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BATHORY - BATHORY (1984)
Released with no budget, no promotion, and recorded under conditions that bordered on neglect. Despite that, Bathory managed to release an album that would inspire generations of metal fans and musicians.
We all know that Quorthon tried to distance himself from Venom, claiming he wasn’t inspired by them when creating this masterpiece, but let’s face it, that was just bullshit. Quorthon often told conflicting stories about his band, which has certainly confused metal historians, but it also helped build the mystique that captivated fans. In a way, Quorthon was a master of doing his own PR, shaping Bathory’s legend not only through music but also through mythmaking.
The guitars buzz from reverb and Quorthon’s vocals sounded like they were ripped from his throat. What should have been limitations instead become defining features, giving the album a raw, otherworldly evil atmosphere that no amount of studio polish could ever replicate. This was Venom's Black Metal and Slayer's Show No Mercy on steroids.
Tracks like "Hades", "Reaper" and "Necromansy" are built on primitive and relentless riffing. Simple patterns hammered with conviction. The drumming is chaotic but purposeful, driving the songs forward with a sense of urgency that feels almost punk in its directness. Yet beneath the noise and aggression, there’s a strange, dark melodic instinct at work, especially in moments like "Raise the Dead" where Quorthon hints at the epic sensibilities he would later explore further.
What makes Bathory so important is not just its sound, but it's uncompromising attitude. It rejects the polished theatrics of mainstream metal and replaces them with something colder, harsher, and more ritualistic. The album's grim atmosphere became the foundation
for an entire genre. This was the blueprint for what later grew into a genre of it's own. Sure Venom gave it it's name but Bathory gave it it's sound.
Add to that, one of the greatest album covers ever created. This is a masterpiece in so many ways. Truly unique and influential in every way.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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German thrash metal band Battlefield debuted with this mini LP in 1987. We come to fight is quite obscure and-rare little LP, it can be quite hard to find this gem these days. Lucky me who bought it for 50 sek (5$). I don't know if this album ever was released on CD though.Battlefield were one of those few thrash metal bands that had a female vocalist and it's nice to hear a woman that tries to sing and not just grunt like an extreme metal vocalist for once. Cornelia Ernst doesn't sound like Sabina Classen of Holy Moses for example, no this is more Doro if we're talking about German metal singers.
Musicwise this is somewhere near Living Death, Destruction, Iron Angel or Rage without the extreme technicality. Speaking of technicality, the band would later develop into a more progressive metal direction but on this debut MLP it's thrash. Fans of Chicago thrashers Znowhite will surely enjoy Battlefield as well. The song "Possessed Preacher" is what the Germans would call wonderbar, Vocalist Cornelia Ernst seems trustworthy when she repeats the word "Possessed".
Musicwise this is somewhere near Living Death, Destruction, Iron Angel or Rage without the extreme technicality. Speaking of technicality, the band would later develop into a more progressive metal direction but on this debut MLP it's thrash. Fans of Chicago thrashers Znowhite will surely enjoy Battlefield as well. The song "Possessed Preacher" is what the Germans would call wonderbar, Vocalist Cornelia Ernst seems trustworthy when she repeats the word "Possessed".
I think We Come to Fight is a cool EP, I just wished there was more of it. As you can guess the album has been out of print for a very long time but if you manage to find it I can recommend that you pick it up
⭐⭐⭐⭐
........................................................................................................................................BELIEVER - EXTRACTION FROM MORTALITY (1989)
In the middle of the satanic panic parents were horrified by the lyrics and imagery of bands like W.A.S.P., Venom and King Diamond. in some cases this went so far that the parents didn't allow their children and teenagers to listen to heavy metal music. The solution to this was to play aggressive but with a good christian message.Thrash was also getting more popular towards the late eighties and bands like Tourniquet, Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Living Sacrifice and Believer fused the christian themes with thrash metal.
This was mostly a U.S. thing simply because the U.S. were in general more christian than Europe. This christian messaging made these new types of bands more tolerable for the intolerable parents of the satanic panic era. For me as a metal fan on the other side of the pond (The atlantic ocean) I didn't care that much about wheter the lyrics were good or bad. If anything I thought religious messaging in music was a bit dorky and maybe that's the reason why these bands mainly became popular amongst christian metal fans more so than the thrash metal fan in general.
However, Believer from Colebrook, Pennsylvania released their debut album Extraction From Mortality in 1989, and it was a promising debut. Beliver delivered a quite aggressive type of thrash, especially the shouty vocals from Kurt Bachmann, he reminds me a bit of those crossover vocalists with his hoarse shouting style. But the music is intense, pummeling and somewhat technical with a lot of chunky riff from Bachmann and Baddorf. Their style lands somewhere in between Anthrax, Exodus and Testament. So we're dealing with some classic American sounding thrash here but with a different type of vocalist and with a message as pure as the driven snow. The music is hectic and condense with a few progressive elements
The guitar leads reminds me a bit like Testament's Alex Skolnick but not as memorable. Still pretty good though.
In the song Stress, Believer throws in some reggae beats and that feels like an unclimactic ending to an otherwise solid offering. Not sure why they went with that decision but if you skip that one I would say that this is one of the better Christian thrash records of the 80's. Despite the messaging this is rather aggressive and competent late 80's thrash record. I could certainly recommend this to fans of the aforementioned American thrash legends. Overall, I think that Extraction From Mortality is an above average album but it's an album that I seldom play just because of the fierce competition from Agent Orange, The Years of Decay, Alice in Hell, Extreme Aggression and those other 1989 thrash classics.
There are too many great bands out there so Beliver ended up in the backburner for me even though I think this is a record that you would have a great time with if you ever sat down and listened to it. For me Believer's debut was solid but I still prefer Tourniquet and Vengeance Rising's debuts when it comes to christian thrash.
⭐⭐⭐
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Bitter End, a thrash band from Seattle released their one and only album in 1990 on Metal Blade. The music is quite ordinary thrash in vein of say Dark Angel or early Megadeth. Songs that stick out from the bunch includes “Guilty (Until Proven Innocent)”, “Profits of Doom”, “Meet Your Maker” and “Save Us”. It’s a pity that this band didn’t came about a few years earlier as this album was released when thrash was beginning to fade away, making room for that awful grunge-wave. They have some great potential and I would really like to hear more from this band since I imagine they could have put out a great album if they just got some time to mature a bit.
But since that isn’t going to happen we just have to do with this one. And don’t get me wrong, this is good album, it’s just that I miss some originality, something that makes you go: Oh, I never heard this before. Even though, it’s worth checking out if want something to bang your head to for a couple of times.
⭐⭐⭐
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BLESSED DEATH - DESTINED FOR EXTINCTION (1987)
After the Kill or be Killed-album Blessed Death left Megaforce records and signed up to Roadrunner where they became label mates with King Diamond and Sepultura. But Blessed Death's time on the label was way more anonymous.Destined for Extinction was Blessed Death's second album and on it the band displays a more mature thrash style compared to their debut, the early speed and power metal tendencies are gone but still Blessed Death's music is very much in the region between Hallow's Eve and early Slayer. I guess that the band has spent more time in the recording studio for this album because it feels more worked through. It has a lot of interesting song structures and the two identical twins Kevin and Chris Powelson handles the rhythm section well.
The music is straightforward and filled with energy brought forward by the savagery of vocalist Larry Portelli who has a style that reminds me a bit of Tom Araya. He naturally sings with a rough voice but he is not afraid to scream his lungs off.Blessed Death was a competent band but they never received nearly as much credit as they deserved. Their style was loud, fast and aggressive and they are a good alternative for fans of early Slayer. But somehow they got lost in the shuffle with similar sounding bands. But they are still a good example and alternative for those who are into qualitative mid to late eighties thrash.
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The music is straightforward and filled with energy brought forward by the savagery of vocalist Larry Portelli who has a style that reminds me a bit of Tom Araya. He naturally sings with a rough voice but he is not afraid to scream his lungs off.Blessed Death was a competent band but they never received nearly as much credit as they deserved. Their style was loud, fast and aggressive and they are a good alternative for fans of early Slayer. But somehow they got lost in the shuffle with similar sounding bands. But they are still a good example and alternative for those who are into qualitative mid to late eighties thrash.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - 13 (2013)
After almost 20 years (18) Sabbath comes out with a new record and this was HUGE. We all thought that Forbidden would be their last since well, not much happening on that front for so many years. It was also the return of Ozzy Osbourne who hadn't appeared on a studio album since 1978's Never Say Die! that came out long before I was even born. So the hype was absolutely massive but it didn't really live up to it. It was weird to get a new Sabbath album with Ozzy but damn we wanted the final album to be a little more than this. Ozzy sounds surprisingly good on this album for being 148 years old.
It sounds a bit like he is reading from a prompter while singing, there aren't that much power behind it but overall he sounds pretty good. Maybe it's studio tricks I don't know. They made a music video for 'God is Dead' which is kinda cool I rarely ever listen to this album because I kinda feel that I wanted more out of this final Black Sabbath album. The greatest band of all time should finish with a complete banger but that's life I guess.It just feels overproduced and kinda weird, not as organic as the classic Ozzy albums obviously because they probably spent millions of dollars to get this to sound like it does but I don't know if it's for me.
It sounds a bit like he is reading from a prompter while singing, there aren't that much power behind it but overall he sounds pretty good. Maybe it's studio tricks I don't know. They made a music video for 'God is Dead' which is kinda cool I rarely ever listen to this album because I kinda feel that I wanted more out of this final Black Sabbath album. The greatest band of all time should finish with a complete banger but that's life I guess.It just feels overproduced and kinda weird, not as organic as the classic Ozzy albums obviously because they probably spent millions of dollars to get this to sound like it does but I don't know if it's for me.
⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - FORBIDDEN (1995)
It's 1995 and traditional metal is more or less dead and buried but Sabbath gave it another try and yes this is the album with Ice-T but you shouldn't worry that much about a rapper appearing on a Black Sabbath album, it's obviously a terrible idea but he only appears talking for a few seconds so it's no big deal for me. The album is also produced by Body Count's Ernie C which again is a strange choice, not sure if he ever produced anything rock or metal related before getting the opportunity to work with Black Sabbath but it all seems a bit strange. I guess Sabbath wanted to be 'down with the kids' and brought in some popular rap guys, well Body Count is perhaps more rap metal than just rap.
Anyhow if we put the rap to the side I would say that Forbidden is alright. It's weaker than pretty much all Black Sabbath albums out there but it's not a complete trainwreck. The Illusion of Power is actually pretty good despite Ice-T appearing on it. The lineup that recorded this album is still pretty damn impressive with Cozy Powell returning to the lineup but unfortunately is Geezer Butler missing. Forbidden is often bashed as being bad but it's alright.
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Anyhow if we put the rap to the side I would say that Forbidden is alright. It's weaker than pretty much all Black Sabbath albums out there but it's not a complete trainwreck. The Illusion of Power is actually pretty good despite Ice-T appearing on it. The lineup that recorded this album is still pretty damn impressive with Cozy Powell returning to the lineup but unfortunately is Geezer Butler missing. Forbidden is often bashed as being bad but it's alright.
⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - CROSS PURPOSES (1994)
After Dio's short return for Dehumanizer Tony Martin was back in the lineup again for 1994's Cross Purposes. This album was released in the middle of the grunge wave that more or less erased all good bands from the face of the planet. But Sabbath didn't care that much and continued on with their sound without modifying it to fit in with the times, Which I do respect them for. Sabbath also got a new drummer for this record, Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow and Doro). An established name and a solid choice. Recruiting Rainbow members is always a good idea.
Cross Purposes is one of my least listened to Black Sabbath albums and I feel like I should listen to it more than I do because it's pretty good even real good in comparison to most other metal releases of 1994. If you haven't heard the record then check out Cross of Thorns or The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. I guess the later one was inspired by the horror movie with the same name.
I also want to mention that Tony Martin really excels on this record. He is one of my all-time favourite vocalists and he sounds as good as ever before on Cross Purposes. That is a reason alone to own this record.
So check out Cross Purposes I doubt you will get disappointed even if it's one of Sabbath's least talked about albums.
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BLACK SABBATH - DEHUMANIZER (1992)
I also like I, I, I!
⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - DEHUMANIZER (1992)
When there was an opportunity for Black Sabbath to bring back Ronnie James Dio to the lineup I guess it was a no-brainer for the band even though Tony Martin had done an excellent job fronting the band, Dio was of course a bigger name and fans have been dreaming of this reunion ever since he left the band in 1982. Drummer Vinny Appice who played on Mob Rules also returned to the band and the legendary bassist and original member Geezer Butler re-joined the band. So this was the bands big reunion album.
Soundwise it wasn't a full return to Heaven and Hell or Mob Rules, No Dehumanizer sounds more modern and heavier than anything they've done before it. In fact I would say that this is the heaviest and most metal sounding album of their career. It reminds me a bit of Dio's own solocareer at the time that also went a bit heavier in the 90's (With albums like Strange Highways and Angry Machines) and. The lyrical themes also reminds me of 90's Dio with a more dystopian outlook with songs like Computer God and TV Crimes. They made a music video for TV Crimes that was quite cool, at least the parts that focused on the band. The rest looked more like something that was made for Nirvana.
I also like I, I, I!
No I didn't stub my toe, I'm talking about the song I. Short title but a massive song that's for sure. Dehumanizer is a great record and the natural step to check out after listening to Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - TYR (1990)
In 1990 Black Sabbath with Tony Martin at the front released another rather underrated masterpiece. TYR is a great album that partly takes inspiration from Norse mythology. The Battle of TYR, Odin's Court and Valhalla are examples of this. Which I as a Swede think is pretty damn cool because I love Vikings and viking culture.
The album kicks off with Anno Mundi and it's starts in an atmospheric way but when Tony Iommi's riffs then kicks in it's just one of the most amazing things I've ever heard in my whole life. If eargasms are real, this intro makes it happen. haha
I also think that both of 'em flirts quite a lot with the Dio era without feeling like they are trying to do it all over again just because those albums were successful. No these two albums stand well on their own. Plus Tony Martin is probably the most underrated vocalist of all time. Unfortunately for the Sabbath TYR didn't do that well which to me is just insane when the music is so incredibly strong.
Besides Anno Mundi, I also love tracks like The Law Maker, Jerusalem, The Sabbath Stones and Valhalla. It's just a remarkable album so if you're unfamiliar with it. Please do yourself a favour and treat yourself with some TYR.
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BLACK SABBATH - HEADLESS CROSS (1989)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - HEADLESS CROSS (1989)
In 1989 Black Sabbath came out with Headless Cross, at the time Black Sabbath was seen as a band that had passed their prime. But I don't consider that to be anything but a lie.
Most people seems to refer to 70's when they talk about Black Sabbath in their prime but in my opinion they were even better in the 80's. They certainly peaked then. From Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules to Headless Cross, the decade belonged to Sabbath. At least in my maybe not so humble opinion.
The title track with the punchy drums is just awesome. I love the title track. I consider it to be a top 10 Black Sabbath song of all time but it's not even my favourite song on the album. When Death Calls. Wow. That one is amazing. One of the best metal songs I've ever heard in my whole life.
Headless Cross, the most misunderstood album in Sabbath's discography. For me this is a five out of five record but it's still somewhat anonymous in Sabbaths huge discography. Simply because it's not Ozzy or Dio singing, that's at least my thouhts on it. Black Sabbath had also lost some popularity over the last couple of records so I guess nobody expected them to come out with such a masterpiece.
Whatever the grumpy Ozzy fans think, don't get fooled because Headless Cross is truly a masterpiece, there's just no denying that.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - THE ETERNAL IDOL (1987)
It's 1987 and Sabbath came out with a new record without much fanfare. Simply because the band had a new lineup every time they released something new and one thing is for sure, metal fans don't like it when things change. It did so bad that Black Sabbath was actually dropped from the Vertigo after this record came out, that's just unimaginable but that was what happened.
After the rather soft record Seventh Star Sabbath found a new vocalist in Tony Martin,an absolutely incredible singer. But just as it was for Dio, he was rediculed more or less for not being Ozzy. No, Tony Martin is a much better vocalist than that in my humble opinion.
With The Eternal Idol Black Sabbath kinda honed in on what made the band so popular in the early eighties with Dio at the mic. So in some weird way one could say that they wanted to repeat the success with Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules by coming up with something similar.
There are still strokes of the type of melodic hard rock we've heard on Seventh Star here but I find The Eternal Idol to be a better and heavier record than that. Just listen to the very first track 'The Shining' it's a great song that easily could have been on any of the Dio records in terms of how good the song is. I personally love the Tony Martin era of Sabbath but I think the best is yet to come.
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BLACK SABBATH - SEVENTH STAR (1986)
This is one of my alltime favourite records, I never grow tired of hearing it.
I also think that Master of Reality is a step forward from the bands rather bluesy beginnings and this one is leaning more towards a doomier sound. Some fans calls Master of Reality as the starting point of Doom Metal and there are some truths to that. Just listen to the heaviness and the intricate riffs of 'Into the Void'. It's so heavy for being a song from 1971, it's really insane.
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BLACKSMITH - GIPSY QUEEN (1985) (Review by: Per-Ola Nilsson)
I long thought that Blacksmith were cheap and dated Deep Purple-wannabes and thus ignored them, but boy was I wrong! Sure, they got a great deal of their ideas from Blackmore and his boys, but this is really purple taken into the 80's.
⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - SEVENTH STAR (1986)
Tony Iommi goes solo and ends up in Black Sabbath? Yeah, something like that.
This was meant to be an Iommi solo album but the label wanted it to be released as a Black Sabbath album and the rest is history. That explains why only Tony Iommi and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls are the only two members that has remained from Black Sabbath's latest studio release Born Again.
We do however got another Deep Purple singer in the band, this time it's Glenn Hughes who fronted Deep Purple in the mid 70's. I do consider him to be a legendary vocalist but I feel like he doesn't always get what Sabbath was all about, maybe it was due to him being all coked up in the 80's.
There's almost an AOR feeling on Seventh Star or a more fitting description would perhaps be what Rainbow sounded like after Dio left. But on the other hand this was supposed to be an Iommi solo album so I don't fault Iommi for trying new things. We must also remember that this album came out in 1986 when thrash metal took a hold of metal and Sabbath were more or less considered finished by 1986 due to the revolving singers and a lack of direction for the band.
I have owned this album for decades now but I rarely listen to this record. It's not bad but it just screams 80's rock commercialism about this one.
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BLACK SABBATH - BORN AGAIN (1983)
⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - BORN AGAIN (1983)
This is quite a controversial one in Black Sabbaths discography. Born Again is the Black Sabbath record with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan at the microphone. That on paper sounds like a great replacement to Dio who left Sabbath after disagreements with the rest of the band.
I love Ian Gillan but the fit with him in Black Sabbath, Well I do think he did a great job but after Dio's sting with Sabbath I felt like this was a step down and his performance on this record are great in certain songs and not so great in Trashed for example.A song that by the way almost enters Speed Metal territory.
But the main problem I have with this record is that the production ain't as good as on the previous two albums, simply because this one is not produced by Martin Birch but instead produced by Robin Black who worked on previous Sabbath albums Sabotage and Technical Ecstacy.
I'm I a Born Again hater? No, quite the contrary. I like a lot of the album, it's just certain parts that stops it from being a full materpiece in my opinion.
Zero the Hero for example, it's so haunting, Sabbath's creepiest song since their self-titled track. I think this record is at it's best when Sabbath tries to be Sabbath instead of them trying to sound like Deep Purple to mix with Ian Gillan. So I prefer the slower moments on this record and not so much the more uptempo rockers.
Overall Born Again is a great record, it got some slack due to the previous two overshadows this one and the production ain't as great as you would expect for an absolute huge album like this. So I'll end up giving Born Again four stars.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - MOB RULES (1981)
How do you follow up one of the greatest albums of all time? Well you just make more o the same. Which is kinda what Black Sabbath did here. The lineup is almost intact, Bill Ward switches seat with Vinny Appice. Maybe not that known at the time but he would go on and become a legendary drummer just like his brother Carmine (Vanilla Fudge).
It's also Martin Birch producing this record which is key to it sounding so great. if you ask me this is pretty much an equal to Heaven and Hell which I consider to be perhaps the greatest record of all time so for me this is easily a five out of five album.
It just has so many of Sabbath's absolute best songs on it. The album kicks off with Turn Up the Night, a brilliant up-tempo song, Voodoo is magical and with a cool riff, Sign of the Southern Cross is perhaps the best song they ever wrote. Top five without a doubt. The title track another great one, Country Girl is so weird, usually Sabbath don't do sappy love songs but the riffing in that song is just so damn infectious you can't stop banging your head to it. Falling Off the Edge of the World is another absolute banger.
When the best band, the greatest riff maker, the greatest producer and the greatest vocalist of all time decides to make a record together it can't be anything but absolutely excellent, which Mob Rules is. This is a 100/100 record.
It can only be described as a perfect metal record. If there are anyone out there not liking this record, don't listen to fools because The Mob Rules!
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - HEAVEN AND HELL (1980)
Exit Ozzy, Enter Dio.
This change was a huge injection for the band. I'm not saying Ozzy were bad or anything but Dio really blew new life into Sabbath after two kinda proggy albums in Technical Ecstacy and Never Say Die.
First of all, the production is just perfect, I love the sound of this record. It's produced by Martin Birch who worked with Dio and Rainbow and his production really worked perfect for Sabbath.
Dio is to no ones surprise one of my favourite vocalists of all time so I think it was a great move to bring him in.
Dio is to no ones surprise one of my favourite vocalists of all time so I think it was a great move to bring him in.
This is really one of the first albums you should give someone who isn't into metal yet because this album is just so goddamn irresistable. It sounds so clear and there are no quirky things that can irritate new listeners, it's just a perfect album. Everyone can get into this record. It's just so good. I'm listening to the record while writing this review and I just can't help myself to sing along while writing it.
Obviously my voice ruins the album a bit but hey if you love a record like I love Heaven and Hell you just gotta sing along. Neon Knights, Children of the Sea, Heaven and Hell and Die Young. Come on it doesn't get more legendary than that. If there ever was a perfect record I would nominate Heaven and Hell for that title.
Therefore I'll give this album SIX stars out of five. It just defies common sence. That's how good this record is.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - NEVER SAY DIE (1978)
Never Say Die was Ozzy's last album with Sabbath before getting fired for his volatile behavious and drug addiction. He returned later on but this is the last album with Ozzy of the classic era. Just like on Technical Ecstacy this lacks the darkness and doom of the bands first couple of records. We've seen the progression to this ever since Vol 4 but by 1978 Black Sabbath were almost a progressive rock band.
It reminds me a bit of Ozzy's solo career, it certainly has a lighter and brighter tone to it than Sabbath of old. Even Worth noting is that they switched from Gerald Woodruffe to Don Airey for the keyboard position here. The band itself hasn't been that interested in this record since they didn't play any songs from this record while performing live. At least not since the actual Never Say Die tour.
Never Say Die ain't a complete trainwreck on par with Metallica's St. Anger or something like that, absolutely not. It's just not a metal album, hard rock or progressive rock would be a good way to describe Never Say Die. But I do think that songs like Junior's Eyes and the title track Never Say Die are solid songs that are worth checking out if you're curious about this rather anonymous Sabbath album.
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⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - TECHNICAL ECSTACY (1976)
Technical Ecstacy, the album where Black Sabbath tried to be Rush, just kidding or am I? Well, there is a change in sound for Sabbath with this one. The dark doom and gloom sound of for example Master of Reality is almost completely gone by now. In my head this sounds more like Ozzy fronting Rush or something. It's very proggy and not as metal sounding as before. Just listen to the song It's Alright it really sounds nothing like Sabbath but it is. It sounds more like The Beatles or something. Very odd track, It's solid but it's certainly not metal. This change came to be when keyboardist Gerald 'Jezz' Woodruffe joined the band in 1975.
But there are some great stuff on this record too like Backstreet Kids or You Won't Change me with it's cool guitar noodling. Dirty Women, the album closer is also a good track. So it's far from a complete waste but expect some prog rock elements and some strings and keyboards.
I think Sabbath lost their direction a bit here. You want Black Sabbath so sound like Sabbath and not like Rush, we already got Rush for that and with that said I'll give the album three axes out of five.
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⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - SABOTAGE (1975)
We are six albums deep into Sabbath's discography and there seems to be nothing stopping them, besides perhaps their drug addiction that were getting out of hand at this point. Sabotage as an album is a bit all over the place, certain songs are absolute masterpieces while others have a very strong 70's prog rock vibe to them. I'm not the biggest fan of that but overall this is just one helluva record. But let's not forget that Sabbath has always experimented and have put some weird acoustic arrangements on more or less all of their albums like FX or Fluff on previous records and this time the song is called Don't Start (Too Late).
Sabbath don't make perfect albums but they come really close every goddamn time. They perhaps add some weird instrumentation or ballad that kinda takes down the my impression of each record a notch and adds imperfections to Sabbath's near perfect sound. But maybe we need that on each album to fully appreciate the masterpieces like Hole in the Sky, Symptom of the Universe or Megalomania. The three best songs on the album by the way.
Ozzy does a great performance, maybe even his best performance of all time on this rather experimental record. I also think at this is the most metal sounding Sabbath album of the 70's, it's progressive but it's also very loud and powerful. For me this was the last more or less perfect album of the early Ozzy era. Sabbath has done it again, they've created six 5 out of 5 stars albums in a row. Insane!
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH (1973)
Sabbath's fifth studio album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath built on Vol 4's more musical approach and you can see that the band has developed as songwriters in just a short amount of time. On Sabbath Bloody Sabbath the band took a turn towards a more progressive style with more complex song structures, odd time signatures and longer songs.
It wasn't a complete remake of the old Sabbath sound but it was an updated version of it. One of the best riffs that Tony Iommi ever created is in my opinion that opening riff of A National Acrobat, it's just so damn cool. Love it. The same goes for the riff of Sabbra Cadabra, maybe not as great but still very good. The title track Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is also worth mentioning, It's such a great track.
I really love this record and it was one of the first Sabbath records I bought a very long time ago. It feels like I'm being a bit too generous to Sabbath but I just can't do anything but give this album another five axes out of five. If you're making a top 10 or top 20 list of the best albums of the 70's this album should be on it so that's why I give it 5 out of 5.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - VOL 4. (1972)
The fourth outing by Black Sabbath simply titled Vol 4 was released after the rather heavy Master of Reality and in comparison Vol 4 feels lighter and less riff focused and it has more of that type of 70's swinging heaviness that Sabbath stood for. At the time Sabbath were a band that just couldn't do anything wrong. Whatever they did it all worked out in the end.
The album is also packed with great songs such as Wheels of Confusion, Tomorrow's Dream, Supernaut, Snowblind, Cornucopia, St. Vitus Dance and Under the Sun. They are all superb tracks but there is also a bit of 'fluff' on this record too that doesn't really improve the record in any way. Like the cheesy and untolerable ballad Changes or the weird sound effects of FX.
This album ain't as overplayed either which is positive. I rather listen to Wheel's of Confusion than Iron Man for example. So after decades of listening to Black Sabbath I rather return to this record than Paranoid or their self-titled debut.
Around this time Sabbath was the best band on earth and nobody could really come close. Sure Deep Purple had their moments too but Sabbath was just so much heavier than anything else going around at the time. This is their fourth album and their fourth masterpiece in a row, they just keep coming. Hallelujah!
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - MASTER OF REALITY (1971)
Master of Reality is Black Sabbath's third album and it was released in 1971 about a year after their debut so Sabbath certainly kept busy. But not only that they've also kept delivering absolute classics and they were so much ahead of everybody else in 1971.
But we also have a track like Children of the Grave that were so influential on heavy metal and even thrash for it's driving tempo.
Sweat Leaf was also a huge song the band and the jamming style of Lord of this World is rather underrated.
Overall this is an iconic album and once again Black Sabbath delivers an album worthy of the five star rating. This should be in every mans collection.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - PARANOID (1970)
Just a few months after their legendary self-titled debut Black Sabbath sophomore studio album Paranoid was released and oh man what a record this was.
Overall I would say that this is a heavier record. Paranoid was a blistering fast song at the time. Iron Man with the robotic 'I'm Iron Man' was huge, Electric Funeral, Hand of Doom, Fairies Wear Boots. It don't get much better than that. This is one of the most iconic albums of all time.
Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward are legends because of records like this. This is the beginning of not only doom metal but heavy metal in general. So Iconic so damn good. Swinging drums, the heaviest riffs you'll ever hear and Ozzy's somewhat nasal and weird singing. It all just goes so well together and I just can't think of what life would have been without a record like this and their debut album. They more or less are twin albums since they both came out the same year and they both had a HUUUUGE impact on music even if it commercially didn't do as well as some pop and rock artists of the same era. But over time it's clear that records like these were more important than yeah pretty much all music that ever existed. It's impactful on a historic level.
This is part of the 'Heavy Metal Starter pack' and you simply should know this album because without it your full music collection wouldn't have existed.
As essential as breathing.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACK SABBATH - BLACK SABBATH (1970)
Here we have it, the album that started it all (Sorry Blue Cheer). The very first Heavy Metal album, well maybe not exactly by todays standards but this was certainly a giant step forward towards metal.
Just listen to Bill Ward's drumming, you can hear a lot of jazz and blues in his drumming. It was Judas Priest that removed the blues and jazz strokes from metal a few years later with Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) and that was when metal became a thing of it's own.
But without Black Sabbath's debut maybe we wouldn't have had a Sad Wings of Destiny. So it all goes back to this record that changes music forever.
Did Black Sabbath develop more as a metal band over the years, certainly. I for example hold the Dio era albums and the Tony Martin albums as their best albums when it comes to the music itself. Was Black Sabbath's selftitled record more groundbreaking and important? Definitely.
Do I think that this record is essential, of course. It's an album that every metal fan should own and should know simply because of it's importance. Plus it's far from bad. The title track itself is so haunting and probably the first song that really scared people. N.I.B. is another favourite. What everyone doesn't know is that the album features two rather obscure covers, one of Crow (Evil Woman) and one of Aynsley Dunbar (Warning).
I think I'm going to keep this review short since everyone reading this probably know how essential this record is even if it's not as metal as your typical Priest or Maiden album.
If you look up 'classic' in the dictionairy. Then you'll probably find an image of Black Sabbath's debut record.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLACKSMITH - GIPSY QUEEN (1985) (Review by: Per-Ola Nilsson)
I long thought that Blacksmith were cheap and dated Deep Purple-wannabes and thus ignored them, but boy was I wrong! Sure, they got a great deal of their ideas from Blackmore and his boys, but this is really purple taken into the 80's.
The A-side of this mini album is close to marvellous. Two fast burners with double bass drums and falsetto screams, and where the wall of keyboards actually (for once!) are moody and fitting instead of weak.
"I Don't Know", that opens the B-side, is such a rare thing as a ballad which does not suck stinking horse bollocks. Believe it or not - it's actually very good. "Lying Eyes" ends it all as a mid temp riffer with a great chorus.
"Gipsy Queen" is actually a real winner. Don't be scared off by their looks or the usage of keyboards.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLESSED DEATH - KILL OR BE KILLED (1985)
I love Blessed Death's style. Their ferocious brand of thrash is excellent.The production is solid, the dark sound and especially the unrelenting vocals by Larry Portelli is spot on, his shrieking and lunatic voice masters both the more epic parts as well as the faster thrash moments. Larry has a great falsetto and he is not afraid to use it, I love those types of vocalists. the "over-the-top" style that makes a band original, even if he at times sounds like Tom Araya of Slayer. I would say that Blessed Death's music is somewhere between Hallow's Eve and early Slayer with a dose of Exciter and Omen. The music itself might not be the most intricate stuff you can find in the genre, but the band does what you can expect from them. But Blessed Death nailed the spirit and the sound of what is great about metal. I like the tracks "Melt Down", "Pig Slaughter" and "Blessed Death". The album might be a bit old-fashioned today but this is the essence of thrash. Recommended for all fans of eighties thrash.
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I love Blessed Death's style. Their ferocious brand of thrash is excellent.The production is solid, the dark sound and especially the unrelenting vocals by Larry Portelli is spot on, his shrieking and lunatic voice masters both the more epic parts as well as the faster thrash moments. Larry has a great falsetto and he is not afraid to use it, I love those types of vocalists. the "over-the-top" style that makes a band original, even if he at times sounds like Tom Araya of Slayer. I would say that Blessed Death's music is somewhere between Hallow's Eve and early Slayer with a dose of Exciter and Omen. The music itself might not be the most intricate stuff you can find in the genre, but the band does what you can expect from them. But Blessed Death nailed the spirit and the sound of what is great about metal. I like the tracks "Melt Down", "Pig Slaughter" and "Blessed Death". The album might be a bit old-fashioned today but this is the essence of thrash. Recommended for all fans of eighties thrash.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLiND ILLUSION - DEMON MASTER (2010)
Blind Illusions released a classic thrash metal album back in 1988 called The Sane Asylum. It was a technical thrash metal masterpiece. Now over twenty years later Marc Biedermann has recruited two new members Bassplayer Danny Harcourt and Drummer Robert Nyström to replace the trio Lalonde, Miner and Claypool. I don't know why Marc Biedermann decided to make another Blind Illusion album, so far away in style from the first album. This is some type of 70's styled hippie rock. I don't know if the former members Larry Lalonde, Mike Miner and Les Claypool thinks of this reborn Blind Illusion, because Marc Biedermann is obviously peeing on Blind Illusion's legacy. Why? Probably to earn some bucks that he couldn't if he just simply started a new band. But then people like I wouldn't care about it.
Blind Illusions released a classic thrash metal album back in 1988 called The Sane Asylum. It was a technical thrash metal masterpiece. Now over twenty years later Marc Biedermann has recruited two new members Bassplayer Danny Harcourt and Drummer Robert Nyström to replace the trio Lalonde, Miner and Claypool. I don't know why Marc Biedermann decided to make another Blind Illusion album, so far away in style from the first album. This is some type of 70's styled hippie rock. I don't know if the former members Larry Lalonde, Mike Miner and Les Claypool thinks of this reborn Blind Illusion, because Marc Biedermann is obviously peeing on Blind Illusion's legacy. Why? Probably to earn some bucks that he couldn't if he just simply started a new band. But then people like I wouldn't care about it.
I was a huge fan of their debut but this cheap Black Sabbath meets Cream and Jimi Hendrix isn't even that appealing for fans of seventies blues rock. Sure Marc Biedermann can do whatever he want's with his Blind Illusion but I can't see why he would release a blues rock album under a band name that most people associate to a thrash metal band. But it will only be disappointing for those who buys the album and expect thrash metal. This was bad judgement from Marc Biedermann. He should put Blind Illusion to rest once and for all.
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❌
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Blind Illusions only official release, they more or less drowned in the over-crowded bay area scene and thats a shame because of the fact that Blind Illusion where one of the best bands at the time. A very talented and technical band, especially the bassfreak Les Claypool (Later in Primus) and Larry Lalonde who is known from his time in the influental S.F-band Possessed. Naming some great songs are hard because all of them are strong. But "Blood shower" & "Vengeance is mine" are two great tracks. The songs are a bit mystical with a progressive feel to it, mixing fast and slow parts somewhat like a mix between Flotsam and Jetsam and Exodus the later on the vocal area. very technical thrash and Les Claypools funky basswork just does it for me, there are not many albums I've heard that has a better bassist. The album is a bit underproduced to say something negative about it. On the very last song Blind Illusion has got seven children (Children of Revillusion) as back up vocalists. This album was released in 1988 by Combat records. A wonderful thrash album that are on the verge of falling into obscurity.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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BLOOD FEAST - KILL FOR PLEASURE (1987)
Nostalgia can play tricks on your mind. Sometimes rather average albums gets treated as the stuff of legends because the records were released during the golden era of that particular style. That can be said about New Jersey's own Blood Feast and their album Kill For Pleasure. The band sure had some potential, their violent straight forward style combined with some proto-death vocals from the rather talented Gary Markovitch. Gary sounds a bit like if Jeff Becerra and Steve 'Zetro' Souza had a love child together, haha.
Blood Feast's style is in the veins of Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed and Kreator. But Blood Feast never fully reached the same levels of skills even if they indeed were a cool band that had a style that could charm any fan of thrash as well as death metal. Blood Feast really had everything on place except for their musicianship which is sadly rather average. They had a cool logo and artwork for the album. Add to that a real intense death / thrash sound and a homicidal maniac for a vocalist and Kill For Pleasure should have been a timeless classic but it never reaches the heights of the aforementioned Kreator, Dark Angel, Slayer and Possessed. But still Kill For Pleasure works well for nostalgia and for those who just can't get enough of noisy underproduced violence.
⭐⭐⭐
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BOMBARDER - SPEED KILL (1989)
Bombarder (the band with the coolest name in thrash) is a pioneering speed / thrash metal band from Bosnia and Hercegovina. The band formed and played thrash in Yugoslavia in the late eighties but the Balkan war broke out in the early nineties and two members of the band ended up killed. One of them being Maho Siljdedic, Bombarder's original guitarist. The other being Fahrudin Celik who joined the band after the release of Speed Kill. Things almost gets too real upon listening to the intro track Bombarder where you can hear airplanes drop bombs.
The album Speed Kill was originally released in 3000 copies on cassette only. But the album has been re-released on CD with another cover art in 2005 through Walk Records. Speed Kill was the first speed / thrash metal release from the nation of Bosnia and Hercegovina, the sound is pretty much the standard fare when it comes to eastern European metal. It's dirty, raw, underproduced and it has this typical slavic style to their sound. All songs are sung in their native Bosnian language, only the choruses of Long Live the Loud and Speed Metal are sung in English.
The band had probably spent their time listening to bands like Motörhead and Tank prior to recording this album. The songs are somewhat catchy but the end product is as you can guess very low-budget and the album has more in common with the speed metal sound of the early eighties than the more refined sound that most bands adopted in the late eighties. The band has definitely an interesting history and over the years they have become heavy metal heroes in their native Bosnia and Hercegovina and there has even been tribute album released to salute the music of Bombarder. Speed Kill might not mean anything for thrashers outside the borders of Bosnia but it is indeed a cool piece of thrash metal history.
⭐⭐⭐
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BULLDOZER - NEURODELIRI (1988)
Bulldozer is back with their fourth record in as many years. This time on a new label called Metal Master. The album is dedicated to Dario Carria who plays the bass on their first single and on a couple of tracks on the Day of Wrath. He took is own life earlier in 1988 and the band decided to dedicate the album to him. Neurodeliri starts off with some eerie keyboards on the intro track Overture / Neurodeliri but soon blitzes into some futuristic Black Metal, with a dissonance that reminds me more of the second wave of Black Metal. But overall their style is simplistic and pretty straight forward metal. But there is one big difference here, the added keyboads. Don't worry it's not The Final Countdown by Europe, no the keyboards add a spooky feeling to the album, similar to the work of King Diamond but I guess Bulldozer were more influenced by the Italian horror masters Death SS use of keyboards.
The album is also much shorter than their previous albums, only 29 minutes long and three of those minutes are just the Overture intro. Neurodeliri is quite a strange and eclectic collection of songs, ranging from dark black metal moments to lighter Motörhead-like songs. The band also seems to be fans of Ilona Staller, the former porn star who was elected for the italian parliament, it's the second time they write a song about her. This time she had been elected. :) Overall, Neurodeliri is less thrashy than IX and it has a lighter tone to it.
Neurodeliri was unfortunately the end for classic Bulldozer since the band took a change in direction and started to releasing dance singles through the nineties. Believe it or not, one of the worst sellouts in metal history I might add. But Neurodeliri is an untainted and good metal album from the kings of Italian metal.
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Finally Bulldozer have an album that are fairly well produced, at least well compared to their first two albums. Upon listening to the very first song on this album you'll notice a big difference in style, IX is much more in the thrash vein compared to the the bands early work. There is still some black metal aestetics going on here even if the lyrics are more thrash styled. The band still has a raw and dirty approach to their music, it's not that the album is a fanzy techno-thrash record, no it's quite the opposite but the band has evolved as musicians and Rob "Klister" Cabrini is a better and more diverse drummer than "Don" Andras. Lyrically the album is a bit childish with a lot of sexual content. But the song The Derby is perhaps the coolest and most violent football anthem ever written. Overall this must be considered to be Bulldozer's crowning achievement. Sure their debut album was more original and groundbreaking, but in terms of technical skills and the songwriting itself IX is far superior. Buy or die!
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BULLDOZER - THE FINAL SEPARATION (1986)
One year after their debut Milano's Bulldozer returned with The Final Separation. Just like on their debut Bulldozer provides us with old school sounding speed / thrash with a big dose of Venom adoration. The songs are fairly simple but enjoyable even if one could have wished for more variation in the drumming department. Speaking of the drummer, there is also a song named after the drummer "Don" Andras. The song is some type of boring joke though. As far as the songwriting goes The Final Separation is on par with The Day of Wrath, songs like Final Separation, Ride Hard - Die Fast, The Cave and Don't Trust the "Saint".
The production values has also been cleaned up a bit since The Day of the Wrath and the band feels more professional here. The album varies in quality and the band at times plays pretty slow, almost doom like metal in The Death of Gods. The vocals by AC Wild are not as extreme as on the debut, they are even more Cronos sounding on this sophomore release. Sure, it's an old school and fairly enjoyable album, but there are so many albums out there that surpasses The Final Separation in terms of quality and technical skills. The Final Separation has its flaws and they have become more visible with time. But I wouldn't totally write off the album, it's worth giving it a try if you're into the proto-thrash type of speed metal that were popular in the mid eighties.
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BULLDOZER - THE DAY OF WRATH (1985)
Milano's Bulldozer took the crown from Death SS as Italys premier extreme metal band when they unleashed their shocking debut The Day of Wrath back in spring of 1985. The album was produced by none other than Tank's Algy Ward and Bulldozer reminds be a bit of Tank but on steroids. Stir in some Sodom, Discharge, Bathory, Motörhead and a big dose of Venom into a pot you'll probably end up somewhere close to the wicked sound that Bulldozer has managed to summon here. On The Day of Wrath Bulldozer delivered some memorable proto-thrashing assaults like Cut Throat, Fallen Angel and Mad Man. Songs that were all essentially Italian carbon copies of what Venom produced four or five years earlier, almost to the point that Cronos could sue Bulldozer for theft. But calling Bulldozer simple thiefs would be historically incorrect as this type of extreme metal was still unheard of in italy and across most parts of Europe. If you ask me I think Bulldozer should be up there with legends like Hellhammer and Bathory as grandfathers of all things extreme. Maybe Bulldozer never got the same mainstream recognition but if you dare to go underground you will
definitely bump into people who admire Bulldozer for their contributions, not only in Italy but internationally. The album was released internationally through Roadrunner Records. So Bulldozer was definitely trailblazers.
The Day of Wrath stands pretty sturdy on it's own for being one of the most daring and extreme metal albums of 1985, wheter they borrowed ideas from Venom or not. Just like Venom's early albums, The Day of Wrath is essentially a speed metal album with proto-thrashing moments and a black metal undertone in the lyrics and through the bands image. Call it what you will, for me this is metal in it's dirtiest form, distorted, nasty, occult, morbid, extreme and outright brilliant. The raspy whiskey-infused vocals and flashy guitar work is unfortunately well hidden behind a wall of smudged distortion. The album sounds like it was recorded in your dead granny's basement. Sure the band later cleared up the gritty production and became a more traditional thrash band on their following records, but this is pure history and one of the coolest things to come out of Italy since Pizza was invented. Even if the album can be too rugged and primitive for most metal fans of today it is still remembered as one of the defining moments in Italy's metal history.
........................................................................................................................................
Neurodeliri was unfortunately the end for classic Bulldozer since the band took a change in direction and started to releasing dance singles through the nineties. Believe it or not, one of the worst sellouts in metal history I might add. But Neurodeliri is an untainted and good metal album from the kings of Italian metal.
⭐⭐⭐
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BULLDOZER - IX (1987)
One year after The Final Separation Bulldozer returned with their third album. This time without Roadrunner Records to promote them, instead they signed with an Italian label called Discomagic. Prior to the release of IX, their drummer "Don" Andras left the band to get married and have a family life and in stepped Rob "Klister" Cabrini who was a part of Bulldozer back before they got signed by Roadrunner. You might think that now when they got dropped from the big metal label Roadrunner, things will sound less professional, but it is in fact the opposite here.
⭐⭐⭐
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BULLDOZER - THE FINAL SEPARATION (1986)
One year after their debut Milano's Bulldozer returned with The Final Separation. Just like on their debut Bulldozer provides us with old school sounding speed / thrash with a big dose of Venom adoration. The songs are fairly simple but enjoyable even if one could have wished for more variation in the drumming department. Speaking of the drummer, there is also a song named after the drummer "Don" Andras. The song is some type of boring joke though. As far as the songwriting goes The Final Separation is on par with The Day of Wrath, songs like Final Separation, Ride Hard - Die Fast, The Cave and Don't Trust the "Saint".
The production values has also been cleaned up a bit since The Day of the Wrath and the band feels more professional here. The album varies in quality and the band at times plays pretty slow, almost doom like metal in The Death of Gods. The vocals by AC Wild are not as extreme as on the debut, they are even more Cronos sounding on this sophomore release. Sure, it's an old school and fairly enjoyable album, but there are so many albums out there that surpasses The Final Separation in terms of quality and technical skills. The Final Separation has its flaws and they have become more visible with time. But I wouldn't totally write off the album, it's worth giving it a try if you're into the proto-thrash type of speed metal that were popular in the mid eighties.
⭐⭐⭐
........................................................................................................................................
BULLDOZER - THE DAY OF WRATH (1985)
Milano's Bulldozer took the crown from Death SS as Italys premier extreme metal band when they unleashed their shocking debut The Day of Wrath back in spring of 1985. The album was produced by none other than Tank's Algy Ward and Bulldozer reminds be a bit of Tank but on steroids. Stir in some Sodom, Discharge, Bathory, Motörhead and a big dose of Venom into a pot you'll probably end up somewhere close to the wicked sound that Bulldozer has managed to summon here. On The Day of Wrath Bulldozer delivered some memorable proto-thrashing assaults like Cut Throat, Fallen Angel and Mad Man. Songs that were all essentially Italian carbon copies of what Venom produced four or five years earlier, almost to the point that Cronos could sue Bulldozer for theft. But calling Bulldozer simple thiefs would be historically incorrect as this type of extreme metal was still unheard of in italy and across most parts of Europe. If you ask me I think Bulldozer should be up there with legends like Hellhammer and Bathory as grandfathers of all things extreme. Maybe Bulldozer never got the same mainstream recognition but if you dare to go underground you will
definitely bump into people who admire Bulldozer for their contributions, not only in Italy but internationally. The album was released internationally through Roadrunner Records. So Bulldozer was definitely trailblazers.
The Day of Wrath stands pretty sturdy on it's own for being one of the most daring and extreme metal albums of 1985, wheter they borrowed ideas from Venom or not. Just like Venom's early albums, The Day of Wrath is essentially a speed metal album with proto-thrashing moments and a black metal undertone in the lyrics and through the bands image. Call it what you will, for me this is metal in it's dirtiest form, distorted, nasty, occult, morbid, extreme and outright brilliant. The raspy whiskey-infused vocals and flashy guitar work is unfortunately well hidden behind a wall of smudged distortion. The album sounds like it was recorded in your dead granny's basement. Sure the band later cleared up the gritty production and became a more traditional thrash band on their following records, but this is pure history and one of the coolest things to come out of Italy since Pizza was invented. Even if the album can be too rugged and primitive for most metal fans of today it is still remembered as one of the defining moments in Italy's metal history.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
........................................................................................................................................
BYWAR - INCINCIBLE WAR
If you thought that thrash metal was dead or only a few giants like Exodus, Slayer, Kreator and Destruction can play thrash metal, you are wrong. Or perhaps you haven't heard the brazilian thrash metal group Bywar and their debut album Invincible war. It was released in 2002 and in interviews Bywar has claimed that their aim is to make eighties metal. Some solos aren't that great, but in general Bywar is one of those bands that needs more attention. The vocalist sounds a bit like Schmier from Destruction. The music itself sounds a whole lot like Kreator did in the eighties. Bywar will never be as recognized as those earlier mentioned bands but who said that they can't make as great music? Sure Invincible war ain't no "Reign in blood" but I think it is as great or better than Slayer & Destruction's latest efforts. Bywar is here to stay!
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If you thought that thrash metal was dead or only a few giants like Exodus, Slayer, Kreator and Destruction can play thrash metal, you are wrong. Or perhaps you haven't heard the brazilian thrash metal group Bywar and their debut album Invincible war. It was released in 2002 and in interviews Bywar has claimed that their aim is to make eighties metal. Some solos aren't that great, but in general Bywar is one of those bands that needs more attention. The vocalist sounds a bit like Schmier from Destruction. The music itself sounds a whole lot like Kreator did in the eighties. Bywar will never be as recognized as those earlier mentioned bands but who said that they can't make as great music? Sure Invincible war ain't no "Reign in blood" but I think it is as great or better than Slayer & Destruction's latest efforts. Bywar is here to stay!
⭐⭐⭐
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