FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Thrashchester 2025
Words: Matthew Williams
Photos: Tim Finch
“And the headliners for next year will be, none other than Lawnmower Deth” amidst a mighty roar from the assembled masses last November at Rebellion, I stood in the corner with a big grin. I had attended my first Thrashchester, and with that one announcement, it guaranteed my attendance at next year’s event.
Thrashchester is the annual musical event celebrating the finest metal sub-genre of them all, hosted by the wonderful people at 0161 – the Manchester Underground Metal Community, who do so much for young and upcoming bands, from hosting regular nights The Bank Top Tavern in Oldham, as well as being the hosts for Bloodstock’s Metal to the Masses Manchester heat.
They create an environment that allows bands to play to bigger audiences and should be applauded for their fine efforts in keeping the thrash metal scene alive in the North West. With this in mind, and the upcoming feast in November at Manchester’s Rebellion, here’s a few bands that you should look out for.
I’ve seen Bloodsaw a few times now, in and around Manchester, and they are a throwback to simpler times, as they bring youthful exuberance dressed in high tops, whilst having some timeless thrash riffs and exciting solos. It’s clear that they are having fun on stage, which is the most important thing, and being first band on is always the hardest job, but they’ll see that as a challenge to take on headfirst and no doubts will show what they are made of.
You can expect to see some metal madness from Struck A Nerve, who I witnessed playing in Manchester earlier this year supporting Chemicide. They’ll be familiar to many people as they feature members of Shrapnel and Gama Bomb, and they will bring a no frills, heads down, full speed aural assault to proceedings. As they’ve been around for a while, they are musically very tight, with slick solos, a range of great songs, that will get the pit fired up and expect to see frontman Aarran Tucker taking a walk through the crowd at some point.
I must give a shout out to my fellow Welsh brethren, Swansea’s Helldown and Cwmbran’s Exaust, who I’m really excited to witness for the first time. Bringing a live show that’s full of aggression and relentless power, Helldown have that thrash/groove sound down to a fine art. With headbangers such as “Beneath The Veil”, they are ones to watch out for, alongside Exaust, who will bring their own brand of crossover thrash led by vocalist Dewi. If they don’t get the circle pits going, then nobody will, as their blend of 80’s thrash and modern crossover is like a mini tornado which is to land in Manchester.
I was fortunate to review “Perilous Compulsion” by Acid Age earlier this year for The Razor’s Edge, and it left me quite breathless and wondering what the hell I’d just listened to, so I’m beyond excited to see the trio from Northern Ireland, make the short trip across the water to play in Manchester. Expect some thrash metal, but not as you know it, with explosive riffs, pummelling drums and expansive bass, to make some jazz infused prog metal.
It would be rude of me not to mention headliners Lawnmower Deth, but I don’t want to eulogise about them to much, as I’ve been a massive fan since I first saw them in 1990. If you haven’t seen them before, then you are in for a treat, full of classic thrash anthems such as “Spook Perv Happenings in the Snooker Hall”, “Satan’s Trampoline” and newer ones aimed at old gits like me “Into The Pit”. With frontman Pete, you never know quite what’s going to happen next, and more often than not, neither does he, so expect the unexpected from one of the best in the business.
Crepitation photo credit: Tim Finch Photography
