Archvile King - Aux heures désespérées (2026)

Archvile King's debut saw the immediate rise of a new force in French black metal, perhaps lacking in the dissonant nuance of that scenes most popular artists like Blut Aus Nord of The Great Old Ones, but just a riff driven, scathing record with a bit of a black/thrash influence. When you gaze upon its successor, Aux heures désespérées, you immediately get the impression that they've gone rank and file with the other French bands performing in the Medieval theme, and where that was also true of the debut to an extent, it's even more here. In fact, this album does drop a little of that thrashier nastiness for something more atmospheric and antiquated sounding, but make no mistake, the sole guy responsible here, 'Baurus', is still writing excellent black metal, and the fact that he is performing ALL the instruments makes it even more impressive.

The lush synth/orchestration that he weaves through the album is excellent, usually for intros so that the bodies of the songs have a more traditional BM structure, but they're all great at giving a little bit of a tasty dungeon synth element to the proceedings. As for the heavier stuff, it's majestic and surging, not as overly melodic as other bands in this niche, but enough that the riffs will seer themselves into your memory and leave you with that fulfillment that a very balanced black metal attack can give. Certainly, there are some riffing and blasting passages throughout that are purely savage and feel like they came out of the din of the early to mid-90s, but even these are contrasted off against more graceful, slower rhythms to great effect. Baurus' vocals are nothing unusual for the genre, some rasps with an added layer of guttural, but always a blend of glorious and creepy. The instruments are all mixed really well, with audible bass lines that enforce the majesty and morose intensity constructed by the melodies. The beats are mixed very well, they largely just do their job but the guitars and atmosphere are strong enough that no more is necessary.

Yes, a lot of this is old hat, you won't find a bag of new tricks in Archvile King's composition, although the precise way it all forms together doesn't always emulate any other bands in particular. This is totally for fans of the 90s black metal, were it was going from the necro creep of earliest second incarnations to the more expansive, semi-symphonic rush of records like In the Nightside Eclipse, Nemesis Divina and Stormblast. If you also like some of this bands' countrymen, Aorlhac or Seth or Darkenhöld then this is one of easiest recommendations I can make you, because Baurus has that same sense of proficiency in both performance across all his instruments, production, and knowledge of genre to create a 47 minute escape into the past, without any breaks of disappointment in the consistency. An awesome talent with a high level of potential, and already two very underrated records (and a good split) under his belt.

Verdict: Win [8.7/10]

https://archvileking.bandcamp.com/

World of Shit - Bleeding the Rats EP (2025)

World of Shit is a project which has existed in the shadows for over two decades, finally coming to full fruition with this new EP Bleeding the Rats that sees an escalation in volume and intensity. It's essentially death metal or death/grind adjacent, but not to be pigeonholed, the material has an industrial sheen to its backbone, and a lot of weird dissonance and rhythmic dynamism which wouldn't feel out of place in some extreme mathcore or industrial death metal outfit. The production is dense and suffocating, there's a lot going on between the beats and the riffs, and if that weren't enough, Morgue Supplier's Paul Gillis has been brought on board to saturate our ears with a gruesome exhibition of vocals that I'd place somewhere between Alain Jourgensen and Martin van Drunen, but also prone to grinding out into a higher, nastier pitch too. If you've heard Paul on his other projects, you'll know things are about to get very uncomfortable, and considering that he and one of this project's architects, Eric Bauer, have worked together in both Rabid Beast and Morgue Supplier before, you'll also know that you are about to be leveled by the aural artillery.

Strangely, as pummeling and rhythmic as this is, it's got a slight warmth to it created through the mix, or perhaps some of the more dissonant, noisy patches create this feeling in spite of themselves. It's so loud and larger than life, I was reminded of Strapping Young Lad if they were being flogged by Gorguts. A soundscape with something interesting happening in every corner, a really powerful guitar tone, brutal drum programming. Some of the riffs feel like you're implanting an intense post-hardcore dissonance straight into a vortex of chugging, churning grooves, and it's a really interesting hybrid. The 'leads' are more a thing of atmosphere, tremolo licks spitting melodies that are heavily dowsed in effects, but they are a perfect fit to the apocalyptic post-modernism of the rhythmic aesthetics. Sometimes it can grow a little TOO intense, but thankfully you're only being murdered for about 13 minutes with this. With a longer track list and some more variety to explore these dilapidated landscapes, with calmer calms, hints of melody more melodic, and more extreme extremes, connected through the tendons of such kinetic musicianship as this guy metes out, I think you could have a pretty frightening, unique voice for death metal here.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://worldofshit1.bandcamp.com/music

Skyforger - Teikas (2025)

The last Skyforger record I covered was Kurbads back in 2010, and while that was a pretty damn good one, there were points where I felt the band was in danger of lapsing into some of the sillier folk metal tropes that a couple other bands have ridden to fame upon. That said, they definitely reversed course with the excellent Senprūsija in 2015, an absolute riff-fest which deftly combined the Latvians' black metal roots with some more accessible thrash and heavy metal moments what proved the most I'd enjoyed them since their late 1998-2000 era. I am telling you that because Teikas is an even better record than that one, possesses all the chops needed for greater recognition, an awesome cover, flawless production and a level of consistency you don't hear quite so often these days.

To a newcomer, I'd describe this as a Slavic alternative to Amon Amarth, with the same pagan and historical focus on lyrical matter, and about the same career length, only vested more in a black metal foundation rather than the death metal, and in the case of Teikas, better than nearly anything those Swedes have released in nearly two decades. However, the embedded sense of melodicism and extremity, the high productions standards, tight as fuck musicianship will no doubt appeal to fans of that more 'big budget' style of melodic death or black metal. Peter's vocals are incredible on this one, raving and barking in his native tongue with just the right level of effects to sound distinct from pretty much any other black metal band I can think of (maybe a Latvian Martin Walkyier?). Each lyrical line has so much impact that they actually compete in catchiness with the unending onslaught of memorable, melodic riffs that are hammered out across tunes like "Spēlmanis", "Zilaiskalns", and "Mājas kungs". There is a ton of versatility, from slower, churning rhythms, to the dissonance you expect of black metal, to the aforementioned storm of melodic tremolo picking.

Teivas sounds huge, but with every instrument audible, an appreciable level of crunch on the slower rhythm guitars, nice acoustics and ambiance on some segments which never wear out their welcome. It doesn't fully abandon the folkish, simpler stuff they were exploring a few albums before, but it's just so much more serious and refined and hard-hitting. Even the little folk instrumental with the harp and pipes is just catchy as all get out. It's honestly hard to imagine anyone into modern, dynamic black, death or thrash metal that doesn't mind the lyrics in another language not latching onto this material immediately, because it's immediate, bombastic and fulfilling, whether they're thrashing along with some clubbed pace or exploring a darker corner of their songwriting. Perhaps it's not as novel to hear this in 2025 as it was to hear Kauja pie saules in 1998, but this might actually be their most 'fun' album to date, accessible without sacrificing aggression, memorable through and through.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://skyforger.lv/lv/

Blizaro - Light and Desolation (2025)

I had encountered some shitposting somewhere about the cover artwork for Blizaro's third proper full-length, Light and Desolation, but I think it must have been the product of someone who didn't quite grasp what was going on here. This is essentially the 'basement doom' album envisioned and performed by your local Dungeon Master, that kind of awkward guy who scribbled all sorts of arcane imagery, logos and monsters in his school notebooks while the rest of you were trying to pay attention to whatever lesson was being taught that day. Which, let's face it, he didn't need to hear, since he was probably already on cruise control to a higher grade, having long since grasped the material. I personally think it looks awesome...amateurish, creepy, enigmatic and quick to unlock the gates of nostalgia that will soon flood over you when listening to it.

The music is almost as eldritch as the artwork, with a very primitive, stripped down sound, clean on the chugging rhythm guitars, never dowsed in any excess layer of studio polish. It does have a 'demo' vibe, which wouldn't be the first time for John Gallo's project, as some of the stuff off the excellent Strange Doorways compilation possessed a similar sincerity. Of all the Blizaro records, I think this one returns most to the fundamentals of the doom metal genre, embellishes them with a range of proggy synths, equally as lo-fi sounding as the rest of the instruments. Minus a few tweaks here or there, this sounds like something you could have dug up in a record bin 30 years ago, when the doom metal genre as a whole was really only starting to snowball itself into a legitimate sub-classification. However, the use of the synths and epic, barbaric vibes created through the vocals and harder rhythm guitar riffs delve into a world much more fantastic than a Pentagram or Trouble; lyrically more in line with Cirith Ungol, sword and sorcery/cosmic horror influences, but the synths and structures here feel much more fresh and...bizarre.

John's vocals are humble, workmanlike, and constantly multi-tracked to create the impression that you are constantly listening to some cult ritual or haunted choir. He might not have the classic range or presence of an Osbourne, Marcolin or Wagner, but his technique grows even more hypnotic the further you journey through the record. In fact, I felt that the entire experience escalated through the entire play length, from the folksy acoustic intro "The Last Winter" all the way to the climactic "Warriors of the New Lands", the best-produced track on the album and one of the best I've ever heard from Blizaro, with charging riffs and loads of atmosphere over the groove of the drums and bass fills, all of which are also performed here by Gallo. There are no stinkers en route, mind you, as tunes like "Lightning Strikes Back" and the titular "Glare of Light and Desolation" totally kill it with a balance of mean, minimal doom riffs with extravagant melodies, harmonies, and a nice acoustic segue here or there.

This is a vibe album, and once it hooks you, there's no letting go as your imagination spirals into a limbo of twisted landscapes, imposing dark castles, demons and wizards and the steel in hand one needs to end such curses and threats. I wasn't immersed as immediately (nor as much) as on City of the Living Nightmare or Cornucopia della morte, or the compilation I mentioned above, but when this one levels up on some tunes, they're the measure of nearly anything John has written before. Just know what you are getting into, a realm of yellowed paperbacks, teenage dreams, horrors eldritch and medieval, darkness and heroism, performed with a panoramic understanding of the genre and its influences, stripped down to its very basics and then re-dressed in starry new robes.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://blizaro.bandcamp.com/album/light-and-desolation

Protector - The Heritage (1993)

If A Shedding of Skin was my favorite of the earlier Protector catalog, The Heritage was directly on its heels, and in fact some days I might actually reverse the decision. This is clearly the best produced of that run, and the most intense and exciting in terms of how so many of its tight, fast, thrashing tunes are executed. By 1993, it might have felt dated against the emergence of more brutal and technical strains of death metal, with grunge and black and nu metal and all that starting to explode, but you can't accuse the Germans of not trying to keep pace, because The Heritage feels like faster Sepultura, Sadist and mid 80s Dark Angel in a three-way slugfest, and even 33 years later you can press Play and it's violent, infectious, and still has the more matured songwriting which embodied its predecessor.

There's some new blood here to help Olly Wiebel will all that heavy lifting, including drummer Marco Pape who would try and keep the band alive through all its later hiatus. He and bassist Matze help add a level of professionalism here, and I don't mean that in a bad way. But what's even more impressive is how Wiebel has managed to balance off the spiked, thrashing attacks with some more moody, atmospheric and melancholic progressions. The slower bridges and leads in songs like "Lost Properties" feel so much more composed, and through the album there's a level of restraint which helps make its explosive cuts like "Scars Bleed Life Long" all the more memorable by contrast. Marco's drums were clearly the caliber that could land him any gig in a death metal act of the day, propulsive kick drums and flawless snares which add loads of pep and energy to Olly's riffs. Bass also sounds pretty fleshed out here compared to A Shedding of Skin, and the production just blows straight out my speakers, especially some of the howled vocal effects on "Protective Unconsciousness" or the escalating acoustic intro to "Palpitation".

The frenzied little instrumentals "Paralizer" and "Outro" might have been better served by expanding them into proper songs, they seem a bit incomplete, but otherwise all the tunes are ragers, and The Heritage is an album I'd easily recommend to fans of early 90s thrash and death metal and all the combinations thereof. Sadist, Defiance, Malevolent Creation, Deicide, or even the stuff some of the band's German peers were up to that that very time, any fans of that would do well to have this record sitting in their collections. As I said, it's right on par with its predecessor with me, but a lot of that is just nostalgia, the personal memories I attach with A Shedding of Skin. In so many ways, The Heritage is better sounding, more refined, and its dynamic range more impactful. The lyrics have gotten a little more socially and environmentally conscious, which isn't what I always demand in thrash since they get a little too obvious and tacky, but it fits the sound here at least. This 1991-1993 era is my favorite of the band, as much as I enjoyed the first two releases, they certainly felt like they upped the ante right before their (debatable) 20-year slumber, and left (but didn't) us on a high note at that time.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (You dare not to speak)

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Protector - A Shedding of Skin (1991)

While it still imports a lot of the ballistic thrash of previous Protector recordings, A Shedding of Skin felt like a matured album risen up to meet the growingly extreme scene surrounding it. While this is still mostly thrash metal (almost all their catalogue is), this could certainly be heard as a more committed blend of that and its death metal offspring. A lot of vocal and guitar queues reminiscent of what Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Sepultura were spitting out around the same time, and I also hear some parallels to Texans Devastation. The material is easily intense enough to have held the attention of extreme metal fans during that transition from 80s to 90s, and I can only attribute its lack of success to a lack of proper international distribution and the fact that thrash was just about to fall off a cliff outside of its primary practitioners.

Olly Wiebel, who had joined the band only recently for the Leviathan's Desire EP, had pretty much been given the reins here, performing everything other than the drums of Michael Hasse, for whom this would be the last Protector recording (he left afterwards and sadly passed away in 1994). To Wiebel's credit, he did not attempt to completely transform the band into his own image, but took the direction they were already headed with the newer EP material and made it angrier. Stylistically, this is nothing out of the ordinary for 1991, but it definitely feels evolved from its predecessors. The riffs hammering, sinister and have the most slicing distortion yet, with an array of faster, blasting riffs that alternate with your Exodus-style palm muted moshing fare. Wiebel's vocals are ghastly, with a protracted guttural that he can flesh out with more snarled lines or 'hwah' throat-clearings. They are a little blunt at times, and don't offer a lot of interesting syllabic patterns, but he can be forgiven for the amount of effort he's putting into everything else. I think the bass guitar also falls behind a little here, more than any prior offering, but the crunch of those riffs and the volatile, ripping leads compensate.

Lots of good tracks here, from "A Shedding of Skin" which sounds like a German response to something off The Bleeding, or "Doomed to Failure" which has a cool West Coast thrashing foundation reminiscent of Vio-Lence but with guttural vocals. "Whom Gods Destroy" has that cool lead snaking out against the caustic thrashing, and "Tantalus" is a pit crusher which manages to convey the doomed after-existence of its titular character. While consistent, A Shedding of Skin does follow in the band's legacy of providing enough variety that you won't grow bored, so the pacing is evenly distributed throughout, and the acoustic "Intro" and interlude "Necropolis" provide some breathing room, in particular the latter which its cool, synth-driven mystique and guitar effects that sound like scarabs or spiders creeping through a tomb. There is definitely a 'dryness' to the mix which resonates with other stuff by Harris Johns (who produced this with a few engineers), perhaps a similarity could be drawn to the masterwork Mallevs Maleficarvm by Pestilence, thought the composition and clinical feel here is nowhere near that level.

1991 was a strange year where a number of bands won huge success off albums I felt were somewhat lacking, whether for production or musical direction, and something like A Shedding of Skin appealed to me much more than Blessed Are the Sick or Arise. Although I can appreciate and even concur why some fans' hearts would remain back with the earlier Martin Missy era, Misanthropy and Golem having a sense of timelessness about them, this one is actually my favorite full-length of that earlier Protector run. It doesn't build up anything new upon the components which influenced it, but it still feels vile and aggressive even today, and some of the songs just resonate with me the most. Add that it's the unlikely product of just the drummer and the new guy who had to deliver on several instruments, and I think it punched well above its potential.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (Strip away the garments of sin)

https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777

Protector - Leviathan's Desire EP (1990)

Leviathan's Desire has another of those evocative covers where you've got this dad-bod troll or goblin hanging out at at some sort of bathhouse in an evil castle, incense pouring out of a jeweled goblet nearby, and then for whatever reason some ugly cat or wolf or something leaping up behind the title. It's absolutely ridiculous and yet intriguing because it reminds us that Protector must be evil nerds, kind of like Tankard with the drunken alien mascot on so many of their efforts. This is a shorter clocking EP than Misanthropy from 1987, includes one extended version of a tune from that ("Kain & Abel"), and then a trio of newer tracks. I believe that there's also another version where you are getting more of Misanthropy included as a bonus, and that would ramp up the value a little, but here it's just the basic intro + four.

Right away, the new material sounds more scathing and sinister than on Urm the Mad, like a volatile and ballistic parallel to Sodom in the later half of the 80s, only maintaining the growls from that last full-length. Only this time, it's a new vocalist, Olly Wiebel, taking them into an even more carnal direction than Martin Missy had; he's also got more of that snarl and guttural exchange, not to the extent of Glen Benton or Carcass, but it helps keep this material sounding deadly. The riffs are far from exceptional, but they buzz and bludgeon along with more confidence than they had on the last outing, and the drums and bass anchor down and control all the intensity. You really feel like you're on a knife's edge with a "Mortal Passion" or "Subordinate", they are rooted it some of that vicious thrash circa Darkness Descends or Bonded by Blood, only more Sodom-like in note choices. The lead guitars are really messy and zippy throughout, but help capture that reckless atmosphere which is really the goal. And for those who want to headbang, they trot out some of those mid-paced sequences for you to strain your neck, and you really feel them against the faster sequences.

As for "Kain & Abel", this is almost two minutes longer and Olly's vocals make it feel more fresh and vile, although clearly not as Teutonic or thrashy as Martin's originals. I don't know that this was in any way necessary over including another new tune, but it does sound good and streamlined with this other material and assumedly future direction. All told, Leviathan's Desire is a treat for the 15 or so minutes it exists, content with tearing your face off and then eating it before a good scented bath. For 1990 it also felt fairly orthodox since so many other genre bands were trying to evolve towards the soon-shifting landscape. This is pretty much 1986-1987 all over again with few bells or whistles.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (The burnt magicians prophecy)

https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777

Protector - Urm the Mad (1989)

Urm the Mad was the first Protector album I managed to come across out in the wild, and I recall being thrown off a little at the beginning moment of "Capitascism". A horror synth transmutes into a plodding hard rock riff, which was way less intense than I was expecting. That soon changes as they roll out some thicker, darker rhythms and a blast beat, or whatever the equivalent of a blast beat was for 1989 in what was still largely a thrash metal band. We were off to the races, but I certainly struggled at being impressed with most of this at first. This is absolutely where the death metal vocals become dominant, which sounded great over the simpler neck-jerking thrash rhythms; Martin just had this brutal sustain which created an impact with ever lyric he barked out, but the music itself isn't anywhere near what a Death or Pestilence was up to at the same time, and it's still written in a ballistic mesh of Teutonic, West Coast and the Arizona-like thrash I mentioned I heard on parts of Golem.

The dynamics remain intact, as the band will shift between a plodding, almost thrash/doom vibe in a tune like "Nothing Has Changed" with its swaying rhythm and slightly spongy distortion circa Hellhammer, to the more mid-paced rhythms which remind me more of Sacred Reich, Exorcist or Hallows Eve, and then lastly the faster barrages where the riffs can almost resemble a bit of vintage grindcore. Not a lot of riffs stand out individually, even for 1989 they didn't sound too unique, and there still exists some traces of their earliest work where they let the end of riffs ring out before transitioning into a burst or vice versa. On the other, the drumming is damn tight, with a speed and intensity to the blasts that was somewhat rare for its day, and the leads are really good, whether they're more melodic and structured or just being used as wild sound effects to create a windy hostility that blows across all the workmanlike rhythm guitars. I felt the bass on this record didn't stand out as much as Golem, it's audible and functional but doesn't poke out as much as it did there.

There's also another throwaway short track, the noisy grind explosion of "Molotow Cocktail" which is less than a minute, just some chaos that doesn't wrap up the disc in any memorable or meaningful way. So my first impressions of Protector weren't the highest accolades. The cover art was cool, the logo stood out to me from other thrash or early death metal acts, the title is awesome (again with that dark fantastical vibe), the vocals were gruesome enough to warrant the death/thrash tag, and there's a purity and atmosphere to the material which is synonymous with its era. Over the years, I've come to appreciate it for what it was, but truth be told it's the record I'm least likely to revisit of their earlier 1987-1993 run and it's just eviscerated by so many of the other beasts of '89 like Consuming Impulse, Altars of Madness, Leave Scars, Realm of Chaos, etc. If you love the production and construction of extreme metal at the tail end of the 80s, maybe a prelude to the style Sodom would explore on Tapping the Vein, then this one's worth a listen for sure.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (The cloven one will rule)

https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777

Protector - Golem (1988)

One of the things I always enjoyed about Protector was the fantastical whimsy on some of their earlier cover arts, and in the lyrics, starting with the debut full-length Golem. While I was usually forced to admire them from the pages of some magazine or catalogue, there was this sense of camaraderie, like these guys were a thrash band but also huge D&D/fantasy/horror nerds, just as I was (and remain). I can't promise that these concepts always translate much into the music (they certainly do on the title track here), but they help spark up the imagination on first glance or listen. Golem doesn't stray too far from Misanthropy, but there are some subtle differences, one being that they're incorporating a little bit more complexity and variation in the riffing and structures.

Still a huge Sodom influence throughout this one, shadowing Agent Orange, but it struck me that this album also had a more American influence through it. "Delirium Tremens" reminds me a lot of the Arizona bands, the faster riffing circa Atrophy's Socialized Hate while the slower, meaty mosh part was very Sacred Reich. Likely more of a case of parallel musical evolution, but still notable as I think fans of those groups would go bananas over this. You get some gang shouts, a little bit of Speak English or Die era S.O.D. in some of the slower riffs, but then when they burst out into the faster stuff, it's got a lot more of that Sodom style. The guitars aren't always the catchiest, but they know how to succeed dynamically between the different tempos, atmospheric wails and leads that keep it from ever being boring. This record is where a lot more of the sustained death metal growls rear up, especially in the lumbering title track, which is one of its true highlights, loads of great weird guitar work in there, bedrock grooves in the verses and probably the best written lead they'd done yet, if brief.

The rhythm guitars definitely have a boxier tone to them, not as brash or violent sounding as the earlier EP, but still will club your brains into mush, especially on those slower moments ("Germanophobe", "Golem", etc). The distortion always gave me an ever-so-slight off-tune vibe, but whether that's just me being mental or the reality of the recording, it works regardless, and I enjoy the frenzied bursts into the choppier riffs like in "Germanophobe" where the riff resembles Possessed. The bass is more present here and they're doing some whacky sound effects to keep the tunes entertainment, which is one of the band's sure strong points, that they might be rolling along in the treads of others, but they're certainly testing the limits of those tracks. It's not the best of the Protector albums...a few riffs get samey with one another, the "Space Cake" outro, which shifts from acoustics to what feels like a mere portion of another song, and has really goofy vocals made even sillier when they go into the gang vocals before the fadeout. But there is really no questioning the craft and personality they were bringing to their scene, and easily deserve recognition alongside other acts like Holy Moses, Vendetta, Iron Angel, and that second strata of German thrash acts who were just shy of international potential.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (Muscles filled with life)

https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777

Protector - Misanthropy EP (1987)

A little over a decade back, I wrote an exhaustive amount of reviews covering the German thrash scene that I came up with through the 80s and beyond, not only the bigger names but a lot of obscure records as well that were interesting to go back and cover. I neglectfully decided to exclude Protector at that time, as I always associated them with a little more of a death/thrash hybrid sound, but in reality the first half of that equation is pretty scant throughout their catalogue, and I should have taken a run through the first 'half' of their career. Well, now is the time, because while they're not a group that's reached the highs of their better-known countrymen, this is a damn consistent band which has also never visited any of the lows of said peers.

Their albums were impossible to find when I was young, and in fact my first encounter with any of their music wasn't until the sophomore full-length Urm the Mad, but they started out pretty damn strong with their Misanthropy EP, which ironically showed the most in common with the developing 'Big Three' in their scene. Not a clone by any means, but if you had changed the logo here and tucked this into the Sodom discography between Obsessed by Cruelty and Persecution Mania, it would have fit like a glove. This especially applies to the faster material, where the churn of the guitar riffs is so reminiscent, but also in the vocals or Martin Missy, which sound a lot like Tom Angelripper with a little of Mille's bloodthirsty timbre. That said, the more mid-paced, headbanging material bears a little more resemblance to US thrash of its day, and as with their Teutonic fellows, there's always that Slayer undercurrent, especially in tunes like "The Mercenary" with those evil little guitar trills. Tankard is another comparison, at least the debut Zombie Attack, if only for that raw but rich rhythm guitar tone.

Despite the slight lack of novelty, this is still a superb start, with a good variety to the material that balances out the blitzkriegs with the more dialed-back, atmospheric riffs as in "Holy Inquisition". Most of the tracks hook you from their inaugural riffs, like the shuffle of "Agoraphobia" or the crushing simplicity of "Kain and Abel", and Missy's voice is the perfect complement to the dangerous and primitive edge of the guitars. Leads feel like steel whipcords being sliced through the meat of the rhythm section, never really 'catchy' but always added another level of atmosphere to the din of the recording, while the bass is present and creeping. They use a lot of breakdowns for introducing new fast riffs, not in a mosh sense but the stop/starts of the songwriting, and while that might show a lack of confidence in transitional moments, it's quite charming and 80s and they sound so authentic and fresh to this day that I wouldn't want it any other way. The drums are also really good, crashing and loud with some thunderous fills to again enhance the ballistic presence (i.e. the close of "Holocaust").

All six of the tracks here are good, and Misanthropy is easily the work which I'd point anyone towards if they were looking for more of what they enjoy in mid 80s-Kreator or Sodom, just that raw, evil, basic German thrash metal, but formed into solid, balanced tunes that you'll spin a lot more than once. Expurse of Sodomy, Pleasure to Kill, Zombie Attack, Sentence of Death, and then this. Though the DNA here will persist through their entire discography, in some cases more obviously than others, they will evolve away from this even as soon as Golem the following year, but this is 22 minutes of undeniable flesh-tearing glory from one of the unsung second-tier acts of that scene.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (You drank of the evil source)

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