DEMO/EP ROUNDUP - My Funeral and Stealth Bomber

We dive into the murky depths of EPs, singles and mini-albums once again ...

First up is My Funeral, who gets a big thumbs-up for their cover art, a casket-shaped boom box appropriately reflecting the EP title here, Graveblaster (Bandcamp). Cool. Press play and what you hear from the Finnish unit is a tough take on thrash metal, given a hardcore slant by some pit-ready breakdowns and the roar vocals of Iikka Sepponen. Over the course of its fifteen minutes, you're sure to get your ass kicked by such tracks as 'Thrash'N'Destroy', 'Thrashcrusher' and 'Retro Satan'. Reminds me of Deathrace King-era The Crown crossed with NYHC. (7.5)

Stealth Bomber up next with their First Strike From Above EP (Soundcloud). Listening to this four-tracker, it's clear why the band took its name, as the music proves to be a stealthy take on thrash metal, the riffs coming at you in blunt waves. Kinda accessible, yet heavy enough to appease hardened thrashers, it will likely also appeal to death metalists, given some secondary death gurgles (which I could do without). Sounds to me like what we'd hear if At War let their inner Slayer shine while hosting a gremlin vocalist. Good headbanging stuff. (7)