Origin:	Los Angeles, CA, USA
Genres:	Thrash Metal

Mantic Ritual

Retro thrash yet again by this Pittsburgh combo -- really, the metal scene is just teeming with such bands these days, all bursting with boundless energy and every one of them reliving 1985 as if their lives depended on it. Going by the name of Meltdown, they put out a self-financed effort entitled Executioner in 2007. This is basically Kill 'Em All crossed with Bonded In Blood (vocalist Dan Wetmore sounds a lot like the late great Paul Baloff), and while it's hard to give full marks to a sound that so derivative, the fact is that these guys nail the style perfectly, with a stellar production and even well-above-average soloing. A lot of their fellow thrashers have signed to bigger indie labels recently (Bonded By Blood to Earache, Fueled By Fire to Metal Blade, to name two), and in fact these guys followed suit, recently snapped up by Nuclear Blast. To avoid legal issues with other similarly named bands, they changed name to Mantic Ritual in September 2008. A re-recorded version of Executioner was released in March 2009.