Formed in 2004: Colorado Thrash Metal

EARLY GRAVES formed in the Bay Area in early 2008 and have since released two full lengths, both on Metal Blade Records' imprint, Iron Clad Recordings. The band's sound has been described as a mixture of old school Swedish death metal and American hardcore punk and have drawn comparisons to Napalm Death, Carcass, Tragedy and Testament among other.

Lich King are not named after a video game character. Are we clear on this point? Cool, let's move on.

The point was to create new old-school thrash metal in the vein of EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, S.O.D., SLAYER and others. Lots of bands in the new wave of thrash these days are doing just that, but where we stand out is that we admit it. We think the sound of thrash was perfected in the 80's and we're not trying to add anything to the mix. We're just coming up with riffs and songs that the old masters didn't. Despite that fact and our best efforts, we seem to be developing a signature sound. Dammit.

We've had three full-length albums since 2007 and a fourth is being furiously written. It should see release sometime in 2011. It'll feature the same hallmarks we've always had: Fast, headbangable riffs in modern stomp anthems, a sometimes comedic yet always violent songwriting sensibility, art and design from the guy that writes the songs and does vocals, a marked step up in quality from the previous release, an awesome logo and a mascot.

...A mascot that is not affiliated with a video game.