Butcher - Astral Karma

Probably the best metal review site is autothrall. The guy is just prodigious and almost always on point, so when he writes up an album with a name like this and a cover like this and a sound that is described as "what might occur if Yngwie Malmsteen had guested on a Voivod record and made Piggy's eyes roll up in consternation" then HOT DAMN! Sign me up and quick...every bit as good as that description would have you believe!

Astral Karma

Promising

New Duobetic Homunkulus coming out soon, I don't think I've ever even talked about these guys on this blog before, and if I didn't that is a grave mistake on my part. This band is completely awesome, and based on this appeteaser we're looking at one of the better albums of 2013! Thank God for Zero Budget productions!

Wetwork - New Start Human

Creepy Canuck tech-thrash...prbly better than the vp debate.

New Start Human

Rhadamantys - Labyrinth Of Thoughts

Like an unholy melding of Comus's Wooten and Obituary's Tardy fronting a prog/thrash/death band du juor...how fucking awesome!!!

Labyrinth Of Thoughts

Creepmime - Shadows

'93 certainly was a good year for Dutch metal...you had the first Countess and this debut from one of the most unheralded tech-death bands EVER!! Dig the artwork too, looks like somthin' off of Mad Butcher!

Shadows

Malfunction - Into Stranger Sphere

An obscure technical thrash treasure from '93. You really can't argue with the tunes or the production on here....enjoyable in an idiot-savant way. And isn't that why we enjoy so much of Dutch metal anyways?

Into Stranger Sphere

Centurian - Liber Zar Zax

Well if you ever wondered what happened to Inquisitor, they turned into the bestial turbo-tech death of Centurian...which in turn morphed into the even more amped up Nox....which always makes me think of lox...on a bagel w/schmear....with capers...and onions. yum. (oh and tomatoes too!)

Liber Zar Zax

Warchitect - Matter

A beyond awful name for a beyond awesome band. Wonderfully atmospheric melodic tech-death...a hardcore/post-rock-tinged Death perhaps? Or for a more obscure point of reference, anyone remember B'more tech band Psychotogen? Their Perverse and UnNatural Practices and Calculus of Evil albums? Well, Warchitect might as well be their Dutch doppelganger.

What does it Matter?

Imperium - Too Short A Season

Total idiosyncratic Dutch Technothrash x-travaganza!

Too Short A Season

Pestilence - Spheres

One of the most polarizing death metal albums ever made...but don't be swayed by the naysayers, personally this is my favorite of theirs. And of course we all know golden boy went on to Kraut tech-deathsters Obscura. Newer Pestilence blows balls...Older Pestilence is cool but doesn't really do it for me...Spheres is oh so weird and juuuuust right.

Spheres

Mindlink

Oh man, here's another rare Dutch techno-prog thrash band that only released one album called Desiderata in 1997...and yeah, couldn't find that one either save one tune on youtube, someone needs to go through the trouble of re-issuing these lost Dutch technothrash gems...FMP I'm looking in your direction.

Genetic Wisdom - The Fear Dimension

With a name like Genetic Wisdom you better believe this is some awesome Dutch technothrash. I'm not so sure about the ballads on this one, but hell what can you do? It's Dutch style!!

The Fear Dimension

Altered Moves Two

An incredibly underrated Dutch technothrash band that released a sole album called Shifter Of Minds back in 1992. Could only find this one tune of their's on youtube, if you really want the album be prepared to pay up.

Osiris - Futurity And Human Depressions

Another Dutch technothrash gem...geez, what are they puttin' in the water over there??

Futurity and Human Depressions

Paralysis - Architecture Of The Imagination

Dark, progressive and technical as hell...Paralysis certainly went out on a high note.

Architecture Of The Imagination

Hmmmmmmmm.......

Will it be decent? Will it suck ballz? At least this doesn't sound emo-metalcore...whatever, I'll always give Flo the benefit of the doubt. The man is a blastbeat machine.

Live In East Berlin

what a performance!

Paralysis - Visions

The Dutch were very very good at technothrash. Paralysis is just one of many...Mystrez --- Imperium --- Osiris --- Rhadamantys --- I could go on (and I will, don't worry). Their debut ep Arctic Sleep was a stunner and Visions ain't no slouch. Same vocalist, so you know there is some obtuse caterwaulin' goin' down. The song "Escape From Yesterday" absolutely has to be heard to be believed.

Visions

Pyaemia - Cerebral Cereal

All brutal all the time, but groovy as well with a fair amount of hooky riff(s) salad. And really, how can you not love an album that has song titles like "Sugar Spiced Anus" and "Gorging on Mucus and Bile"?

Cerebral Cereal

Dyoxen - First Among Equals

Just remembered it's Canada Day, so to celebrate our neighbors to the north I'm posting some impossibly obscure technothrash from Montreal's own Dyoxen. Now if there is one thing that Canadians (specifically Quebecois) do well, it is left-of-center, incredibly progressive thrash...think Voivod, think Obliveon, think DBC, and well then just keeep thinking man cuz this is thinking man's metal...not for the weak of mind, or weak of heart.

First Among Equals