Black Metal
Metal Blade Records
Release Date – May 31st 2024
Line Up:
Hellbutcher – Vocals
Necrophiliac – Guitar
Iron Beast – Guitar
Eld – Bass
Devastator – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – The Sword Of Wrath
2 – Perdition
3 – Violent Destruction
4 – Hordes Of The Horned God
5 – Death’s Rider
6 – Possessed By The Devil’s Flames
7 – Satan’s Power
8 – Inferno’s Rage
Hellbutcher is considered Black Metal royalty, having fronted Nifelheim for a couple of decades, and here he is going solo as a band. Hellbutcher states that this band encapsulates the true essence of heavy metal and disregards predefined trends and fashions. The simple fact is that the music and lyrics reek of evil – fact! ‘The Sword Of Wrath’ proves Hellbutcher (the man) is true to his word. It’s heavy metal in its purest form. ‘Perdition’, however, is the blackest, most frenzied evil metal which channels Venom and Bathory plus a bit of Motorhead. The guitars are razor-sharp and bloodied, whilst drummer Devastator keeps up an inhuman pace before ‘Violent Destruction’ does what it says on the tin – destroys violently.
How they keep up the energy is beyond me. ‘Hordes Of The Horned God’ reins things in on the intro before a rusty hacksaw of a riff is fired out from Necrophiliac and Iron Beast’s guitars. This is pure evil and boy does the devil have the best tunes, hell yeah! ‘Death’s Rider’ is a bit more traditional metal with a Mercyful Fate feel before the foreboding ‘Possessed By The Devil’s Flame’ gives us a bit of NWOBHM chug and some blinding leads. ‘Satan’s Power’ is another face-ripping slab of blackened thrash, then things get even more extreme on the album ‘Inferno’s Rage’.
I love this sort of stuff. It’s big, nasty, and dirty and totally unapologetic. If you don’t like it then you can shut the fuck up and fuck off! Hellbutcher is in the same camp as Midnight, Hellripper, Bulldozer, and Nunslaughter. It might come across as dumbfuckery, but to play with this intensity and precision takes skill. This is not for the faint of heart, so be prepared to be aurally beaten.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 9/10
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