Black Fast

Black Fast, a punishing thrash metal quartet hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, built its standing among metal listeners via intense Midwest performances and two well-regarded independent releases during the early 2010s. Following a deal with Entertainment One, the group delivered its first international outing on the ferocious 2015 album Terms of Surrender, then broadened its reach further with the 2018 follow-up Spectre of Ruin.

The lineup came together in Edwardsville, Illinois in 2010, channeling influences from classic thrash and black metal into a self-titled debut EP issued the next year. Comprising singer/guitarist Aaron Akins, lead guitarist Trevor Johanson, bassist Ryan Thompson, and drummer Ross Burnett, the quartet put out the seven-song full-length Starving Out the Light in 2013, which gained wider exposure through Bandcamp and various streaming platforms. That momentum led to a contract with Entertainment One, which released Terms of Surrender in 2015. The album featured production from Hate Eternal frontman and lauded metal producer Erik Rutan, who also oversaw the subsequent Spectre of Ruin in 2018.