Thrash metal band from Szczecin, Poland. Formed in early 2005 as Dagon, changed name to Headbanger in late 2005/early 2006 after some lineup changes. Disbanded in early 2007, reformed (with only Radek Raczkowski remaining from the original lineup) in early 2008. The band now counts the last reformation as the actual beginning of the band. During the first year of real existence the band recorded 1 demo, and released 2 EP's.
 

 READY TO STRIKE (EP) (2009) SLANEY RECORDS

Nowadays the world seems inexhaustible when it comes to young kids wanting to revive the thrash metal scene. And with the new age of MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, it doesn't take all that much effort to get your music out there. However, it would seem that the carrot they all still are looking to catch, is the good old record deal.

Headbanger are a relatively new band, hailing from Poland. They have already released a demo and an EP, so this is their 3rd go at the carrot. 'Ready To Strike' is the name of the 3 song EP, released through Slaney Records. This is the second Polish band Kieran, and his Irish label, has released music from so far this year.

The band name, and the so-cheesy-it's-cool album cover, made me believe that Headbanger were more of a classic metal band. I was wrong in my assumption. Musically this is, of course, yet another retro thrash metal band. The music is full throttle all the way, with lightning fast riffs, and that all encompassing punk infusion. The vocals are of the shouted gang variety, just like it was with bands like OverKill, Destruction & Assassin. The punk attitude also comes from bands like Venom, Motörhead and Tank. So there you go, this is old school thrash metal, with heavy NWOBHM tendencies.

"Brutal Revenge" is my favorite track on the EP. But the songs sounds so much alike, that it took a few spins to tell them apart. So if the band is planning for a full length album, I would recommend that they use more time in writing songs with more diversity.