New Jersey thrash metal institution WHIPLASH have released “Bullet Train”, the first single taken from their forthcoming album “ROAR”, due out worldwide on November 27, 2026 via Time To Kill Records.
Driven by Tony Portaro’s unmistakable guitar work and vocals, the track offers a first taste of a record built around the direct, riff-heavy attack that has defined WHIPLASH throughout their four-decade career.
Streaming: https://ffm.to/whiplash-bullet-train
Tony Portaro comments:
“‘Bullet Train’ is our high-octane anthem for the speed freaks. It’s about that headlong rush of living life at 200 MPH; the addiction to speed, chaos and the constant chase that has always been part of the heavy metal lifestyle. ‘Time is racing like a speed machine, motor speedway in your brain’ really sums up what the song is about. It’s all horsepower and adrenaline: breakneck speed, faster than a jet stream. This is metal with no brakes.”
Recorded at Studio Mozart and Concrete Island Studio, produced by Tony Portaro and mixed by Jamie King Audio, the album delivers ten explosive tracks that capture the raw energy of the band’s live performances while reflecting Portaro‘s continued evolution as a songwriter and musician.
Songs such as “Sonic Asylum”, “Bullet Train” and “Who Stole My Whiskey” hit with full-force precision: this is thrash crafted for the mosh pit, not the algorithm. “ROAR” offers exactly what one should expect from WHIPLASH: real metal built around riffs, songs and attitude, with no interest in unnecessary embellishment or whatever fashionable nonsense happens to be circulating outside the pit.
The album was initially made available in a strictly limited form during WHIPLASH‘s European “Campaign for Musical Destruction Tour” with Napalm Death. A small number of CD promos were distributed independently during the tour under the original title “THRASHQUAKE”.
The album now receives its official worldwide release through Time To Kill Records, with a new title, brand-new artwork by legendary illustrator Ed Repka, and a global campaign befitting its status.
Tony Portaro comments:
“THRASHQUAKE was the original title, and we made a limited number of copies available independently while we were touring earlier this year. As things developed and we started looking at the bigger picture for the worldwide release, ROAR just felt like a stronger title and a better representation of the album as a whole.
Partnering with Time To Kill Records gives us the opportunity to take this record far beyond that initial tour release and give it the international campaign and worldwide distribution it deserves. With the new title, the new Ed Repka artwork and TTK behind the official release, ROAR represents the definitive version of this album and the beginning of its real worldwide campaign.”
For Time To Kill Records, bringing WHIPLASH into the fold is a genuine pleasure: few bands embody the idea of uncompromising underground metal quite like Portaro‘s long-running institution.
Tracklist:
1. Thrashquake
2. Bullet Train
3. Can’t Take Back a Bullet
4. Sword Meet Skull
5. Who Stole My Whiskey
6. When the Deadman Calls
7. Red Tape Riot
8. Mother’s Kill Club
9. Sonic Asylum
10. Graveyard of Good and Evil
Current touring lineup:
Tony Portaro | vocals, guitar
William Winton | bass
Mitch Hull | drums
Preorders:
https://timetokillrecords.com/collections/whiplash
https://officialwhiplash.bandcamp.com/album/roar
Formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1984, WHIPLASH quickly established themselves as one of the defining forces of the 1980s East Coast thrash metal scene. Led by guitarist and vocalist Tony Portaro, their combination of melodic speed metal, vicious riffs and raw energy produced the cult classic “Power and Pain” (1985), released through Roadrunner’s Road Racer imprint.
Followed by “Ticket to Mayhem” (1987) and “Insult to Injury” (1989), the band’s early records helped establish a distinctive identity within a New York scene dominated by punk and hardcore. After further releases, lineup changes and a period of inactivity, WHIPLASH returned with “Thrashback” (1998) before a long hiatus.
The band re-emerged with “Unborn Again” in 2009, reconnecting with both old-school devotees and a new generation of thrash fans. Through every incarnation, Tony Portaro has remained the band’s constant driving force, preserving the power-trio spirit at the heart of WHIPLASH.
In 2026, that uncompromising approach continues with “ROAR”, the band’s eighth studio album and their new worldwide release through Time To Kill Records.
Thrash ’til death.
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https://www.officialwhiplash.com/
