Perpetual Violence Machine by Hydra Vein, Five Thrash Tracks Mastered by Pete Maher
5 min read
Perpetual Violence Machine by Hydra Vein, Five Thrash Tracks Mastered by Pete Maher
Damon Maddison Wrote All Five Songs, and Two Guitars Carry Them at Old-School Thrash Speed
On YouTube, a channel called New Wave Of Old School Thrash Metal leads the tally for Perpetual Violence Machine, with 3,684 views for its full upload. That is about ten times either of the two other full uploads found in late September 2026. The channel name also doubles as a summary of the sound. Hydra Vein, a thrash metal band formed in Brighton in 1987 and now based in Amsterdam, released the five-track EP on 10 October 2025.
Hydra Vein have their title track in the metal playlist below, and the band’s full run of coverage is collected on the Hydra Vein artist profile. Perpetual Violence Machine reached this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news desks. Hit play, then read on.
Two Guitars and One Songwriter Shape the Five Arrangements on Perpetual Violence Machine
Start with who plays what, because the arrangements follow from it. Ross Curry sings and plays guitar, while Henry Pol plays the second guitar. Damon Maddison plays bass and John den Buitelaar plays drums. Maddison also wrote and composed all five songs, so the EP carries one writer’s plan from the first riff to the last.
That plan is classic in shape. In its track-by-track review, the Austrian webzine Metal Underground heard the title track open on traditional thrash chords. It then follows an almost textbook route: verses, a riff interlude, then a long melodic solo back into the riffs. Fans of Testament will know the model. On The Legacy in 1987, Alex Skolnick’s melodic leads broke up the riffing in the same way. A two-guitar line-up also makes that trade easy to hear.
Gang Shouts, Gallops and Tempo Changes Across the Rest of the EP
Iron Men changes the attack. The same review describes abrupt opening riffs and a chorus reinforced by group shouts. A heavy metal lift follows before galloping riffs take over again. Both devices have famous owners. For example, Anthrax built choruses around gang vocals on Among the Living in 1987. Similarly, Iron Maiden made the gallop a trademark on The Trooper in 1983.
The back half of the EP varies the pace. Black Slammer is slower and heavier, with tempo changes and a sharp solo. Its style sits between heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Strive For Life then picks the speed back up, moving between grinding and melodic passages. Finally, A Thousand Forms of Fear is the most experimental of the five, with vocals delivered almost as speech.
IJland Studio, Tim Visser and a Pete Maher Master Give Perpetual Violence Machine Its Finish
The recording has a clear paper trail. The band tracked and mixed the EP at IJland Studio in Amsterdam between March and May 2025. Tim Visser engineered the sessions and also produced them with the band.
The room has its own history. By the studio’s own account, IJland began in 1980 out of Amsterdam’s squatting community. It now works from a century-old building and credits its analogue gear and acoustics for giving instruments a true sound. Its guest quotes, meanwhile, run from Damon Albarn to Pete Doherty.
Mastering followed in London in June 2025. Pete Maher handled it at Topfloor Productions. His own site says he opened a small mastering studio in Camden Town in 2004 for unsigned and independent acts. It also lists his work on U2’s 360 World Tour recordings and the Linkin Park single Lost in the Echo.
According to Metal Underground, the lead guitar sits at the front of the finished mix, with the vocals prominent too. That balance suits an EP whose solos carry so much of the arrangement. Finally, Andik Godfinger created the cover art, and Iron Shield Records issued the EP on CD.
Where to Hear Perpetual Violence Machine, From Bandcamp and Spotify to Hell en Doorn
The EP is easy to find. It streams on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon Music, while Bandcamp sells it as a download. The full YouTube upload the band links to is also the quickest free way in.
Live, the songs have a date too. Hydra Vein are on the bill for Hell en Doorn 2026 at De Lantaarn in Hellendoorn on Friday 16 October 2026. They share it with Tank, the veteran British heavy metal band. For listeners in the Netherlands, that is therefore the nearest chance to hear the group shouts of Iron Men in a room.
The record suits a clear audience. It is made for collectors of 1980s British thrash and for fans of two-guitar solos. It also suits anyone who wants a short record with a plan they can follow on first play.
From the BestMusic.News Curator Team: “Play Iron Men first. The group shouts in the chorus and the gallop that follows are the quickest way into what these four players built in Amsterdam. After that, the long melodic solo on the title track makes the ideal second stop.”
Stream Perpetual Violence Machine in the Spotify player above or on Apple Music, buy it on Bandcamp or play it in the Bandcamp player. Follow Hydra Vein on their Spotify artist page, Apple Music artist page, Deezer, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Instagram and Facebook.
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