Strikehammer play a wicked brand of black thrash with a rock 'n roll edge, reminding me a little of Aura Noir and bands of a similar nature. Some songs have almost a punk feel, with more rock-oriented beats and punked-up riffs. They tend to lean into their black metal side a little more on some songs, like on "Perdition Rite," with its cold riffing and slower tempo at times. Vocally, I hear a ton of influence from Venom, and the singer has a voice that very much sounds like Cronos, but with a bit more growl to it, like a cross between Cronos and Quorthon. The band plays this style passably well, although I found the songs to be a little lackluster here and there. If they were more aggressive like on the song "Warspeed," I think I would probably like this even more. That song is quite good. It's hard to stand out in the black speed/thrash scene, because so many bands play the style, and theyr'e all pretty similar if we're being honest. I think with perhaps another album or two Strikehammer may find even more things to help separate them from the pack. For now, I'll just say I'm keeping an eye on them, since there is a lot of potential here. The album cover is amazing, though!
