speed metal / thrash metal / black metal

Well, nine o' clock in the evening. Time for the neighbor's little kid to crawl into bed and have a good night sleep, right? Well, no, fuck that toddler and fuck everybody else's night's rest for that matter. The time for sleep is over and there is an intense reason for that.

Belgian speed metal behemoths Bütcher have a new album, one which calls to be played non-stop until the plague brakes out. These guys are set to demolish everything in their raging path to extreme metal glory. So prepare yourself, Antwerp, this city will be in ruins in no time. 

In all seriousness, at first glance I had to giggle when I first laid my eyes on this release. Everything, and I mean everything, about Bütcher looks like an ancient metal cliché. The logo, the artwork, titles like 'Iron Bitch' and 'Viking Funeral'. It feels like it's all done before. Yet, instead of simply accumulating these properties, Bütcher have managed to make them their own and become the most convincing act within their genre. Obviously, for the laymen among us, this will be something to frown upon, but for the initiate metal heads, this album is an absolute must-have.

How it sounds? Well, it starts with an impending into, 'Inauguration of Steele', only to burst out in a bloody violent rage with the aforementioned 'Iron Bitch'. From then on, this quartet rages like rabid hounds from hell, driven forward by hyperspeed guitars, shrieking vocals and brutal drums. Flashes of Slayer, Darkthrone, Sodom and Exiter appear in my mind. Hell, even Helloween comes to mind, be in a ferocious thrash metal karaoke style, screamed by Satan himself. The only moment of rest appears in the first few seconds of title track '666 Goats Carry My Chariot'.

That one is my favorite here. While most tracks focus on high speed thrash metal, '666 Goats Carry My Chariot' dives into the realm of symphonic black metal, reminding me of those old 'World Domination' samplers, for example. It's also the only track you can headbang to without the skin in your neck being ripped to shreds and your spine being fractured. So for safety measures: if you're new to this genre, start with this one. Please do not start with 'Viking Funeral' as it will murder you immediately.

If you are familiar with Bütcher you should have already pre-ordered the living shit out of this filthy little record. In all, this is one of the few reasons why I'm quite proud to be Belgian. Bands like Bütcher, but also many others, have managed to create convincing and highly respected musical scenes throughout this country and far across its borders. '666 Goats Carry My Chariot' is another statement of this solid brotherhood. This album is vile, harsh and intense, but mostly it's a stranglehold, performed to extreme perfection. All hail Bûtcher.


​Serge

noise / dark ambient / experimental

bandcamp

electronic

dSound In Silence

progressive / metal / black metal

heavy metal / thrash metal

downtempo / electronic / post rock / shoegaze

facebook

psychedelic / doom

sludge / black metal

ambient / modern classical / experimental

bandcamp

drone / doom / noise / experimental

ambient / electronic

noise rock

stoner rock / grunge / alternative rock

facebook

​Serge

metal / metalcore

While browsing through my pile of CDs to be reviewed, I found this little thing. I think it has been there for a while. I remembered when it came in. I opened the envelop and saw the CD plus the biography. I read the words "symphonic" and "metalcore" which almost caused the album to become forgotten.

Why? Well, I simply don't like metalcore and it has been ages since I listened to symphonic metal. Today the album almost literally fell into my lap while I was sorting out the CDs. I decided to give it a shot and I have to say, I am not as disappointed as I thought I would be.

The album opens with the powerful and forward pushing 'Lilith'. Immediately influences from bands like Arch Enemy, Trivium and Lacuna Coil appear. Fronted by the versatile Lola Van Loo, this Swiss band is a raging tribute to metal, certainly capable of causing most pits and crowd surfers. So far so good but the following track, 'Don't Waste Your Time' somewhat reduces the joy. Although this is not a bad song, you can hear a searching band, not yet fully convinced of their abilities. Either that, or they take the element of experimentation a bit too far.

Then again, 'Crawling In The Dirt' is a top level metal track, combining the best from Otep with the best of Arch Enemy and that is a serious compliment. It also show a bit of humor, which I think is a good thing. 'Blue Scorpion' is a cracker but also seems to drown in the planned versatility of the band. Sometimes I feel as if Chaoseum tried to adopt too many influences at once, giving the music an unnecessary complexity. In my opinion, fans will crave more tracks like the brutal 'F.T.S.' or the pummeling 'Devil's Wedding'.

'First Step To Hell' is not a bad album. In fact, it's certainly above average. The music is performed to perfection. There is plenty of power and the whole thing is varied enough to remain interesting, apart from a few missteps. What Chaoseum needs now is heaps of stage performances. If all goes well there, there is a big change for founding them on big stages in the future. In a few years, they might release a masterpiece. This CD has planted the seeds for that. There is potential, that's for sure.


​Serge

thrash metal

Lethal Injury, risen in Ostend, a town at the Belgian North Sea coast. This thrash metal band was founded in January 2015. Band members are Josha Pylyser (bass), Dennis Wyffels (guitar), Kevin 'Rambo' Van Eeckhoutte (vocals), Jonjo Hardy (guitar) and Arthur Loobuyck (Drums). 

Melancholia is their debut album which was released in September 2018. After the successful four track demo in 2015 and a new drummer, they could concentrate on their blasting full length debut album. Lethal Injury plays old school thrash metal. Their influences come from different styles of metal music.

They have played already a lot of live shows and shared the stage with some big names in the metal world like Anthrax, Hirax and Legion Of The Damned.

Lethal Injury stands for speedy guitar riffs like Slayer and Pantera. Rambo’s vocals are a mix between Steve Souza (Exodus) and Ihsahn (Emperor). His shrill hoarse voice is filled with anger and aggression. The band handles the speed and melodies with precision and the songs are provided with a lot of variation. A bombardment of firing guitar solos and thrash riffs merged with the terrifying shrieks of their lead singer, will revive a lot of thrash metal hearts. 

High speed tracks are Mothman and Suicidal Call, which has an old fashioned intro before exploding to one of the best tracks on the album. Denounce contains a pure Slayer-like riff that makes you bang that head at the first hit of the strings. Melancholia II is a melodic peaceful break to prepare us for the last wicked track, Veiled Woman Of The Black. Speed metal given in the best possible way. This last piece is a more than seven minutes long attack of raging guitars and screams guided by pounding double bass drumming, spreading pure madness.  
​
Following Evil Invaders, Lethal Injury delivers another supersonic thrash-speed metal album with balls from Belgium. 

Patsker

alternative / metal / metalcore

heavy metal / power metal

hard rock / stoner rock / alternative rock / grunge

thrash / death metal

doom

doom / sludge / post hardcore

pop rock

pop rock / alternative rock

​Serge

thrash metal

After two split releases on 7 inch vinyl with the bands Rust and Purgatör, this two-member band release (12 October 2018) their debut album Infernal Moon.

E, from France on vocals and guitar and R, from Holland plays drums. The two friends, who met while studying in Italy share the same interest for thrash and speed metal bands of the 80’s. R stands for Rene Aquarius who is known for his drumming in several experimental projects in The Netherlands  (Dead Neanderthals, Cryptae and Celestial Bodies). 

The duo plays old school thrash metal. The first track, Infernal Moon sets the key for the whole album. Filthy guitar riffs with a deep thrash throat and pumping drums refer to the legendary Celtic Frost-Hellhammer glory days. The musicians managed to put a certain punk attitude in their songs and production of the album. Although they bring nothing new, they still get away with it.  E and R  constructed their songs on one hand, with an eye and heart to their heroes and the other to avoid playing covers. The instruments are played very tight and with precision.

Solitudinem Mysteriis is to our opinion one of the best songs on the album together with Perpetual Funeral Winds, which starts with an old fashioned acoustic intro and altering into a very good, old school thrash metal song with a not so common style. The thought of Tom G. Warrior on vocals is never far away.

DungeönHammer kicks your butt with this eight song retro album. Infernal Moon brings nostalgia that reminds us the wonderful days of metal music in the 80’s. They play with deep respect in remembrance of the founders of old school black-thrash metal. We should honor those who honor and respect the old gods of metal. Let’s bang that head again.

​
Patsker

thrash metal

Three years ago, when Merchants Of Air was still in its infancy, I got acquainted with Finnish heavy rockers Supremate. Back then they released their self-titled debut album, one in which I saw both potential and possible points of improvement. I remember writing the review from the perspective of a festival attendee, arriving at the event in the early afternoon. Now the band returns with a second full length, and I have to say, they have been evolving away from the young Nirvana, Offspring and Pantera coverband they used to be in the beginning of this century. Now Supremate is a full grown band with a solid and powerful sound.

'Uniting Flaw' contains ten tracks, all grafted from old school thrash metal. Opener 'Despite The Scars' immediately delivers the potent riffs and the raw, somewhat aggressive vocals. Although influences from their thrash, groove and heavy metal heroes are still present, the band seems to have found their own sound, one that most headbangers and riff enthusiasts will certainly appreciate. 'The Crown Don't Make A King' is a perfect example of that. It's loaded with delicious metal riffs but also leaves some room for experimentation, mainly in the drums.

My favorite track here is 'Territory' (not a Sepultura cover), closely followed by the crushing 'Blackness' and the groovy 'Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints'. These three songs show how much the band has been evolving in the past few years. Most of the instrumentation seems to come quite naturally. Only the vocals feel somewhat forced at times, as if the vocalist tries to overpower the music. I sure hope he can keep this level of aggression and roughness going for the foreseeable future.

I feel like the talent and potential of Supremate is slowly blooming. 'Uniting Flaw' shows a more coherent and experienced band than the debut album did, which is a good thing. Of course this album is no 'Master Of Puppets', 'Cowboys From Hell' or 'Rust In Piece' but it certainly is an entertaining piece of old school heavy metal. As before I think these songs will work better on stage than in the living room but if played loud enough you might find yourself banging your head multiple times. So check it out, you just might find a new favorite tune.


​Serge

thrash metal

stoner metal / sludge

psychedelic rock / stoner / blues

drone / ambient

death metal / symphonic metal

alternative rock

ambient

drone / noise / ambient

dark ambient

techno

symphonic metal / death metal

electronic / experimental / breakcore

Petrol 80

Serge

alternative rock

Glauber

drone / experimental

Abjection Productions

Glauber

alternative rock / shoegaze

folk rock / americana

website

metal / post hardcore

post metal

progressive metal

downtempo / electronic

Audiobulb

death metal

doom metal / dark metal / death metal

thrash / death metal

techno

thrash metal

The work of a lifetime, the recognition after looooong 25 years being officially released at February 7th!!!. The thrash metal's veterans of Anialator were formed in 1986 in Corpus Christi (US-TX) and released a series of demos and EPs back in the '80s. These recordings were recompiled in 2017 by Xtreem Music label, demonstrating a HUGE respect for the band and its origin. There is a phrase from drummer Boka that was told in the documentary 'Guidable: A Verdadeira História do Ratos de Porão' (Guidable: The True Story of Ratos de Porão, in English) where he says that their first CD was a faithful record of that time, something vintage. The recording of 'Crucificados pelo Sistema' (Crucified by the System, in English) was done in the way it could be done at that time.

In the metropolitan area that I live, curiously also situated in the southern region of a country, there were many metal bands in the 80's, and several of them never recorded an EP or a single! Just because the quality of the recording didn't sound like most of the famous bands' releases of that time, like 'Kill 'Em All', 'Master of Puppets', 'Reign in Blood' or even 'Beneath the Remains' (just to name a few of them). Today only the nostalgic stories survived, and their music disappeared... A pity, because a big part of many people's lives - bands, fans and a whole musical scene - became lost. Anialator chose to relaunch their demos with the quality of that time and brought us a great historical register!!! This attitude alone would gain all my respect!!!

However, in 2015, the band got together again to work on new tunes and do some gigs. This new songs now had the chance to be recorded in its powerful plenitude at this EP called ‘Rise to Supremacy’!!! They waited 25 years to record an album that could show all their heaviness and this wait was worth it, because its five musics ('Embrace the Chaos', 'All Systems Down', 'Rise Again', 'Thick Skinned' and 'Black') are a punch in the face, one song after another, without any rest, without any chance to even blink your eyes!!! 'Rise to Supremacy' can be "only" an EP, but it's a record of a band that deserves all the respect of the world produced exactly as it should be and released to show to the new generations how it's possible to modernize a musical production without losing 1% of aggressiveness!!! This album was born as a MANDATORY HEARING for any heavy-sounding fan!!!

And here is the compilation of Anialator’s EP’s and Demos, called 'Mission of Death', from 2017:

​
Glauber