One of the most violent and aggressive bands in the New Wave of Thrash, METHANE has signed with Fireflash Records for the release of their new album Demolate.
After years of relentless touring with Whiplash, Nervosa and Massacre, and destroying stages at Sabaton Open Air and In Flammen, the band is now set to release their most brutal material yet.
“360° of Destruction is the first taste of Demolate, and it tastes like blood. Thrash and devour.” “We’re fired up to finally join forces with Markus and the Fireflash crew. With his decades of experience in the metal scene, we’re ready to burn shit down together.”
BRACE YOURSELVES! We are beyond stoked to announce that Methane is confirmed to invade Tampere, Finland this summer!
We’re bringing the Swedish thrash attack to the legendary SPEED METAL PARTY on Saturday, August 16th. Prepare for a full-frontal assault of pure, neck-breaking metal! We’re honored to share the stage with absolute legends like TANKARD, the mighty PRESTIGE, and the crushing force of DETHRONE and KOVAA RASVAA. This lineup is pure chaos!
his isn’t just any gig for us. Speed Metal Party is a festival forged in the true fires of the underground. Respect to Aku Kytölä of Prestige for schooling us on the history:
The History of Speed Metal Party:
Forged in the late 80s, the Speed Metal Party was born from pure DIY attitude. When official venues shunned the new wave of angry, aggressive thrash ripping through Tampere, the scene took matters into its own hands. This fest is a monument to that raw, underground spirit—a legacy of kids from working-class families fighting back against the mainstream with buzzsaw guitars and throat-ripping screams. It’s the real deal.
“To play a fest with this much history and share a stage with bands like Tankard and Prestige is a fucking honor,” says Tim Scott, Methane’s frontman. “That DIY spirit, fighting for your scene… that’s what thrash is all about. Tampere, we’re coming to tear the roof off the place! See you in the pit!”
And the mayhem doesn’t stop when the main stage goes quiet! Stick around for the official After-Party at another venue, where Australia’s own HIDDEN INTENT will keep the thrash assault going late into the night. Don’t tap out early!
Finland, you have been warned. August 16th. Speed Metal Party.
Richard “Owlheade” Fredriksson Joins Thrash Metal Protagonists Methane as Full-Time Drummer
[Stockholm,Sweden] – Swedish thrash metal juggernaut Methane has officially announced the addition of Richard “Owlheade” Fredriksson as their full-time drummer. Richard, who has been impressing audiences with his focused power on the skins since joining Methane on their European tour in 2023 alongside Massacre (US DM), is now the band’s eighth drummer, stepping into a role filled with high expectations and legacy.
Richard’s journey to Methane began at a gig where his former band, Flamedriven, opened for Methane. It was during this performance that he was introduced to band members Tim, Jimi, and Markus, leading to his eventual place in the lineup. With a background in Swedish thrash band Arsenite and groove metal group Flamedriven, Richard brings a wealth of experience and energy to the band.
Currently, Richard is in the studio recording the band’s highly anticipated third album, which promises to deliver a punishing, faster, and more brutal crossover version of Methane’s thrashing style, appealing to fans of the genre and beyond.
With its eigth drummerIn the spirit of legendary rock comedy Spinal Tap, Methane continues to defy convention and push the boundaries of thrash metal while maintaining a sense of humor and fun in their performances. With Richard “Owlheade” Fredriksson now officially part of the band, fans can expect nothing short of explosive energy and unforgettable shows.
Methane is set to demolish stages across Sweden this May, supporting legendary acts F.K.Ü. and Mezzrow. The upcoming tour dates include:
Swedish thrashers Methane continue breaking new ground in the European scene announce new shows with Whiplash this summer as it celebrates the bands 40th anniversary with “40 years of Power and Pain” Tour. WHIPLASH’s tour is a testament to their enduring legacy, especially marked by their classic thrash album ‘Power and Pain’, which continues to reverberate through the heavy metal music scene worldwide. Lead by the indomitable Tony Portaro, the band’s mastermind, WHIPLASH is set to ignite stages across Europe with their signature blend of power and intensity.
In a heartfelt statement, Tony Portaro shared his sentiments:
“Everyone’s life is filled with both powerful and painful moments. My life is no exception. When I express my music, I can overcome any pain I have experienced because you give me that power. I am grateful and honored to bring you my pain. Thank you for letting me unleash my power on stage. I invite you all to come out and forget your troubles for a moment, and feel the power and the pain!”
Methane‘s album “Kill It With Fire” is touted as being in the top of thrash releases of 2023 by Metal Trenches as well as recieving HIGH marks from many prominent metal magazines.
Methane share ties to Whiplash through singer and bassist Tim Scott.
” Years ago members of my former band Revenant were involved in a reforming of Whiplsh with drummer Tony Scaglione. We used to hangout at the same bar in Clifton, NJ back then with Tony. Later on Methane’s first tour in the U.S. , we played with and became friends with Tony Portaro and the present Whiplash.” ” Power and Pain was one of my favorite albums in the 80’s, I even hand painted the cover on the back of a jacket I wore back then. So from a fan boys perspective I can’t tell you how excited I was when we were asked to play these gigs.”
Anthrax, one of the Big Four of Thrash Metal and the sole representitive of the east coast, being from New York City, has always had a unique sound and approach to thier thrash metal oppossed to the other titans of the genre from the Bay Area Metallica, Testament , Megadeth etc..and its Tueutonic counterparts from Germany like Sodom and Kreator. This month. Methane shredderJimi Masterbo got to honor his boyhood heros by guest curating the Thrashed playlist on Spotify
I Stumbled upon Anthrax 1984 on a mixed cassette tape I had received. MetalThrashing Mad totally floored me. Scott Ian has always been in my top four guitarists and is a very big reason why I became a guitarist. Anthrax always had good riffy songs. High energy and a large portion of humor. I have been hugely inspired by this in my own songwriting. There are so many good songs so I had a hard time choosing a few, but here are my best today. I invite you to stream the Thrashed playlist, follow and share it to your friends and help me celebrate Anthrax this month!
photo Mike Cameron/Redferns, Getty Image
1. Caught In A Mosh
“I Love how it builds up from the guitar hero chord strikes at the beginning, how the bass comes in and the drum chaos into the verse.Grab a drink and stage drive into the nearest bush. Mosh!”
2 Metal Thrashing Mad
The first time I heard it in 1984, in my room when I was 9 years , I grabbed an acoustic guitar and got down on my knees and just screamed.
“When I was old enough to grow a beard I started growing my goat beard, just like Scott Ian, hahaha and I still having that.”
3 Belly of the Beast
Could be one of the coolest guitar intros ever. Scott Ian is the riff Master. Always liked the way Anthrax builds songs. Cool, nice riffs. Nice little details. This definately need to be added to the playlist .
Scott Ian (born Scott Ian RosenfeldDecember 31, 1963 in NYC ),best known as the rhythm guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax, of which he is the sole continuous member. Ian is also the guitarist, lyricist, and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death, – Wikipedia
Photo credits: Unknown
“He (Ian) has written lots of awesome riffs and songs over the years. Both with Anthrax and of course S.O.D. His attack, chugg and tightness in his left hand with the brilliant notes and riffs in his right hand. He is the riff master from hell! I always have that in my mind when I playing guitar. It’s got to be tight as hell, on the records and when I play live.”
4 Got The Time
A perfect song to convert into a thrash cover from Joe Jackson‘s original, with its bass intro, bass sound, stress, guitar chew, hockey chorus, chorus. MOSH!
“Anthrax has fun on stage. That’s another thing i admire and try to steel from Anthrax for my performance with Methane. The audience vibes with you when you are haveíng fun on the stage. Scott has his own style on stage, a real New York Hardcore feeling, moshing and guitar slinging, always a good show.”
photo by Explosiv, Graz Austria
5 Bring the Noise a classic that is still very good. This one has spun hard over the years.
Jimi Masterbo (born Jimi Wallin April 10, 1975 in Sweden), lead guitarist, and co-founder of the thrash metal band Methane. Jimi was also the guitarist, and a founding member of the Swedish death metal band Hell Patrol.
Artist: Methane | Fotografa: Nicolette Radoi | Date: 11 July 2023 | Venue: Slaughter Club | City: Paderno Dugnano (MI)
What’s up maniacs! We – Methane have now confirmed In Flammen Open Air Festival in Torgu, Germany. In Flammen is a whos who of Thrash and Death metal this year featuring Possessed, Unleashed, Tankard, Holy Moses, Tiamat, Incantation and a host of other known names in the metal scene!
Methane will be on tour with OSDM legends Massacre featuring Kam Lee, this July. Methane’s new album “Kill It With Fire” has recieved high marks for its unrelenting no frills thrash stilings. The band has welded an old school thrash metal sound with mosh pit provoking groove riffs. The band is fronted by Tim Scott from cult underound New York death metal band Revenant which saw its glory days in the early 1990s with its debut album ‘Prophecies of a Dying World’ from Nuclear Blast Records.
This tour is going to be a meat grinder! Its got everything Thrash,OSDM and brutal DM. A killer mix with some metal nostalgia too, just epic! We hope to see you out at the shows!
This summer metal fans will get an extra piece of meat as Swedish thrashers Methane join up with Massacre on tour in Europe startingon on the 4th of July in the Netherlands.
Methane’s new album “Kill It With Fire” has recieved high marks for its unrelenting no frills thrash stilings. The band has welded an old school thrash metal sound welded with mosh pit provoking groove riffs. The band is fronted by Tim Scott from cult underound New York death metal band Revenant which saw its glory days in the early 1990s with its debut album ‘Prophecies of a Dying World’ from Nuclear Blast Records.
he 2 week tour kicks off in Geleen, NL on July 4 and spreads itself over Europe, through Austria, Italy, Poland and finally Germany. Joining Massacre and Methane is Italian DM band Necrosy.
Methane joins Artillery, Onslaught and Generation Kill as official roster band of Distilled Entertainment, Artist management and tourbooking.
Distilled Entertainment is a global artist management and North American tour booking agency founded in 2004. Specializing in all genres of rock and metal, Distilled focuses on management services for both signed and unsigned artists and tour booking services for national and international acts. We place artists on stage with some of the biggest names in the industry. Our artists have performed alongside bands like Metallica, Slayer, Korn, Slipknot, Lamb of God, Rob Zombie, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, Machine Head, Hatebreed, Atreyu, and All That Remains, P.O.D., as well as other international-level talent.
“Distilled Entertainment is proud to announce we have added Swedish metal masters Methane to the agency roster! If you don’t know them you should! Check them out now!!!” Patrick Donovan – Agent
After the January 27 release of Methane’s “Kill It With Fire” album things have rapidly begun happen with the Swedish thrash metal band. ” We are really looking forward to do some larger international tours to promote the album. Distilled roster is a filthy mix of thrash metal icon, we are pumped up to start working with Patrick and the agency!” Keep an eye out for upcomming tour dates for Methane in 2023.
What do Methane, The Exploited and Twisted Sister have in commen?
The answer is SWEDISH STEEL!
Methane is proud to announce we have landed an endorsement deal with Skull Strings and have our own line of signature guitar and bass strings available now in our webshop.
Skull Strings defend their motto ” Xtreem to the Bone” they are just that, created for extreem music with string sets geared for drop tuning and thier steel windings. Skull’s steel strings make for a brighter , more longlasting string.
This year we will be brandishing Skull Strings on tour supporting our new album “Kill it with Fire”
“Because the string is the first vibrating element,
Because the sound can’t be dissociated from each of its elements, it was only natural to pay special attention to the strings. “
SKULL STRINGS is the brand name of the TOLITO Compagny (1993), created in 2004 and entirely dedicated to Metal and Extreme Music.
Its creator, Carlos Pavicich, a former professional bass player, has always taken great care of his sound.
In the 90’s, as the owner of several music stores, he was largely confronted with the problems of artists looking for string sets really adapted to their needs, problems that he had also been facing for a long time.
Far from letting his music be dictated by standardized sets of strings and as a man of solutions, the SKULL STRINGS idea was born. And after about ten years of research and tests, the first SKULL STRINGS range, the DROP Line, was released. The others followed.
Forerunners in the Drop, Low Tuning and specific and extreme gauges, we are also the specialists of custom gauges. Our work does not only consist in winding strings of very high quality, but more importantly in finding solutions adapted to the ever more specific needs of musicians. Our work consists in relieving the musician’s mind of the worries due to technical constraints.
“The best string? The one that corresponds to the choices, needs and tastes of the artist.
The string being the first element in contact with their fingers, and in fact, the first vehicle between their creativity and the real world,
the best string is the one that allows them to forget that they are touching a string.”
Swedish thrashers, Methane share new music video and digital released single for “Shock and Awe” as a warm up to the bands January 27th album release of Kill It With Fire. Shock and Awe is a new thrashmetal stomper with an old school Bay Area vibe. Its no frills, headfirst video was filmed in Karlstad, Sweden by Erik Hansen from EH Digital, who previously directed the band’s video for ‘Thin the Herd’.
” We wanted to keep it simple and true to the underground. The song is a straight forward neckbreaker and we thought the video should be too. Erik ads his own twisted concept with his editing.” ~ Tim Scott vocalist and bassist
Kill it With Fire will be the bands second album which shows a clear development in the bands music writing smoving tword a heavier more relentless thrash style. Featured on the album is a collaboration with CJ Scioscia of legendary New Jersey based Blood Feast who lends a tasty solo to “A Blood Red Sky“.
