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8.0
- Bands:
HELLBUTCHER - Duration: 00:33:22
- Available from: 05/31/2024
- Label:
-
Metal Blade Records
Streaming not yet available
“The king is dead, long live the king!'” this is the formula which, before the Revolution, announced to the French people the departure of the sovereign in office and the appointment of his successor, and which we can easily make our own to describe this self-titled debut by Hellbutcher and the path of stylistic continuity in which it is placed.
The band is in fact the new creation of Per 'Hellbutcher' Gustavsson, leader and voice of Nifelheim, who since the '90s have set the thrash-black scene on fire with gems such as the self-titled debut and “Servants Of Darkness”.
The historic Swedish formation has been on hold since the end of 2022, but not so Gustavsson, who actually seems in very good shape, on the one hand grappling with the classic doom of the international ensemble Friends Of Hell – which involves, among others, the ex Sentenced Taneli Jarva and Beelzeebubth of Mystifier – and with Hellbutcher on the other, i.e. the most extreme side and immediately close to the works of Nifelheim.
This project also has a high profile line-up: for the rhythm section the singer has in fact asked for help from Martin Axenrot of Bloodbath (formerly Opeth, Nifelheim and Witchery) and the mammoth Frode 'Eld' Kilvik of Gaahls Wyrd (as well as live sessions for Taake), entrusting the guitars to Dan 'Necrophiliac' Andersson, historic ax of Mordant, and Fredrik Folkare, companion of adventures in the heavy metal band Dead Kosmonaut.
And the result does not disappoint expectations at all, which materialize in an abundant half hour of blackened thrash metal, lacquered with speed and heavy metal, as dynamic, belligerent and on the shields as it is melodic, enthralling and refined. These eight tracks flow away, tempering like lager beer on a hot early summer evening: we start off with the single “The Sword Of Wrath” – one of the best pieces – capable of combining the raw violence of the most ferocious 80s thrash with the dark elegance of heavy metal, a distinctive feature of the entire album.
There are songs with a more light-hearted and rock'n'roll feeling such as the anthemic “Death's Rider” and other sulphurous and black metal oriented ones, this is the case of “Hordes Of The Horned God”, while “Violent Destruction” is a riot of menacing and ferocious speed metal. In any case, they all reveal high-level songwriting and an almost surprising stylistic freshness given the subject matter covered.
Hellbutcher and his band manage to update a sound deeply rooted in the '80s thanks to a sufficiently clean and understandable production and a sprinkle of proto-black metal darkness, creating an excellent album, with solid and inspired writing and decidedly capable musicians; applause in particular goes to the work of the pair of guitarists, who forge flows of excellent riffs and solos with a classic flavor that are a pleasure for the ears (“Perdition” and “Satan's Power” as examples among all).
The stylistic references are clear and evident: in addition to the aforementioned Nifelheim, the similarities are above all with the roughest and most uncompromising speed-thrash, both of the German school (Kreator, Destruction, Sodom) and the American school (early Slayer, Exciter, Hallows Eve ), without forgetting Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden and all the more Luciferian NWOBHM (Angel Witch, Satan, Cloven Hoof).
It goes without saying that this album collects, reworks and interprets a well-established tradition, revealing itself to be much more than a simple tribute: the songs are there and they work well (it seems banal but it's anything but obvious, and in the end it's the only thing that is needed) and the good Hellbutcher completes the winning formula with his demonic but perfectly understandable tone.
All we have to do is welcome this new Swedish incarnation all leather, studs and Satan, and congratulate Gustavsson, who on the threshold of fifty seems to have rediscovered the state of grace and expressive vigor of youth.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM