Lazarus A.D. is a new band. I didn’t know about them until I saw them open for Testament. I caught half their set (they went on stage earlier than we expected), but what I did see was most impressive. This band has chops. They may be young guys but they know their thrash metal. The drumming is fast and furious but not overdone (i.e. not just being fast to be fast, blast beats to blast beat). The guitar riffs are melodic, fast, syncopated. Dueling guitars, harmony leads, but the two guitarists have unique styles… while listening to them at the show I thought it was much like Slayer in that regard, with Dan Gapen’s leads reminding me of Kerry King and Alex Lackner of Jeff Hanneman; they’re not a Slayer clone by any means, just that came to mind as I was listening to them. Still, if you like Slayer you will probably dig Lazarus A.D..

I also like their songwriting. Again, these guys know their thrash. They know how to structure songs. You will find your head banging along. Certainly the songs can inspire quite the pit.

Their live show was great. They worked hard to put on a show. Certainly I’d see these guys live again. But until that time, I’ll have to settle of their debut CD “The Onslaught”. They were impressive enough to make me want to plunk down $15 for their CD right there from the merch table at the show. The band was by their merch table meeting fans and autographing the CD liner notes. I got mine autographed, plus had a bonding moment with Alex Lackner. Apparently Alex is a Corrosion of Conformity fan as well; he was wearing a COC shirt that night and also had the COC belt buckle. I had my COC belt buckle on as well. We shared a little COC-fandom. 🙂  Anyway, I’ve been listening to “The Onslaught” ever since I brought it home, at least once or twice a day while I’m working. It rocks. “Every Word Unheard”, “Revolution”, “Thou Shall Not Fear” are choice cuts.

If you want some new metal that isn’t nü-metal, check out Lazarus A.D.: