Municipal Waste’s 20 Favorite Albums When They Were Teenagers

Municipal Waste frontman Tony Foresta and drummer Dave Witte are taking it back to childhood with this list of their 20 Favorite Albums From When They Were Teenagers.

When talking about Municipal Waste, the reverence for this group often comes with chatter about how they’re the most exciting new thrash band. There’s no doubt about it — they’ve certainly led the charge for the genre in the 21st century at the top of the heap of new-age thrashers, but the reality is that these dudes have been around for over 20 years!

Yes, they’re scene veterans now just like any of the Big 4, Testament, Kreator, Death Angel, Overkill, Sodom… the list goes on and on. They’re not just one of the great neo-thrash groups anymore — they’re every bit deserving of being mentioned in the same breath as all of those ’80s bands we all adore so much.

And with their seventh full length, Electrified Brain, arriving July 1 on Nuclear Blast, Municipal Waste are keen to show off some of their more classic/traditional metal influences, as heard on new cuts “High Speed Steel” and the title track in particular, while “Grave Dive” maintains the chugging, mosh-positive vibe that has always offered balance to their sound.

Those stylistic applications only offer a glimpse into those influences though, so, further down this page, Foresta (who turned 46 this year), and Witte (who will turn 51 this summer), take it back to the records they couldn’t stop listening to as kids, before there was any such thing called Municipal Waste.

“I was a ’90s kid, so my influences are kind of all over the place,” warns Foresta. “I went to three different high schools and lived in two different states that weren’t very close to each other. I met a lot of cool people that influenced me toward a lot of different things and helped make me the weird person I am,” he continues, “I listened to a lot of metal and thrash bands a bit later in the game, but I caught up fast. Here are the records that gave me that certain music addiction a lot of us have and helped make me the slave to the music industry that I am today!”

Witte’s teenage music experience was a bit more direct. “For the most part, my teenage years were mainly about finding out what was the fastest thing I could find,” he recalls.

Check out the must-see video for “Electrified Brain” first, though, and pre-order your copy of Municipal Waste’s new album here. Keep up to date with everything they’re doing and given them a follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify, too.

Municipal Waste, “Electrified Brain” Music Video