A short-lived side project assembled by the members of costumed shock thrashers GWAR, X-Cops penned comedic hardcore and speed metal ditties inspired by the humorous darker side of law enforcement. Going under such imaginative stage names as Sheriff "Tubb" Tucker (vocals), Sgt. AlDepantsia (guitar), Lt. Louis Scrapinetti (guitar), Patrolman Cobb Knobbler (bass), Cadet Billy Club (drums), Mountain Bike Officer Biff Buff (vocals), Sgt. Zypygski (vocals), and Detective Philip McRevis (samples), the members of X-Cops locked up their debut album, You Have the Right to Remain Silent, in 1995. But they managed only a single the following year before retiring from the force and, once again, concentrating on donning their GWAR outfits thereafter. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

Belushi Speed Ball are a Kentucky-based band founded in 2013 as a studio project amongst friends with a penchant for cliché crossover thrash. Their first live performances came soon after, enthralling a rapidly growing fanbase with a uniquely interactive brand of theatrics and unorthodox approach to releases and merch. Dubbed "one of the funniest f*cking things I have heard this year" by The Needle Drop's Anthony Fantano, Belushi Speed Ball are inspired by bands from Toxic Holocaust and Anthrax to Gwar and Municipal Waste, to whom they simultaneously play homage and satirize a mean comment from a fan in their song "Ripping off Municipal Waste", which was voted one of Leo Magazine's top 20 songs of 2022. With a reputation for both trashing venues and meticulously cleaning them up after each individually themed performance, Belushi Speed Ball are masters of executing the unthinkable. From playing out of a Mad Max-esque moving van and starting Terminator-inspired 300-person Nerf gun fights to releasing entire albums in N64… or Furby… formats, nothing is sacred as they continue evolving as, in the words of Metalsucks, “a freakshow of blistering thrash dedicated to laughing its ass off at blistering thrash.” This year, Belushi Speedball are readier than ever to keep that momentum going, with yet another album mastered to perfection by Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust, as well as a host of festival appearances, tours, and merch set to drop over the months to come.

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