Envenom

Artist: Sabbat

Genre: Black / Thrash Metal

Origin: Japan

Year: 1991

Label: Evil Records

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The debut album by a very old Japanese band, which has been exercising anti-religious lyrics since the mid-eighties, almost at the same time with all the US / German masters. Sabbat has a series of awesome EPs from that period, which sound more like thrash but in imagery and text, they could easily fit the first wave of black metal and what influenced later bands.

During the nineties, the black / thrash elements became more apparent and they have been going until today. They also have a vast, vast discography, with countless mini releases, multiple in number per year.

Envenom is the first full work of Sabbat, released in 1991 by Evil Records, which is Gezol's (the band's vocalist / bassist) label. The guy is a true metal maniac and has been paid tribute by no other than Darkthrone, since their track "I Am The Graves of the 80's" refers to him. 

There is a certain transparency in Sabbat's music and the old school, dirty thrash sound is glorified through the cheesy - devilish tracks in Envenom. The vocals are relatively harsh and speed metal is ongoing.

The version I have is the re-release from Iron Pegasus records in 2016, which I think is also their current label. It comes with an old interview from that time (I think around 1990) which is awesome to read. Later, it was re-released again by Nuclear War. Primitive music played honestly, and this was proven by the steadiness of Sabbat all these years.

It was not the first piece I listened by them and I have mostly spent time around their 80s - 90s stuff, and not the rest, which are a lot. Envenom has a great production (listen to the drums), and a variety of interesting moments in its tracks.

Synths are used in "Bewitch", and "Reminiscent Bell", which give an almost space ambient kind of feeling, different from the 100% old school, filthy of the rest of the record. All songs kick ass. 

The band had a series of good albums in that decade and offered to me some of the best black / thrash I have ever heard. Favorites are "Reek of Cremation", "Eviler", "Devil Worship" and "King of Hell". 

Track listing:

1. Bewitch

2. The Sixth Candle

3. Satan Bless You

4. Evil Nations

5. Devil Worship

6. Reek of Cremation

7. Deathtemptation (Kanashibari Part 2)

8. King of Hell

9. Eviler

10. Carcassvoice

11. Dead March

12. Reminiscent Bells

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Nocturnal - Storming Evil (2014) Review

Album | Storming Evil
Country | Germany
Genre | Black / Thrash Metal
Label | High Roller Records Records

| Tyrants of damnation |

Among my favorite bands of the twenty first century in the black / thrash territories are the Germans Nocturnal, who crushed my brain with their debut Arrival of the Carnivore in 2004 and have been under my radar ever since. The band is busy releasing mini-records but had not offered anything for three years now, before putting their third full length album Storming Evil not long ago. Germany has an excellent history in thrash metal and a notable one in black, so filthy bands out of these lands are always good to check out.

One of the characteristics that I find very appealing in this band is their comfort with the necessary variety of riffs and melodies in their music, which always delivers a lively and old-school feeling, no matter how clean the sound is. The fact is that it's quite polished here but still, I erased any possible complaints with the first listen, an immediate hook up. They achieve more than any average band of their genre with their evident and memorable guitar lines, which enrich each song to it's full capacity. Tracks such as "Rising Demons", "Perish in Darkness", "Storm from the Graves" deserve being called black / thrash jewels.

There is a noteworthy musical harmony in Nocturnal that makes this album very easy to enjoy, as if the tracks are placed in the perfect positions and everything is executed as it was meant to be. I didn't find a dull moment or two, where I thought "ok, nice part but very much in the borders of the genre", all of it is fully entertaining, even for someone who has heard a hundred bands of the same philosophy. I also want to pinpoint the kick ass job done by the vocalist, who has a very powerful throat for shrieked / harsh vocals, but doesn't miss the eighties falsettos from time to time, making his role as important as the one of the guitars.

Storming Evil was better than I first thought it would be and it already is some of the best material I have listened lately, in terms of underground poser-free metal. Arrival of the Carnivore will always be unique in my heart but this one is also way above average, full of energy and diverse, in it's own way. By now, I have full faith that Nocturnal will never disappoint me with a full length and I will have something to jam on for quite a while, taking breaks from my busy playlists. This record is impressive at first sight and grows on you as you listen too, so beware.

DAMAGE: 9/10

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Töxik Death - Speed Metal Hell (2014) Review

Album | Speed Metal Hell
Country | Norway
Genre | Black / Thrash Metal
Label | Demonhood Productions

| Sergeant of the wasteland |

As much as I like present-day thrash metal, a dose of the relentless, old school touch is always fine to listen to, especially from new and crazy bands that are formed solely for that reason. From the land of Deathhammer, comes this band named Töxik Death, which lets the album's title and art to speak for itself: Speed Metal Hell  is an anti-poser black / thrash statement that will keep the die hard fans busy for some time, in case they discover it.

The band has released a split with three other bands (Deathhammer, Nekromantheon and Carniwhöre) named Nekrothrash and that's exactly what these guys play. The fast-paced tempo of Motorhead, fused with the aggressiveness of Venom and an addition of the fruits of black / thrash all these years, the mix of Töxik Death is familiar and never getting old, especially when it's done by enthusiasts like them.

All the tracks are catchy riff after catchy riff, torn vocals and fast drums, a couple of solos an underground extreme metal atmosphere. Yet another album for freaks with Speed Metal emblem tattoos and patches, it will not disappoint and it has plenty of enjoyable music during it's half hour of length and total of nine tracks. Of course, the roots of the genre are what dominates the album, all punk / rock n roll / thrash / black are partying alike.

Speed Metal Hell does not introduce the listener to anything new and that's the point of the record in the first place, worshipping it's style to the last bit. From what you might have understood, fans of Witchburner, Aura Noir and the above bands will also love this one. Made by fanatics, for the fanatics.

DAMAGE: 8/10

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Warbringer - War Without End (2008) Review

Warbringer: War Without End
Country | USA
Genre | Thrash Metal

Date | February 5th, 2008

Label | Century Media Records

| Millions storm the battlefield |

Contradicting the opinion of most die hard thrashers, I don't believe the genre died after the eighties and I often discover little miracles by newcomer bands, either famous or unknown. California's Warbringer are by now a gigantic name when it comes to the modern scene and not only, since they are kind and respectful to their craft, which pays back with supreme noise. Debut War Without End is by far the most old school and raw approach, scuplted to perfectly fit the rotten ears of old, bastard beerheads, isn't it? Just look at the titles and the artwork, or more precisely, the music.

The band aimed for a dirty production, taking advantage of the modern studio machinery to avoid the unbearable fuzziness. A problem one often encounters with the old underground bands when listening to them twenty five years later is how the sound was poorly taken care of, focusing on the overall madness instead of any actual purity. No one could blame them for their inexperience in recreating the sound of thrash since it was then taking form and it's not a big deal either (many fans actually want it), but I believe today it's somehow a must. That been said, War Without End is very pleasing to the ear without being a bitch of the trigger effect, making it look honest and from the humble heart. The gargantuan badass Bill Metoyer has been the producer for this, who has also done legends like Slayer, D.R.I., Flotsam and Jetsam, Dark Angel, Sacred Reich and others. All the instruments are audible but not crystal clear, born in the 21st century but aching past decades, a combination of Warbringer's passion for their original bloody roots, but not a worthless replica of them.

Which brings me to a drawback of the overall album, which is the eternal problem of repetition. Even though there are a lot of ideas going on, it doesn't reveal a personality behind the curtain of old bands like Kreator or Vio-lence, with a couple of restored riffs here and there. For the most part, Warbringer are demonstrating their own muscle power with plenty of good composition parts, but it get's too hard into binding them together, leaving them the option to do it the old way. This little bug hardly will change the minds of those who listen to it, when the music is straightforward and bludgeoning as this. A fastidious listener would point out the washy recycling, but it's not even right there. It's just below the surface.

Breaking the album into parts, the guitar work is diverse and amazing. Riff after riff, solo after solo, it keeps a very fast tempo as it should be and gives away variety and entertainment for about forty minutes. It is clearly above the typical thrash metal bands, counting 4-5 or more riffs in each song and about the same solo analogy, with a few arpeggio patterns, tremolo picking and a accustomed aggressive attitude. The concept album was not chosen by luck and it's very close to the essence of the music, which is a hundred percent warfriendly and combat ready. There are several war samples as well like guns, bombs...

Moving on with the vocals, which are breathtaking. They are harsh, steady and powerful, with several stunning and memorable moments like in the bonus track "Nightslasher" (which is an old song named "Zombie" that was re-recorded), or in the standout track "Total War", where the screams are touching heaven in quality. The vocalist is a problem for me four out of five times in modern thrash and Warbringer paid back for the rest of the morons that destroy a band's good music with their awful vocals, therefore this was made just as amazing. The drumming is fast and varied, even though I don't like the random hits in a moment or two through the album, like in the beginning of the main part of "At the Crack of Doom", which has a hell of an introduction by the way. They are right on the spot in almost every song, but it feels like the drummer could not think of how to fill in at some point so he just hammered down the snares for a few seconds. I noticed a little bit of black metal drumming sometime, quickly switching to other picks.

I can't say it's classic material in this album, but it's definitely over the limit of mediocrity. For the music contained, the listener fully gains quality for the time spent, with Warbringer clinging onto the waves of thrash, playing around the Bay Area and the  heavier extreme of Europe, with splendid musicianship and a coherent content. It's definitely great for it's kind and you know you will like it because you somehow expect it, as the personality of the band is depicted in a few moments and not in the whole album. It secretly gives away the form they would later take, which is more unique and glorious.

DAMAGE: 7.5/10

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Witchburner - Bloodthirsty Eyes (2013) Review

Witchburner "Bloodthirsty Eyes"

Winter 2013, High Roller Records

Listening Needs

Physical Needs

I recently purchased "Demons" along with some other stuff, always fond of bands with delicate artworks. I will make a post about that album as well one day. Im sure.

Being one of the first metal bands i got into, i've been following their path of stench and old-school rottenness since Blood of Witches (im not that old), listening to the old albums and any kind of side releases from them at the same time. The german thrash metal front is huge of course, so any bands from there should be given a listen, especially this one, jamming around since 1992.

The album is a loyal servant of the old school black/thrash sound. It is a recipee that definitely works for old-school maniacs that have sticked back to the tape trading era and dirty thrash metal bands with ugly black metal vocals. The band has recruited a new vocalist on this album and the differences of him and the previous one are obvious, because his vocals sound more harsh and less high pitched.

The songs, as one would expect, are fast paced, full of riffs and solos with the feeling of the 80s-90s quite powerful. With their seventh album, Witchburner do what they do best, they are not demonstrating anything new, even though i like the music here more than other albums they've recorded.

 

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DAMAGE: [7.0/10]

Deathhammer - Onward To The Pits (2012) Review

Deathhammer "Onward To The Pits"

Spring 2012, Hells Headbangers Records

Listening Needs

Physical Needs

When you see a band logo patched in a Darkthrone cover, you can't help but look for more information about it. Judging from the fact that Darkthrone are slaves of the old school themselves, it is obvious that their suggestions would point to bands that worship that particular sound. Either its old school heavy, or thrash, or black, or anything. Deathhammer are a thrash/black metal band from, surprise surprise, Norway. Active since 2005, they have released some demos, splits, compilations and two full length albums. Under the aegis of Hells Headbangers and Darkthrone recommendations, we are not dealing with a modern melodeath album with too much mediocre cleans.

First of all, i really like the cover art. A concept of a demon dwelling in the flaming depths of hell is appropriate, its not a perfect drawing but it serves its purpose. It somehow describes the music in its own way, it is known that an album is more than the songs themselves. Here's the proof.

Right from the start, skipping any unecessary introductions or preludes, the album takes off like an assault. A fast paced song with vaulting drums indicates the level of raw violence the band is all about, hammering down riffs and screams with no remorse. The album could easily be a major part of the 80s thrash/early black metal scene if it had been released back then. The guitar work reminds a lot of the early black/speed metal Bathory style, influenced by bands like Kreator and early Sodom. Deathhammer is not yet another band that puts some overplayed riffs with repeating drums to create their songs, as many new black/thrash bands do. They are precise and punctilious with their compositions and the flow of the album, not overtrying to put the correct sounds together, mastering the craft of solos perfectly and exactly as it is needed here.

They have a good grip of the certain music style and their songwriting skills help them to prove the point. Vicious and straightforward old school thrash metal rooting almost 30 years ago, with a balanced approach to black metal of the same period. Now, the vocalist of the band is remarkable. Mainly a thrash voice, it has that rough black metal sound at some points (again close to early Bathory) and he does not hesitate to throw some really high pitched falsetto words around. One can listen to some clean screams here and there, reaching an ear drilling octave. Lyrically, the poetry stinks of cemeteries, death, evil, hell, sorcery and all of the above combined. Standout tracks for me are "Lead Us In Hell", "Deathrashing Sacrifice", "Fullmoon Sorcery", "Arms of Death". All i can say is that this album is pure 80s metal madness that could be used to kill posers and nu-metal kids.

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DAMAGE: [7.5/10]

Menace - Mentally Ill (Demo, 2012)

Country: Greece

Genre: Old School Thrash Metal

Label: Independent

Website: Facebook

This is a local band, and there are not lots of serious bands around my town, thats why demos or even song recordings receive the talk of everyone or so. Its what the genre states, thrash metal old-school-sound with really high vocals and screams.

I've seen them live and I've met some, influences from Exodus, Dark Angel, Vio-Lence and Destruction can give you an idea... Purchased this demo at their concert, self-made and self-promoted. Its not a waste of time to check this out and their performance was a hell of a mosh pit, old school style.