Minotaur - Beast of Nations EP (2016)

Although it might not be the most interesting stuff musically, I think this Beast of Nations CD EP and 12" is probably the best produced stuff Minotaur has put out to date. Their 2009 album certainly did what it could to remain loyal to the Power of Darkness era while delivering the band into the new century, and this ones goes a little further with a nice even mix to the guitars and vocals, which gives Andi's vocals a much more focused, splatter-thrash effect to them. It certainly seems nowhere near as sloppy as the EP they put out back in the 90s, and all four of the tracks here play out with a genuine 80s riffing schematic that is probably more than acceptable to fans of no-nonsense, nasty fucking thrash metal.

Unfortunately, now your up against the wall of the fact that there are already thousands of bands having done this by this point, and while Minotaur definitely holds claim to having been around near the dawn of the medium, they're not really writing songs that reach the level of either their more famous German countrymen or the many younger bands that have done an excellent job at crafting fiery, hellish black/thrash or death/thrash that feels just as virile as the stuff did when it was first pressed to record in the 80s. The riffs and even the vocals on this EP sound like an also-ran with elements of Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator in them, which is not a bad thing if you're into all of those like I am, but at an age when time can be such a precious commodity, there's not much of a chance I'm going to prioritize the material here over the many classics I own from the field, or even upstarts like Antichrist, Vulture, Deathhammer and their ilk who have done such a phenomenal run at making that savage speed/thrash of the Golden Era viable again moving forward.

But, what I will say is that Beast of Nations is not something I put on and really scoff at. As familiar as the riffing patterns are, and the structure of these four tracks, I was never yawning or bored as I listened through them. I think if the band took this production style and level of vocal vitriol, and then sat around writing up some really kickass riffs that glue themselves to your ears, they could probably write a knockout third full-length effort. There is little here that I find substantially subpar when compared to what a lot of the German B and C-team thrashers like Assassin, Vendetta, and Exumer are putting out in their recent configurations, but then again there's little to no innovation beyond what the band was already releasing in the 80s, just a tightening of the reins. Some might lament that the more accessible production here loses some of the character that they had on the Power of Darkness, and perhaps that's true, but I think this EP is a solid adaptation which only falls short in the lack of truly exciting songwriting.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

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Minotaur - Welcome to... EP (1993)

The cover to this EP reminds me so much of what I loved about thrash and heavy metal back in the 80s...vintage fantastical artwork which summons up all manner of possibilities, with a classic logo style that would just look great in any record bin as you're filing your way through obscurities at a record shop. The labyrinth is of course fitting to Minotaur's brand, and I even the graffiti scrawled about the entrance which is a great thrash aesthetic. The almost muted colors as well give it a dusty, antiquated feel, maybe this is some post-apocalyptic maze set up by a nuclear warlord. At any rate, if you noticed I'm spending a lot of time day dreaming over this cover...it's because it is the only real positive to this limited 12" which arrived far too late to matter...

Not that it would have made a difference had this launched in 1985 or 1986, because it's pretty much just a mess of sloppy, un-memorable riffs and raw production aesthetics that don't do it any service, and I'm guessing not by choice. I mean, I'm a card-carrying disciple of the first two Venom albums, and when something is unwashed, under-produced, but comes packaged with great songwriting, then that rawness can either intentionally or ironically prove beneficial, but here it just falls flat. The EP opens up with a half-decent, almost Maiden-esque style of melody with an appropriate Hellenic feel, but then "Multi-Morbidity" just falls right off the rails, a clusterfuck of boring chug riffs, and messy speed metal riffs peppered with Andreas 'Buschi's' barked vocals which are constantly trying to contrast these little screams and wavering evil lines against the harsher monotony. Props to him for trying to give a little personality to his delivery, and occasionally some of his upper register screams are pretty cool, or the unexpected lower pitched death barks, but with nothing catchy or impactful going on around them it's almost like he wandered into this drunken thrash jam session with the tape recorder on.

Few of the other songs are any more coherent..."State of Catatonia" is mildly superior, and "We Hate You" has a Tankard-like thrust to its verse rhythms circa The Morning After, but still feels very uneven, though the production does often remind of the first two Voivod riffs on this one because of the way the speed metal riffs play out. The B-side is slightly better, with "Wish You Were Dead" the best track on the EP, but even the peppy and cheerful "R.A.T." is too abrasive with the flaring guitar tone to really work. The rhythm section is fairly tight throughout the release, with a few points where the bass lines groove along admirably, but they don't really have the best riff set to work around and the entire affair still comes across like a set of songs that needed more development time, reining in the vocals and assembling the guitars into a more memorable structure rather than just feeling like they just rushed it all along, plugging one in after randomly.

I've certainly heard worse stuff in the genre, and there may be a little sliver of appeal to those that love tracking down rugged Teutonic thrash demos, or just want the music to sound sincerely filthy, but this stuff is inferior to their 1988 full-length Power of Darkness, which is itself not top-shelf, but has a more appreciable, nasty character to it. I'd even throw you a recommendation for their 2009 comeback album over this, which runs average-to-decent and doesn't sound as if much had changed for them in the 20 years between. Maybe if you REALLY love The Morning After and just want other things that give off a similar impression, but then this lacks the funny lyrics and certainly the amazing riffs and choruses on that one.

Verdict: Fail [4/10]

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Minotaur - God May Show You Mercy...We Will Not (2009)

How do you feel about Kreator? Not the modern Kreator, but the old school, barbaric violence of Endless Pain and Pleasure to Kill. How you answer this question will determined your response to the latest album from Germans Minotaur. If you answered 'nay', move along because there is nothing for you to hear here. If you answered in the positive, you will probably enjoy this.

Now, Minotaur are no simple ripoffs of that other band, because they've been around for almost as long themselves. And where Kreator has moved on through various phases of sound, Minotaur has remained largely the same: blunt, brutal thrash metal which would sooner beat you up and throw you into a pile of trash cans in a back alley than attempt to impress you with sheer musicality. You won't find much different here than on, say, their Power of Darkness LP from 1988. Though the writing is primitive, tracks like "Rather Die", "Princess of Hell" and "Soulless" are sure to sate the veins of the diehard legions who venerate Pleasure to Kill, Sentence of Death and Obsessed by Cruelty.

The mix of the record is appropriately lo-fi, a nice throwback to the sounds of those early 80s efforts. Andi's vocals create a Mille-like rasp and the guitars have the meaty old tone to them. The leads are wild and used more to effect than to impress. Occasionally you've got to dig through a few mediocre riffs to get to the better parts of each track, and I found a few of the tracks like "Armegiddo" and "Damager" weaker than the rest. The album certainly succeeds in the nostalgic department, in conjuring a sound and time treasured by many thrashers. However, it is not something I will likely break out again, instead I'd rather just listen to Power of Darkness (or Kreator).

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

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