Mark Lanegan, best known as a founding member of Screaming Trees, was also a member of Queens of the Stone Age for some of their best releases, “Rated R,” “Songs for the Deaf,” and “Lullabies to Paralyze.” Additionally, Lanegan has collaborated with a host of notable artists over the years including Isobel Campbell of Belle and Sebastian, Mad Season, and Melissa Auf der Maur. In short, “Black Pudding” is not Lanegan’s first rodeo; he is a seasoned veteran of the trade, always looking to try something new.

One of the things about the thrash renaissance that is most welcome is the remembrance of bands outside the Big Four. While the Bay Area bands, along with the New York scene, did define thrash and contribute countless classic records, the boundaries of the genre weren't compatible with America's. Thrash exploded everywhere, and nowhere more than Germany, which has solidified its legacy as the second home of thrash. In the dark years of heavy metal, when all but the biggest bands seemed forgotten, the German thrash scene was reduced to but a blip on the screen.