HAVOK the thrash metal powerhouse reigning from Colorado formed in 2004. After two self-released albums, the band caught the attention of England’s Candlelight Records. Burn was released in early spring of 2009. Incorporating blisteringly fast guitar riffs, machine-like drumming, groovy bass lines, searing leads, and hard-hitting vocals, HAVOK is able to maintain that *punch-you-in-the-throat* style of music. Fast forward to 2011 and the Denver-based thrashers return with their second album. The band turns the heat up with new thrash anthems. Time Is Up immediately showcases the band’s highly skilled musicianship.Blistering guitar work once again highlights the album. Song standouts include album opener “Prepare for Attack,” “Fatal Intervention,” “Covering Fire,” and“Scumbag in Disguise.”

Although there are many other thrash bands out there, there is one thing that sets HAVOK apart from the others. This band puts their own stamp on the genre by employing a more technical side of music, while maintaining the feel. HAVOK’s live show is where the band really catches peoples’ attention, with their non-stop energy level and their ability to get the audience involved. They are a must-see for any fan of live music! HAVOK has received tons of positive feedback for their efforts to make thrash a mainstay in modern music: and they will continue to spread the intensity until they decide the job is done! Given their talent, determination, and constantly growing fan base, HAVOK is destined to become a mainstay in this scene!

TOXIC HOLOCAUST mutated into existence in 1999, when Joel Grind merged his love for classic punk and metal into his ideal band. Like his influences – Bathory, Venom, English Dogs, Possessed, Broken Bones – TOXIC HOLOCAUST featured blazing riffs, gravel-throated vocals, and a deadly fixation on the evil in man and a post-apocalyptic world. Grind wrapped all of these elements up with a DIY attitude.

Brandishing a unique blend of furious thrash and death metal like a weapon of mass destruction, I AM is purely no-nonsense in their patented “Texas Death” assault. Armed with riffs, speed, and overwhelming power, “I AM writes songs that make you want to move” (Decibel Magazine). 
 Across three full-length slabs of bludgeoning intensity and snarling rage, I AM put a Southern stamp and revitalized swagger into deathcore, a subgenre rarely as raw, energized, and diverse as this band. In the spirit of fellow Southern icons Pantera and newer Texan heroes Power Trip, I AM channels discontent and anger into empowering anthems, as likely to inspire a grueling workout as to incite the pit. Reminiscent of the combination of death metal heaviness and thrash metal speed found in the early catalog of Sepultura, I AM mines the heaviness of Morbid Angel and the dexterity of the Big 4 to create something groundbreaking of their own. Vocalist Andrew Hileman — who started the band in 2011– guitarists Tom Reyes and Chris Burgess, bassist Erik Rodriguez, and drummer Brandon Busa deliver their Texas Death in clubs, theaters, and festivals, with bands like The Acacia Strain and Kublai Khan.

HAMMERHEDD is a band from Kansas City. 
The three Ismert brothers who make up Hammerhedd have a natural gift and a greater calling. Perhaps the definition of les enfants terribles and drawing comparisons to contemporaries like Gojira, Meshuggah, and Mastodon, Hammerhedd blend genres into a perfect sludge of chugging, grinding, beating, and thrashingly heavy marches favoring driving rhythms with a tinge of melodic mischief. Their sound is the kind of organic, made-to-mosh barn burning bombast that gets the walking dead banging their heads.