When it comes to updating old school thrash and hardcore for a new era, Plague Years have got it nailed. The Detroit outfit smash together speed metal, crossover and extreme metal into one crushing noise. They go deep with their influences too, citing often-overlooked underground heroes such as Suffocation, Demolition Hammer and Texas hardcore icons Iron Age is inspirations on their latest album Circle Of Darkness. We asked guitarist Eric Lauder and drummer Mike Jurysta to talk us through the thrash and death metal bands who deserve way more love than they get.
Iron Age
Eric: “Iron Age instantly became one of my favourite bands. Evil Ways was the first song I heard and the whole Constant Struggle album [from 2006] is just full of bangers. Once [2009 album] The Sleeping Eye dropped it just solidified for me that this band will be legendary. The direction they started to take with [2011’s] Saga Demos leaves me wanting a new record so bad.”
Steve Tucker-era Morbid Angel
Mike: “Absolute pioneers, and my favourite death metal band of all time. I love the David Vincent stuff, but the Steve Tucker shit just hits different. I feel like they were at their peak for writing. The song Caesar’s Palace is a doomy one.”
Sodom
Eric: “Crazy to think of that I’m label mates with this band now, haha. Agent Orange is definitely one of my all time favourite thrash records, and I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same. I hope the day comes where I can see them live… or maybe play a show with them.”
Symbolic-era Death
Mike: “Death is a band that definitely has many different forms. The Symbolic era is my favourite line-up of the band. Everyone will say they love the earlier stuff, but I like the bigger, better sounding albums.”
Suffocation
Eric: “The first album I heard from them was [1995’s] Pierced From Within. I can’t lie: it fucked my mind up. The way [guitarist] Terrance Hobbs is able to just go from riff to riff in such unique ways all the time, it’s truly something that can’t be mimicked. Definitely a band that made me start to think harder about my transitions in my own songs.”
Demolition Hammer
Mike: “This band is an absolutely crushing thrash band. A perfect cross of extreme metal and thrash. Demolition Hammer definitely opened my eyes to a few tricks. I hope to do some Plague Years stuff that sounds like them one day. ”
Bad Seed
Eric: “Bad Seed has such a groove that just can’t be replicated. The drums really set it off. He plays so loose and groovy over the heaviest riffs. I was hooked. I wish I could have got at least one LP from this band before they split up.”
Merauder
Mike: “I remember an old friend showing me Merauder for the first time. We listened to all of [1995’s] Master Killer album, and I was blown away. I remember the song Downfall Of Christ hitting like a ton of bricks. They are one of the few hardcore bands that stay in my rotation.”
Exhorder
Eric: “I got hip to this band kind of late. A friend of mine was playing them one day while we working and I felt almost embarrassed asking who it was cause I pretty sure it was Pantera. Once I he told me who it was and how they influenced Pantera I had to dive into their music and was blown away.”
Deicide
Mike: “Another enormously influential death metal band, but controversial as well. That’s what was most intriguing to me when I first heard them in ninth grade. It was almost comical how consistently satanic Glen Benton’s lyrics were. Love them.”
Plague Years’ Circle Of Darkness is out now
