This is the third album from this black metalpunk band. At the heart of their sound is second-wave black metal, but it's laid overtop a punk rock chassis. The guitars are fuzzed out in a very punk way, giving this an almost 1980s feel. The vocals are fairly standard black metal growls, but convincingly and forcefully sung. The band can do short sharp shocks of two minutes or so, but they can also pull off ten minute epics as the last track shows us, completely with a bunch of musical experimentation. This is quite a record, and one that deserves hearing.
Dart from Finland have chosen to mix speed metal and hardcore punk and have churned out quite the record. It comes off sounding like an amped-up-on-meth version of Motorhead with frantically performed vocals and nonstop speed. One wild thing that they do from time to time is mix in some Hammond organ to add some melody, like in the song "Sick Game," and it's a wonderful addition that adds a whole new layer to their punked-up metal music. Often they have one guitar playing a melody overtop the main riff, in a very punk style, and it also reminds me of the early days of Finnish death metal. The bassist is particularly impressive on this album, laying down a constant low-end barrage for the rest of the music to rest upon. If you are at all a fan of early speed metal, punk like Discharge or Anti-Nowhere League, or just solid thrash, this is probably something you should seek out and hear. I know it's on my "to-buy" list.
Finally, something a little different to review. Gravecity Bandits from Finland mix Motorhead, speed metal, and ferocious punk rock to bring us a real bastard of an album with a full speed ahead approach and not wasted effort. The production is dirty and mean and organic, and it absolutely perfect. It makes them sound gritty, tough, and dangerous, which is exactly what I want from tunes like these. Vocally, the singer uses a style similar to Lemmy, with maybe a bit more raspiness and punk snark in his voice. The band has the same fuck you attitude that pervades Pig Iron by Anti-Nowhere League, and I would reckon that band is an influence on this one. Attitude is all-important with music like this and these boys have all of it. They also bring some speed metal to the party, like on the songs "Built to Last" and "Speed Blues," and they merge them perfectly with the punk influences and Motorhead-isms to make a seamless whole. They have some musical chops, too, evidenced by the decent guitar solos and quick drum work that crop up in several songs. They can play, and they prove it. I recommend this highly and anticipate hearing more from this band in the future. They're a joy to listen to.
This is the second full length from this German punk-influenced black metal band, which reminds me quite a bit of Midnight crossed with Hellhammer. It's simple and primitive yet pristinely played material, filled with Tom Warrior-style attitude. The vocals remind me of the cult crust band Amebix a little bit, or maybe Axegrinder. This isn't very aggressive stuff, even if it's quite dark and morbid, but is laid back with mostly mid-paced tempos. It's just not built for intensity. Every once in a while a second wave-style black metal riff worms its way in and when it does it's super satisfying and merges well with the rest of the metal. There's probably enough meat on the bone here to be of interest to devotees of black thrash, and definitely for crust punk aficionados.
