Gipfelstürmer - Am Ende steht der Sieg (2009)

Gipfelstürmer is a pagan/black metal band from Germany with an influence of punishing thrash metal and some glorious warlike melodies that truly evoke the spirit of their ancestry. Information is rather difficult to come by on the band, and I haven't translated their lyrics, but the band does seem to be the 'proud' sort. If that offends you, stop reading this review!

If not, read on, because Am Ende steht der Sieg is packed with memorable, if simple, bombast and writing. "Die Schlacht Beginnt - Einklang" opens with some melancholic, mid-period Slayer-like melodies before the mighty chords and chugged verse of "Der Schmied" erupt beneath harsh, barked black vocals. "Ein Gruß Zur Ferne" starts with the sounds of rushing water before it becomes a gallop of pagan metal with some manly backup vocals. Again, nothing this band does is complex, but it's fun and loaded with meadhorn suckling power. Other great tracks include the majestic "Der Gipfelstürmer" and the raging "Stürmet Hervor", but I enjoyed most of what is here.

Perhaps the best element of this release would be the vocals. Whether they are snarling or clean, they sound fantastic in the native tongue. In fact, few German bands singing in German can compare to this. The guitar tone is sufficient for the band's lumbering, primal thrash riffs, and the drums are tight enough. Close your eyes while listening, and the band definitely evokes a primal pagan majesty to match the mountainous scene on the cover.

I rather enjoyed Am Ende steht der Sieg because it offered me pure pagan metal with little of the stupid folk drinking melodies that infest so many similar releases. This is pure and heavy, the ghosts of nostalgia conjured through its composition alone. The album is nothing ground breaking and few of the riffs have real lasting power, but as a whole it delivers.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

Loits - Legion Estland EP (2002)

An excellent introduction to the Estonian military black metal band, this 4-track 7" was their first official release after a few demos. The style is very straight primordial black metal with a crisp production and bombastic, sweeping synths which give it all the pomp of a marching order.

The first track is "Vanade Leegionaride Laul", with an acoustic/ambient intro, setting the stage with its blazing guitars and Lembetu's signature snarling. I also loved the keyboards here, which reinforce the militant edge of their subject material. "Terasvanne" follows, an ambient/noise track filtered over an old choral recording. Creepy. "Furor Aesticus" comes at you like a Hellhammer track, with some doomy melodies and it may be the best track here. The EP closes with a cover of Tharaphita's "Demon's Night" which is a pretty cool song (I am unfamiliar with the band). Loits makes it their own here.

All in all, the EP sounds great and makes for a worthy teaser to their debut Ei Kahetse Midagi. I believe this is only available on 7" so you'll have to get the .mp3s unless you collect records and can find the limited print. They are probably my favorite Estonian black metal band and all their material is well worth tracking down.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.loits.org/

Hail of Bullets - Of Frost and War (2008)

2008 was a year sadly lacking in Bolt Thrower. So why not a Dutch super-band, featuring the vocals of former Pestilence/Asphyx frontman Martin van Drunen (who actually handled frontman duties for Bolt Thrower for a few years), who successfully celebrate the brand of simplistic, groove laden yet brutal death metal that those UK war machines created so many years ago?

Well, the debut from Hail of Bullets is that and more. Take the influence of the aforementioned, some Celtic Frost, Massacre and Death, refine it with a modern, crushing production, and then proceed to elephant up, trampling everything in the room. This is Hail of Bullets. This is war. It doesn't end with van Drunen though, the rest of the Bullets have quite a resume of their own. Guitars and bass come courtesy of Paul Baayens, Stephan Gebedi, and Theo van Eekelen of Dutch veterans Thanatos. Drummer Ed Warby hails from bands and projects as varied as Gorefest, Demiurg, Ayreon, Elegy, and After Forever.

The 12 tracks here represent one of the most monumental and excellent death metal releases of this year or any other. Simple yet extremely powerful production, crisp and crushing. Conceptually it loosely follows the German-Soviet conflicts of the 1940s, and it fucking sounds like it. The orchestration of "Before the Storm (Barbarossa)" sets the stage for the raging "Ordered Eastward", recalling a more grinding version of Bolt Thrower with van Drunen doing his best post-Pestilence work. I feel this sort of album is perfectly catered to an old schooler like myself, and every damn track is fantastic. The slow drawl of "General Winter" breaks into some firm death metal pacing. "Red Wolves of Stalin" moves with a D-beat rhythm, completely crushing everything else of that entire genre that I've heard in years. "Insanity Commands" is almost doom-like in its delivery until the inevitable Bolt Thrower beatdown not-so-hidden within.

This is just sick. One of my favorite death metal vocalists of all time, rekindling his earlier fire and fronting a worthy band (I wasn't personally into his Asphyx stuff). The delivery is crude and barbaric. It doesn't need complexity. It's fucking war, in touch with both its roots and the production values of a top tier modern metal album. An essential for anyone who is not a pussy. Don't be a pussy. Listen to Bolt Thrower. And listen to Hail of Bullets.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (autumn at the Eastern Front)

http://www.hailofbullets.com/