Bütcher

Triumpher – Storming the Walls [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

Triumpher – Storming the Walls [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

“As a sponge, I am not usually picky about what music I absorb. I often find my way to liking anything if it clicks the right boxes. For some reason, though, I’m pickiest about traditional heavy metal, both classic and modern. I rarely like anything that falls under the stock “heavy” umbrella, instead preferring things that are hybridized with other, more extreme fare. Luckily for me, Triumpher are here to help raise my sword to full might with their immense, astoundingly compelling debut Storming the Walls, released in March of this year.” Triumph of the swordcore.

Ice Giant – Ghost of Humanity Review

Ice Giant – Ghost of Humanity Review

“You gotta love a good genre-bending record. Morphing between two, three, or even more distinct metallic styles is not easy, but it’s even more difficult to attempt while still putting out a great record. Boston, Massachusetts progressive symphonic metal act Ice Giant aim to join these ranks of successful shape-shifters with their sophomore LP, Ghost of Humanity.” Kitchensinkcore.

Violent Sin – Serpent’s Call Review

Violent Sin – Serpent’s Call Review

“Like labelmates Lucifuge and fellow Flemings Bütcher, Violent Sin play relatively unadorned blackened speed metal tinged with thrash. That means raw riffs, drunken drumming, and especially raspy blackened vocals with falsetto flourishes. Altogether, Violent Sin are an amphetamine-addled amalgamation of Hellhammer and Mercyful Fate.” Sins of the elders.

Redshark – Digital Race Review

Redshark – Digital Race Review

“Continuing the trend of covering things I don’t normally cover, I traveled at the speed of light metal to Barcelona, where I encountered an angry, ‘roided-out shark wearing nothing but bullet belts and cargo khakis that barely contained his quads. His name is Fred, but his friends and enemies just call him Red, for short. My first encounter with Red looked much like the scenery depicted to your left. Specifically, there were many explosions, gunshots, cacophonies of glass and cigarette-stained plastic shrapnel, and the sweet sound of skulls succumbing to ruthless whirlwinds of ignited ammunition.” Blood in the mortar.

Bastard – Rotten Blood Review

Bastard – Rotten Blood Review

“What we have here is the devil’s own bar band. After a seven-year layoff and a slew of lineup changes, Bastard swaggers back onstage with sophomore full-length Rotten Blood. These four likely parolees mine a vein of blackened speed metal and thrash that will be familiar to fans of Nifelheim, Goatwhore, or, more recently, any of your finer bands ending in the suffix “-er” (Bütcher, Bewitcher, Hellripper, Demiser, etc.). The album is all Motörhead riffs played at 78 rpm and mad-lib lyrics that pay homage to Satan or whatever–mostly, it seems, because cozying up to Old Man Splitfoot is the fastest way to get your hands on the good whiskey.” Bastards, bourbon, Battlestar Galactica.

Schizophrenia – Recollections of the Insane Review

Schizophrenia – Recollections of the Insane Review

“In the Year of Our Plague 2020, a lusty and savage dose of black/speed/thrash hit the planet with the force of a 6-megaton billy buck. I speak of Bütcher’s sophomore platter, 666 Goats Carry My Chariot. It was such a wild, unruly paean to excess that it proved nigh impossible to resist. 2022 sees a band emerge from Bütcher’s bloody Belgian backyard carrying fewer goats but much of the same speed-drenched lunacy. Schizophrenia’s Recollections of the Insane debut assaults with a thrashing, skull-bashing style of death metal sure to conjure nostalgia as it curb stomps the unwary with lightning riffs and flashy chops.” Mad Maximum.

Descent – Order of Chaos Review

Descent – Order of Chaos Review

“If Australia is trying to kill you, then Descent is the club with which it bludgeons its victims. The Brisbane five-piece burst onto the scene in 2018 with Towers of Grandiosity, which worshipped at the altar of the most primitive old-school death metal. But Towers rested too heavily on its Neanderthal influences, failing to make a mark amidst stiff competition from down-under brethren like Faceless Burial, The Plague, and Earth Rot. Descent’s latest attack, Order of Chaos aims to outshine the OSDM riffraff by incorporating weapons from neighboring genres into the band’s arsenal, in defiant response to our review (I assume).” Murder Land.

Knife – Knife Review

Knife – Knife Review

“Over the past few years, I’ve found myself growing increasingly fond of the blackened speed metal subgenre. Something about the mix of simple, unrelenting riffs, vicious vocals and gleefully evil subject matter speak to my soul in a profound and fundamental way. But instead of exploring any of that in therapy, I just keep an eye out for the next morsel of Motörhead-worshipping, Venom-venerating filth that bobs to the surface of the promo sump. That’s exactly how I happened upon Knife, a blackened speed outfit hailing from Germany that traffic in this (un)heavenly concoction.” Blades of steel.