It’s still summertime, there’s plenty of room for some thrash metal in your life. A couple years ago I covered Boston crossover outfit Death Strider, who had just released their debut self-titled EP. Dabbling in some speed metal riffage, similar to Texas’ Iron Age, and utilizing cataclysmic breakdowns to get the crowd moving the band stood tall amongst the veterans in the scene, they had the perfect formula and tightened it up with each track.
Their debut EP built the framework to everything Death Strider would stand for as vocalist Jesse utilized the majority of the tracks to focus on the increasingly nightmarish political and social landscape of America. His lyrics on the track “Icebreaker,” in particular, focusing on the early stages of the ICE detainment camps formed during the Biden administration. Jesse wrote that song in 2021 and it's only gotten worse since then.
Since the EP’s release, Death Strider have played a handful of shows around the area whenever they can find time as some of their members have commitments to other projects (Street Power, Risk, Can’t Lose, and Neolithic, just to name a few) so it’s always a special occasion when the boys get together and thrash away the venue. Playing alongside local favorites such as Latch, Psychic Weight, Torn In Half, Bed of Razors and Neighborhood Shit Death Strider’s made their mark both onstage and in recordings.
Now, Death Strider is coming back with more music and also planning on mixing more live shows in with their busy schedules. Unable to turn away from America’s further descent into complete madness, the band presents more timely and poignant thrash attacks with their new EP Total System Failure.
The three-track EP focuses heavily on the worsening political landscape within America and the consequences we the people on the ground face in its wake. Vocalist Jesse explains this theme stating: “The narrative throughline on these three songs is really about lies. The lies we are told by our government and the systems we live under, the lies from people close to us, and the lies we tell ourselves to get by.”
The band's first single off the EP is “Manufacturing Existence” and it is probably the most furious track the band has released thus far. Opening with Jack’s signature speed metal riffage and trading off with drummer Koomey who sounds as though he’s battering his kit with baseball bats.
The band’s tightness on this track is akin to the precision delivered by Slayer with Olin, Koomey and Andy’s structure of the songs rhythm section particularly catching my attention. In just under three minutes Death Strider jammed this track with so many attention grabbing riffs and tempo change ups all delivered at breakneck speeds but what really makes the track feel so embittered is Jesse’s vocal work as well as his lyrics which feel noticeably personal, adding to their venomous strike.
Asking Jesse about what influenced his lyrics on this track clued me into this matter when he stated: ““Manufacturing Existence” is about realizing someone you were close with and loved is not who they seemed to be. It is about betrayal, disillusionment, and the crushing moment when the version of that person you believed in turns out to be a lie.”
A song that goes this hard needs a theme of betrayal in it because it allows the lyrics to sink in even deeper and that’s why this is an excellent peek into what the band is bringing on their new EP.
When I first spoke with Jack about the band's sound on their debut EP, I was intrigued by his choice of inspirations as not many bands I had interviewed tended to look toward the '80s guitar gods for their sound. Singling out Randy Rhoads’ amazing work with the late Ozzy Osbourne was the most prominent with Jack’s leads sounding straight from Rhoads' playbook.
I asked him if he looked to these same influences again and Jack admitted: “The same foundational influences from the previous release are still there, but I took some inspiration from different aspects of the same artists. There is a little Jake E. Lee influence in some of the leads, as well as some Kirk Hammett influence. I think when writing some of these songs I was more into the 'slower' era of Slayer, like Seasons In the Abyss and South of Heaven vs something like Reign In Blood.
"I was also listening to more Black Flag and Hatebreed around the time we wrote these ones, so I think some riffs may be more punk/hardcore-influenced vs straight thrash riffs. I tried to experiment a little more with taking different approaches on certain parts or ideas, and I think I learned more about what I like and also what I may do differently in the future, but at its core I think this will be very familiar to any listeners that enjoyed our last release.”
The fact that the scene still has an affinity for crossover is always reassuring because hardcore bands doing this sound always creates some of the most chaotic and endearing records. Death Strider have studied the classics and they throw even more influences into the mix just to make their '80s-styled thrash sound fresh, energetic for the hardcore kids and heavy for longhairs to bang their heads against the stage to.
Death Strider’s Total System Failure will be dropping everywhere on September 19th but for now you can stream their first single "Manufacturing Existence” everywhere. They are planning a limited tape run of the new record which will be their first release of physical media. The band will be announcing a record release show in the coming weeks so be sure to check out their social media to stay up to date on all announcements.
Death Strider would like to shout out: "Jay Maas for recording the new EP, Joshua Ryan for being our official sixth member, Crash Sanchez for his endless support, Ryan O’Connor for the interview, and No Echo for always being great to us."
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Death Strider on social media: Facebook | Instagram
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