Cult (or Kvlt!) bands are in plentiful supply nowadays, people label most bands of this genre as being so, not sure why myself! However, these chaps are the real deal. Originally from Australia, but now residing in London, Holland and Germany make very few appearances, certainly live, and their LP releases soon become collector’s items. Why is this? Its simply damn-good blackened thrash/death metal. There is never a need to purposely record a tune “dirty” this band does it naturally in all their filthy glory.
Upon my first listen to this album, there is definitely more of a death metal influence bounding around in these new tunes, slightly similar to the path that Behemoth has travelled, but not strictly musically similar. ‘I Am Not Deceived’ is a prime example. The raw energy is still there but there is something all together meatier about the execution. Vocally, we have gruff powerful abandonment and the tracks often build up so much that you think your head will explode; you can easily get immersed into this album. Whilst I am a huge fan of the 2000 full length ‘Phoenix Rising’ there is an element of maturity and progression on this current album. ‘Blood for Blood’ teases the listener for a long time before the vocals kick in, much like some Venom nastiness, you cannot help thinking that this is pure bloody evil and the tracks show more restraint by not going hell for leather all the time like some previous efforts. This cannot hold out for long and thankfully the powerful aggression comes back to the front by the time you get to ‘The Barricades Are Breaking’, there is plenty of black and mystical riffing going on, the expected ripping solos and general overall chaos, ah this is the stuff we want, Satan himself would probably crap himself after listening to this track.
The trend seems to continue, one track of blackened thrash/death metal, followed by an utter barrage of noise, then back to more structure again. It keeps you entertained, one thinks that is this a conscious effort to do this or an experiment to get fans warmed up or catch your breath whichever side of the coin you choose to adore. In either case, any fan cannot complain about this, it’s a cavalcade of evil energy from start to finish.
Just make sure you catch there London date in May 16th, there are only 150 tickets on offer, so be quick. These live shows are normally very well attended, and not surprisingly when the band produces killer albums like this. Bestial war machine, full force metal attack, venomous satanic blasting, no matter how you describe it, this is a great album and one that you should buy without a second thought.
http://www.destroyer666.net/
http://www.myspace.com/destroyer666band
http://www.season-of-mist.com/
