State Of The Art: Utah – Truce In Blood

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Utah!

Utah was my pick for this month’s SOTA series. Tons of good Metal available from this western state surrounded by Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. Being the 45^th state (January 4, 1896), Utah is known for the natural beauty of its deserts, Wasatch mountain range and The Great Salt lakes it also serves as the main hub for the Morman church whose choir is internationally lauded. Utah’s population sits just below 3,000,000 spread over 84,899 square miles, ranking it as the 31^st most populated state in the U.S., 80% of whom live in the center of the state, along the Wasatch Front. In addition, Utah is considered to be the best state to live in, based on a 2012 Gallup poll, due to its low income inequality, and a variety of economic, lifestyle and health related metrics. Well, coming from the state capital of Salt Lake City comes my first State of the Art: Utah pick: Truce in Blood.

Being around since 1984, Truce in Blood (aka Truce) has been hailed as one of the biggest names in independent Metal since the very dawn of the genre. These guys began crushing skulls the same year that Metallica’s classic Ride the Lightening was released; when Slayer’s Kerry King joined Megadeth (you just read that correctly) and Anthrax debuted Fist Full of Metal! Hell, a bunch of you may not have even been born yet or been too young to even remember these Metal landmarks. I was fifteen at the time and remember all of these like they were yesterday. I was a bass player in Thrash band called Crystal Gypsy at the time and jamming to everything on the heavier side of things; always searching out more. This was the best time to be a Metalhead and, for me and many of my friends (including MN’s own, Dragon) developed into a life long obsession that continues to this very day. It comes as no surprise then that Truce in Blood was heavily influenced by trailblazers like Slayer, Pantera, Exodus, Metallica, Death and Metal Church and continue to reflect this old school mentality. Screw auto tune, screw backing tracks and screw any sense of mercy. Truce in Blood tolerates not one ounce of bullshit! This band’s sound lands just shy of full on Death Metal on the spectrum of Speed Metal. Heavy guitar riffs exacerbated by blasted drums, harshly pounded out bass lines and very dark vocals/lyrics barked out like from the Hounds of Hell define Truce in Blood’s sound and has firmly established their long-standing reign of as one of Thrash’s underground heroes. Current members include Steve Busch on guitar and vocals, Tracy Sweetring on bass and vocals, Shane McCormick on guitar and Travis Jaron covering drums; each bringing their own measure of sonic brutality to bear. As a result of this unapologetic savagery, Truce in Blood has played among the greats which include: Anvil, The Iron Maidens, Voivod, D.R.I., Nuclear Assalt, M.O.D., Testament, Corrosion of Conformity, Vio–Lence, Holy Grail, Exodus, Texas Hippie Coalition, Death Angel, Keator, Coroner, Helloween, Overkill, Halestorm any many, many others. Next week they will even be opening up for Grim Reaper, who are currently on their world tour supporting newly released Walking in the Shadows. Truce in Blood have five releases, three of which pre-date CDs: Nictophobic (1988), Truce (1990), Systematic Slaves (1991), Worst of Truce (2000) and Sales Pitch for the Masses (2010); each still rough, relevant and heavier than the largest, man-made structure Three Gorges Dam at 34 million metric tons (that’s 74,957,169,143 and equal to nine Great Pyramids). There’s a reason these guys are still kicking ass and taking names today! Age is simply a state of mind, leaving Truce in Blood freaking timeless!