that the band put enough of effort into their music to make it sound fairly interesting, even fresh at times, which is a lot more than can be usually said. A groundbreaking or even particularly memorable release Priest Of Lucifer is not, but it surely deserves a closer look.