In a new interview with Tony Webster of the Metal Command podcast, guitarist Nige Rockett of U.K. thrash metal veterans ONSLAUGHT was asked if he and his bandmates have commenced work on fresh material since last year’s return of vocalist Sy Keeler. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Oh, yeah. It’s kind of underway with writing. I’ve got the album title, I’ve got all the track titles, lots and lots of riffs in the bag. At the moment, it’s kind of — because [2025’s] ‘Origins Of Aggression’ album’s not been out too long, we’ve got plenty of touring to do. So our kind of headspace is in touring at the moment and getting Sy back working in the band and our new guitarist, Nik [Sampson], also. So our headspace isn’t really in writing mode at the moment, but every time I sit down in my studio, it’s lining stuff up and just putting little ideas together. But no complete songs as yet. But it’s all kind of in the process of how we work anyway of working on the new record. Nik‘s sending me over a load of riffs, but, yeah, it’s all in place. We need to sort of do the American [tour]. We’ve got some shows coming up after that, and then it’s kind of get a bit more focused over the summer on the new record. So, yeah, that’s very important. Obviously, now Sy‘s back in the band, we need to concentrate and get some brand new studio material out.”
Rockett also talked about the possibility of ONSLAUGHT re-recording the material from the band’s 1989 album “In Search of Sanity”, which was originally written for Keeler but which ended up featuring vocals by GRIM REAPER frontman Steve Grimmett.
“We’ve done ‘Shellshock’ with Sy as a bonus track. I think it was on [2013’s] ‘VI’ [album], maybe. And obviously we did the ‘In Search Of Sanity’ [title track] re-record with [then-ONSLAUGHT singer] Dave Garnett also, which, for me, sounded amazing. But, yeah, the plan is still there — I’ve discussed it already with the label; they wanna do it — is to redo the whole of ‘In Search Of Sanity’ with Sy. Now that Sy‘s back, the plan is back on track again, because that was always the plan with Sy, to re-record the ‘Sanity’ album. So, yeah, [it’s] still a hundred percent gonna happen. The label are completely behind it. Sy obviously wants to do that as well. So, yeah, it’s definitely gonna happen.”
Nige added: “I love the [‘In Search of Sanity’] album, or I love the songs on the album. It’s not one of my top ONSLAUGHT albums, for obvious reasons. So, yeah, I’m desperate to do it myself, and, obviously, with Sy being back, it’s something he really wants to do because it’s the one album [from] kind of middle ONSLAUGHT catalog that he didn’t sing on. And I think it’s very important to him, ’cause, obviously, everything was written with Sy in mind on ‘In Search Of Sanity’. And he wants to fulfill that role in it.”
ONSLAUGHT will hit the North American soil starting in March for the first time in well over a decade with a “Force From Hell” set, drawing heavily from “Power From Hell” and “The Force”, the band’s seminal first two 1980s albums. These are records that helped define extreme thrash metal, and they will be complemented by a neck-breaking selection of classic Keeler-era fan favorites to celebrate the vocalist’s triumphant return to the band. Co-headlining the tour will be cult metal heroes WARLORD, who, despite being based in Los Angeles, have never toured North America in over their 45-plus-year career. WARLORD will play its seminal album “Deliver Us” in its entirety plus more classic-era material. The two bands will embark on this tour de force after a special set at Hell’s Heroes festival in Houston, Texas.
ONSLAUGHT is a pioneering U.K. thrash metal band formed in Bristol in 1982. Emerging from a hardcore punk background, they helped shape the British thrash scene with their aggressive sound, politically charged lyrics, and relentless speed. Their early albums “Power From Hell” (1985) and “The Force” (1986) are regarded as genre classics, influencing countless extreme metal bands worldwide. After a hiatus and later reformation, ONSLAUGHT continued to release acclaimed material, cementing their legacy as one of the most important and enduring forces in world of thrash metal.
ONSLAUGHT played its first concert with returning vocalist Keeler on November 9, 2025 at the U.K.’s Damnation Festival at the BEC Arena in Manchester.
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