Location: Melbourne
Country: Australia
Genre: Thrash metal
Full length: Exsequiis
Format: CD, digital, vinyl ("Coagulation" ASideBSide: EU – Limited to 500 copies)
Label: Metal Blade
Release date: September 11, 2026
Whenever I listen to Australian thrash, I feel the energy and liveliness you'd expect from bands like Bestial Warlust or Sadistik Execution. The Melbourne band Harlott embodies Australia’s self-sustaining thrash movement in every way, pouring everything into their upcoming album “Exsequiis:” the fast pace, potency, and independent spirit of thrash that changed the face of music in the eighties.
Since watching the independent documentary series “Thrash or Fuck Off,” I can't find a down-under band that doesn’t meticulously channel technical efficiency, power, and endurance into every riff and progression. I have always sensed a strong determination among Australian thrash bands to gain global recognition and stand alongside their counterparts from Germany, Brazil, England, and the U.S.
Made and released in 2019, “Thrash or Fuck Off” highlights how committed the scene is to thriving on its terms, fueled by zeal and the musical roots shared with bands on our side of the Pacific Ocean (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kiss, NWOBHM). This series is an extensive examination into a grassroots industry with the cutting edge vibe that spread from the U.K. to Germany and the States so long ago. It offers no apologies showing Australian thrash bands perceive their influences more profoundly than usual; taking the idea that nothing’s sacred from the garage to the stage.
As another example, Hobbs Angel of Death, originally a solo project and the first Australian band to make a name outside their borders, released a self-titled debut through Steamhammer that sold surprisingly well in Europe and gained some attention in the U.S. Though subsequent albums didn’t generate the same buzz, their debut still became a cult classic and something about their “virgin metal” suggested you can be as fast, heavy, proficient, coarse and explosive as you’re inspired to be and compete with the more prominent likes of Dark Angel, Sacrifice and Sadus.
Having released two EPs and four full-length albums since 2006, the Melbourne band Harlott takes that idea and accelerates it, so to speak. Set to be released in a month, “Exsequiis” not only recaptures thrash’s classic spirit but surpasses it in ways most retro-thrash or thrash revival bands haven’t yet touched. Their secret lies in eschewing terms like “retro” or “revivalist” and treating the genre’s true nature as if it never went out of vogue. For them it never did when it comes to the genre’s unruly, defiant spirit and classic punk’s attitude into their song structure, vocals and lyrics.
Already incisive and high-tensile on their early EPs and debut full-length “Origin,” they’ve sharpened their skills over the years, taking time to become faster, tighter, and to harness the density they captured in the studio, steering it toward greater dynamism and melodic invention.Patiently cultivating their identity across three albums from 2015 and 2020 and taking a six-year rest, they evolved into an unstoppable force of precision, crunch, and dissonance. Featuring varying meters, tempo shifts, inventive lead harmonies, occasional blast and scalding guitar solos, their sound is characterized by embittered vocal outbursts condemning societal polarization. Acerbic critiques of a world that is far from the ideals envisioned by the counter cultures of days gone by.
If Testament, Dark Angel, Kreator, and old Sepultura hold a special place in your darkened heart; if you have fond memories of singing along with hardcore bands when you and your friends were handed the mike in the front row; if pop punk feels too commercial for your taste; and if you miss a time when bands prioritized being cutting-edge, swift, shredding, and aggressive over having commercial appeal, Harlott is a prime example of the Australian industry and the genre as a whole. The boldness the band approached this album with produced an album confirming Australian thrash deserves to be recognized as a reputable foundation of high grade thrash bands. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Andrew Hudson: Guitar, vocals
Tom Richards: Bass, vocals
Leigh Bartley: Guitar
Glen Trayhern: Drums
Track list:
1. Incipiam
2. Void
3. Messiah Simplex
4. Trial By Liar
5. The God That Knows No Name
6. Kleptogenesis
7. A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits
8. The Joyful Stain
9. Endling
10. Vice Borne
11. Exsequiis
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