Thraxas! is a thrash metal band from Australia formed in 2011, releasing their debut E.P. ‘Planetary Terrorism’ in 2021, and debut full-length album ‘Violent Vacation’ in 2025.
Featuring more power, groove and grunt than their E.P. from four years ago, Thraxas! are back to bludgeon listeners, fans and followers with eleven more bruisers across a ferocious fifty minutes – the Sydney thrashers revelling in the savage onslaught that goes by the title ‘Violent Vacation’, the album coasting into life with ‘Blast Shadows’, the bands trademark groove metal grunt shuddering the ground as Thraxas! hammer the senses of everyone into fucking submission! There’s just no escaping the barbaric barrage of the album’s opening salvo, ‘The Rage Of 1000 Suns’, strolling in with a mellow guitar passage, Thraxas! turning on their heels after only thirty seconds to roar fast and loud…very loud, the sound of abrasive gear and tempo changing thrash metal rising high in the air along with the clenched fists of every metaller, thrasher and headbanger on the planet.
A deafening brace to turn every mosh pit into a frenzied sea of head banging maniacs, ‘Violent Vacation’ marches on with the title song, the band an unforgiving thrash metal machine as lightning speed lights up the album – ‘Violent Vacation’ (the song) maintaining the bands penchant for numerous pace changes within every song on offer! At least the first three (songs) anyway, ‘Exemplary Punishment’ keeping the album’s brutal nature at maximum levels! The pace too, Thraxas! staying in top gear to test the flexibility of everyone’s neck muscles, for violent head banging is the only kinda head banging that ‘Exemplary Punishment’ deserves! The non-stop savagery is intense, the attentions of a worldwide audience hooked on every riff, lyric, beat and twang pouring outta Australia as the longest song on offer, ‘Rapid Descent Into Madness… And Brutality’ enters the fray. Clocking in at over seven minutes in length, ‘Rapid Descent Into Madness… And Brutality’ starts mellow, the band building to a crescendo before letting all fucking hell break loose! And as it turns out, ‘Rapid Descent Into Madness… And Brutality’ is an instrumental, one of those sparkling instrumentals that keeps your focus right from the start to the very last second – all four hundred and thirty-three of ’em!
The intensity of the album since it began has been all-conquering, the band not letting it drop for a single moment. ‘A Guide To Torture’ featuring the heaviest groove metal swagger heard so far, Thraxas! slamming the pedal to the metal after thirty seconds or so to storm off at high velocity! But as I mentioned earlier, the band are fucking awesome at delivering numerous pace and tempo changes within every song on offer, and ‘A Guide To Torture’ is no exception – ‘Glory Is Reserved For The Dead’ striding in with a more menacing atmosphere than heard previously! A little ‘South Of Heaven’ era Slayer like in terms of feel and fear, ‘Glory Is Reserved For The Dead’ is an abrasive, rough, tough and gruff bruiser guaranteed to vigorously bang your head and stretch neck muscles further than ever before! I tell ya readers, the level of head bang ability has been through the roof since ‘Violent Vacation’ (the album) coasted into life, ‘Sentenced To Debt’ bringing a little melodic thrash to the fore! And yes you read that right – melodic thrash, the kinda thrash bands such as Testament and Death Angel are well known for, Thraxas! delivering a blend of American polished and brutal German thrash metal!
And as ‘Violent Vacation’ (the album) enters its final quarter, the band remain at the heavier end of thrash metal territory, slaughtering every listener, fan, follower and thrasher with a phenomenal level of barbarity, ‘Thy Plague Bearer’ a planet shifting groove metal stomper with enough oomph to batter everyone senseless! And batter everyone is exactly what the band have been doing all album long, the unstoppable Sydney storm raging on with ‘Evolution Of Revolution’, and just a little hint of industrial metal too – think bands such as Fear Factory and Machine Head for a sound reference! I haven’t talked much about the amount of aggression Thraxas! has on show. The band is an aggressive, ferocious and menacing outfit that’ll tear you a-fucking-part with as much venom as a cheetah viciously rips apart its prey! And bringing the album to a close, ‘Bloody Fist Face Lift’ races to top speed in the blink of an eye, the band emphatically maintaining their gear-changing, tempo-changing attitude for all fifty ferocity-laden minutes and eleven songs that is ‘Violent Vacation’ (the album).
Overall, an aggression-fuelled, barbaric barrage of brutal thrash metal with incredible levels of intensity and headbanging ability.
TRACKLIST
Blast Shadows
The Rage Of 1000 Suns
Violent Vacation
Exemplary Punishment
Rapid Descent Into Madness… And Brutality
A Guide To Torture
Glory Is Reserved For The Dead
Sentenced To Debt
Thy Plague Bearer
Evolution Of Revolution
Bloody Fist Face Lift
Thraxas!: Facebook
Release Year: 2025
Label: Primitive Moth
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
