Thrash metal is refusing to die and still has a warm place in people’s hearts (and still without paying rent, but it can stay). One can even say that extremely warm, given the excited reactions gained by our first major artist, we are going to focus. Who is none other than KERRY KING?
Mr King needs no introduction at all. He co-founded SLAYER, which was a part of the American thrash “Big Four.” They slayed with SLAYER for close to four decades and became an institution when it comes to thrash metal. But, when SLAYER decided to retire in 2019, Kerry could not just hang his guitar on the wall, take some time off, and barbecue with his family. He launched his solo project called simply Kerry King, whose all-star lineup consisted of Kyle Sanders, Paul Bostaph, Phil Demmel, and Mark Osegueda. This killer lineup released their aptly named “From Hell I Rise” in 2024 and is more than ready to raise some proper riots in the mosh pit. States is an indisputable gold mine if we talk about thrash metal. OVERKILL is another classic thrash band that emerged from the same wave that spawned Metallica and Anthrax. Overkill has been going on for close to 45 years now, and they still have the power, they still have the speed, and the will to grace old and new fans with their music. A must-see!
Relatively fresh blood is Scottish HELLRIPPER, who plays powerful black’n’roll with a strong thrash core. It’s a sole project of James McBain and nothing short of extraordinary that he is responsible for almost everything on most of his records. PROTECTOR was born in Germany but later relocated to Sweden, and they play a hybrid of thrash and death metal. They were even once considered one of the most important German thrash bands alongside KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, and SODOM, but never reached their colleagues’ popularity. Despite a few hiatuses, since 2011, they have been back in business and are there to stay. Another band that is almost criminally underrated is DARK ANGEL. They started at a similar time as all of their most prominent peers, but because of line-up changes, death taking one of the founding members, and at least two hiatuses, they never became as popular. Held like a hidden gem among fans, they have all the characteristics of a thrash metal class act – the energy, fierceness, monumental legacy.
CARNIVORE A.D was at the beginning a simple CARNIVORE, a fierce crossover thrash metal hybrid. Their most prominent member was obviously Peter Steele, who later formed TYPE O NEGATIVE. He earned his first serious music experience in CARNIVORE. The band reformed in 2017 as CARNIVORE A.D. and continues to uphold their phenomenal legacy. Californians from WARBRINGER decided to play a traditional style of thrash metal, but they don’t mindlessly copy SLAYER or METALLICA. They add some of their own unique ideas to the mix to refresh the formula. It will be a wild ride, live for sure – guys scurry as fast as a teen with a fresh new ID to the nearest liquor store. And to put a cherry on top of this rather fantastic cake, we welcome Canadian 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, who technically play heavy metal. But hey, thrash sort of derives from NWOBHM, so it would be rude to exclude an older uncle from the gathering. 3 Inches are back after a decade of hiatus and that’s fantastic news. We all need some simple, no-nonsense heavy metal in those weird times. For everyone who was too young or simply late to the party, we see each other in the pit screaming “DEADLY SINEEEEERS!”
Lineup so far: GOJIRA, DIMMU BORGIR, MINISTRY, AUGUST BURNS RED, ANGELMAKER, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, BENIGHTED, OBITUARY, SUFFOCATION, UNLEASHED, STATIC-X, DOPE, THE KOVENANT, THROWN, PIG DESTROYER, BLOOD FIRE DEATH: A TRIBUTE TO QUORTHON, MAYHEM, TSJUDER, HELLBUTCHER, DARK FUNERAL, FURIA, ABSU, ZEMIAL, MANTAR, ROTTING CHRIST, GAEREA, WHITE WARD, WAYFARER, MASTODON, ORANGE GOBLIN, GREEN LUNG, REZN, PARADISE LOST, BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE, CRYPT SERMON, MONOLORD, HIGH PARASITE, KLIDAS, ALUK TODOLO, ARTHUR BROWN, LANDMVRKS, ATTILA, CRYSTAL LAKE, KUBLAI KHAN TX, TO THE GRAVE, WITHIN DESTRUCTION, FIT FOR A KING, MACABRE, GUTALAX, GADGET, BRUJERIA, GRAVE, ASPHYX, AVULSED, KATAKLYSM, PSYCROPTIC, THE HALO EFFECT, BLOOD RED THRONE, MALEVOLENT CREATION, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, RIVERS OF NIHIL, DEFEATED SANITY, MAMMOTH GRINDER, PYRRHON, FULCI, MALIGNANCY, REPLICANT, GUTSLIT, BRUTALLY DECEASED, DYING FETUS, NE OBLIVISCARIS, HIDEOUS DIVINITY, NILE
Tickets: https://brutalassault.cz/en/tickets
