The solo in The IVth Crusade is what got me into Bolt Thrower.

The first track I hear from Bolt Thrower was Entrenched. It hooked me in right away. Then I heard The IVth Crusade and was completely sold. I mean... that riff. There are no words.

Also, dug up a reference from Blabbermouth:



Oh, I also realized that Earache rereleased Live War on iTunes a couple of years ago as yet another cash grab. I got lucky by getting it with a used copy of ... For Victory a few years ago. Fuck yeah!

You really can't go wrong with Bolt Thrower. I have them all, so here's my rundown:

"In Battle There is no Law!" is basically a hybrid between crustpunk and deathrash, but very well done and very heavy for the time. It's probably their most "kvlt" release.

"Realm of Chaos" is basically a death metal/grindcore album, and has some of their fastest material. Some of their best songs are from this release. Track down the original version (the re-issue is a rip-off from Earache who has been screwing the band over for years). This one I believe also has their lowest tuning, but the production is a little muddy (if this album had modern production, it would be so heavy that it would cause singularities whenever it's played). Every single song kills, even the bonus track on the CD version.

"Warmaster" is a bit slower than RoC, but quite heavy. Better production, and another classic. Excellent riffing throughout.

"The Peel Sessions 1988-90" is a compilation of radio recordings from John Peel's show. This is very hard to find, but it's quite good. I wouldn't say it's essential, though.

"The IVth Crusade" is heavier and slower, but pretty much kills. It's nearly doom-death on some parts. Excellent production, monstrous riffs. "Where Next to Conquer" owns all of the posers.

"...For Victory" may be their best, and is well liked by the band. This has some of the heaviest riffs ever recorded. The production is great, but a little trebly. Also Karl's voice isn't as deep, as he had a cold or something. Still, I like his vocal performance a lot. Every songs is a killer, and there are some great solos. The opening track makes me want to leave no survivors in my path. Listen to this on a quality system. There are versions with a second CD of live material, which is a good find for diehards like me, but not essential. (I have both versions) I would like to get this on vinyl, as the vinyl has a different mix, according to an old interview.

"Who Dares Wins" is a compilation of the "Cenotaph" and "Spearhead" with a couple of rarities. BT had just left Earache, so Earache put this out at the same time as their new album (they pulled the same crap with Entombed). It was going to be called "No Guts, No Glory" which would have been even more confusing as "Mercenary" has a song with that title. I believe that was intentional on Earache's part, and the band (or Metal Blade) was able to raise enough hell for Earache to change the title. However, it is a good collection - get this one second hand/used, so Earache doesn't get any more money from it.

"Mercenary" is similar in style to "The IVth Crudade, Pretty good songs, heavy as hell, but slightly sterile production, and a bit less memorable. Not a bad album at all though.

"Honour, Valor, Pride" is similar to "Mercenary" but in my opinion is a bit weaker. Dave Ingram provides vocals, which are excellent, but it doesn't quite sound right withouth Karl. Still better than what so many crappy bands have released.

"Those Once Loyal" is their best album since "...For Victory" and might even be better. Crushing riffs, amazing production, Karl Willetts back on vocals, heaviness abound. An album so good they abandoned work on a follow-up because they felt they could't do better. I give them much respect for that, but I hope someday they will release a new album.


Many have taken an arrow to the knee, but I took a bolt!

For me, Realm of Chaos-->The IVth Crusade is tops. RoC and Warmaster both bring such a gnarled and charred, post-apocalyptic vibe to the table that the other albums don't really touch, while TIVthC moves into this sweeping territory that, with its use of quasi-'oriental' scales and slower overall pace, conjures this awesomely tragic historical atmosphere that doesn't quite appear on any of the other works. Everything after TIVthC feels either a bit like rehash or just too...purely aesthetic? Too 'clean'? I don't know, there seems to be some subtle x-factor missing in the later albums that keep me from really getting into them completely. Listening to For Victory again this morning, I recognize it has this sort of "bouncy" quality to some of the riffs that kind of kills the gravitas and darkness that made the earlier albums so compelling. I guess the later works don't feel very emotional to me... there's less there in terms of poignancy as well as horror, and it all sounds merely like "Bolt Thrower songs" rather than art that actually has atmosphere and vision to it.

I would agree with you except it's up to ...For Victory for me. Although, really, all their work is fantastic. Easily one of the most consistent bands in death metal.

While I will agree that sucks that they're not seeing any money from their old releases, I must admit that I still feel fine about owning them.

Could it have anything to do with the lack of Andy Whale's drumming on the later albums? I know he played on For Victory but not on anything afterward. Kurns and Thomans just didn't have the same sense of power.

Also I just went and hunted down the older version of Realm of Chaos. The old artwork is better anyhow.

I think their best album is Those Once Loyal. No need to explain that one, pretty much one of the best death metal masterpieces.

Second best is Realm of Chaos, because it got me into Bolt Thrower and old-school death metal in general and WOOOOOOOOORRRLD EEEAATEEEEEER!!!! pretty much that song alone makes it a perfect death metal album. Third favorite is The IVth Crusade, crushing and melodic, but also an album I need to listen more, as I'm not that familiar with it yet.

I listen to and enjoy all of Bolt Thrower's albums on a fairly regular basis, as they are one of my all-time favorites. If I had to pick a favorite though, I'd either choose In Battle There Is No Law or The IVth Crusade. The former opens up with my favorite Bolt Thrower song, and really gets the blood pumping with that four count on the drums and Karl Willets' vocal intro; easily one of the most badass moments in all of extreme music. The latter just flows flawlessly between those double bass beatdowns, heavy crunchy riffs, and those epic melodies that Bolt Thrower ended up pulling off so well on albums to come. I can only hope that one day I'll get to see them live...or own an actual shirt of theirs. I'm actually having a tattoo design drawn up for me which draws inspiration from the lyrics to "Where Next To Conquer".

RoC isnt as good as people say it is. The album that really shows off Bolty is Mercenary (the one that got me into BT) and Those Once Loyal.
RoC had World Eater, IVth had Celestial Sanctuary. It just stuns me how well they went out of their way to create a softer, more melodic song with beautiful solos... only to crush you after the three minute mark.

EDIT: why? Because BT really found their working formula around Mercenary/IVth Crusade. After that, the production became WAY better, the riffs became more memorable and the songs got more and more diverse. Just listen to Granite Wall and When Cannons Fade.

For a heavy, dark, brooding death metal release it is every bit as good as people say it is. I can't even find an album that is a spot-on imitation, much like the rest of the band's discography.

I never said it was bad, I'm just saying I'm seeing Mercenary get way more hate that it should, while people seem to be blindly worshipping RoC. Both albums have their flaws but were way ahead of their time. Too bad there aren't any good BT clones out there like there are with Carcass.

Blind worship of Realms of Chaos? Not sure I understand you...

More than a mere clone, but;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBX7JZZzpis&feature=related

Holy fucking mother of balls, Warmaster reigns with a vision fed by a burning hate. This album absolutely slays. I'd forgotten how much this rules. I'd even go so far as to say it's the best starting point for Bolt Thrower as it deftly combines the macabre atmosphere and furious speed of their early releases and the war-machine grandeur of the latter stuff, standing between the two periods without sounding too uncomfortably transitional. Awesome fucking riffs (with lots of variation, importantly), tight compositions, great production aesthetics, and (perhaps most notably) one prime ingredient that the earlier BT material has that the later lacks, which is that morbid, twisted wreckage-type atmosphere. A lot of the later records sound kinda devoid of that potent desolation... there aren't that many bands that can conjure post-apocalypse with their music, and it's easy for me to prefer it if it's on offer, especially given the nature of their themes.

Every BT album is amazing, but if I could only pick one it would be "...For Victory". It's catchy, memorable, excellent production, and damn honest death metal.

I never really heard a striking resemblance between Bolt Thrower and Benediction, aside from the groovy riffs and general pacing. There is a lot more to BT's sound than just those two factors.

Bolt Thrower needs to come to America.

America NEEDS Bolt Thrower. By Crom, this must happen.

Realm of Chaos is awesome, but one thing I often wonder is why people seem to fellate "World Eater" so often. It's easily one of the dullest tracks on the album. Which isn't to say it's bad, but still. Compared to the tension in pieces like "Drowned in Torment" or the title track, it comes off a bit soft. I guess people will always point to "that riff"... but it kinda loses steam a bit, eh? I remember being really into when I was 14, but now it's weirdly one of the low points of the album for me.

I just want to take a moment to say that I've been listening to Realm of Chaos and The IVth Crusade on and off for half my life now and I still haven't gotten tired of them. Pretty timeless stuff...

Also, because I can't stop editing this post, I think I like Warmaster pretty much just as well as The IVth Crusade now. Which is definitely saying something. It surprises me that I don't often hear BT fans talking (ok, gushing) about Warmaster, because it's just as strong as any of the other albums. Hell, I feel like people rep Mercenary more often. What the screw.

reading the posts took me to spin some BT, and that took me to Benediction, and some Napalm Death, and Sinister as well (Cross the Styx), and the swedIsh scene, and then the american sound and...and... you can´t get more quality and diversity in one musical subgenre... LONG LIVE TO OLD SCHOOL DEATH METAL!!! AT FIRST LIIIIIIIIIIIIGTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it's a testament to how solid the band is that every album bar Honour Valour Pride has been mentioned as people's favourite here. Shame, because HVP is awesome, but oh well.

Warmaster, probably first off because it's the first album by them, and really one of the first extremely heavy albums I ever bought when I was probably 14. So aside from the nostalgia factor, it's just a really heavy album and the songs have their own distinctly noticeable differences, whereas some DM albums sound like your listening to the same song 10 times. And cenotaph is one heavy and crushing tune!

It's their third album, but yay Warmaster!

Well that's because Karl Willets >>>>>>>>> Dave Ingram

Agreed. As awesome as Dave Ingram and Martin van Drunen are, Karl Willetts is the voice of Bolt Thrower.

For that reason I don't think I've ever had the curiosity to listen to more than maybe one track off HVP. It just feels...wrong.

Come to think of it, Willetts didn't even sound that good on Those Once Loyal. His tone was too low and sounded somehow off.

...For Victory gets my vote. They're all great, but that one stands out above the rest for some reason. I remember a lot more riffs from that album than any of the others.

I think Dark_Gnat should write the Official Guide to Bolt Thrower book haha! I ended up pulling some strings and got IVth Crusade too, so I'm excited for my 3 cds to arrive

Yes. I wanted to say something exactly like this, but I couldnt really think of a good way to discribe it. Well said, good sir!
There is nothing wrong with ...for Victory or TOL, but its rather "happy" sounding compared to ROC, WM and IVthC.


"That riff" is awesome, hands down. I prefer the 95 (?) re-recording, though. The slightly slower pace and different guitar tone makes it sound alot heavier IMO.


Appearently the band also prefers their later output (no surprise there, I guess). Last 3 times I saw them (2010 and 2011) they played no song from IBTINL, half a song from ROC (beginning of World Eater), 2 songs from WM (Cenotaph, Rebirth of Humanity), 1 from IVth Crusade (title song) and 1 from ...for Victory (title song). None from HVP. 3 from Mercenary (WHY?? Just play "No guts, no glory" and forget the rest) and 4-5 songs from TOL, including the rather boring Killchain. For the life of me I dont get why this song is popular, its one of the dullest songs they ever wrote. Only the great middle part saves it from being a total snoozefest.

I also found The Killchain to be a bit awkward when I first heard it, mainly because of that bouncy verse riff. I've since warmed up to it because of where it is on the album. I always listen to that album in it's entirety, and I don't skip because I feel it messes up the album's flow.

How about underrated BT songs? I always thought Laid To Waste was a brilliant song. Love the riffs, especially that guitar melody that kicks off the verses, very catchy.

I'm in exactly the same position. Got 'Those once loyal' recently and now need much more, planning on 'Realm of chaos' and trying to decide between 'IV crusade' or 'Warmaster'. Advice?

If you can afford them, get both, but if you cant you should get IV Crusade, it sounds more like TOL, Warmaster is somehow different, more raw...

Hard to call any BT song underrated, but "This Time its War" is one of my favourite songs, which I dont see mentioned alot.
Beginning riff of Lost Souls Domain is one of their best. Super crushing. They just play it one or two repeats too short.

Man...Those Once Loyal kinda sucks. It sort of hurts to say that, but yeah... sorry, bros. Easily one of their weakest albums, both in terms of riffs and atmosphere. Totally not understanding why this ends up at the top of so many BT lists. Today I listened to the alpha and omega of their catalogue (both albums I've rarely heard in the past), and vastly preferred In Battle There Is No Law. Sooo much more interesting, both aesthetically and psychologically.

"Sucks" is kinda wrong, though I think I know what you mean.

For me it goes something like this:
IVthC and ROC, very slightly behind WM, than ...for Victory, IBtinL and TOL equally good; just depending on what style I want to listen to at given time. Mecenary and HVP, while both having a couple of great songs are kinda redundant when there are 6 albums to choose from which all are better.

Well, I feel like it does suck objectively at least a tiny bit, owing to the bland riffs and the nowhere atmosphere, but it's still better than plenty of other albums out there. It's nice, it's fun, it gets the job done. I guess. Not really. On an objective scale it's still around the 80% mark, but that's still not very exciting, and especially in contrast with their best works. There's this sort of going-through-the-motions, missing-the-forest-for-the-trees feeling I get from it... like they were too preoccupied with making things sound "cool" to take a look at the bigger picture and evaluate the global vision being presented, and whether or not it evoked much of anything. That's really the thing...their later stuff doesn't seem evocative in the least.

So I guess you agree that ROC-->IVthCr are the their best works?

TOL isnt "dark" or as heavy as their early stuff, it might even be a very good "beginners" DeathMetal album, because its so melodic and catchy.
Some people might not like this, hell, I also prefer the darker, heavier side of BT any day, but TOL is still a great album.

You cant expect any band to pull super rough stuff for that long, they just got older, if you know what I mean. After all, there are ALOT of bands who aged ALOT worse then BT. Gotta give them credit for that. Just put TOL in that perpective and its a great album.

Totally agree on Laid to Waste. That's my favorite track off Mercenary. For underrated Bolt Thrower songs, I don't think it gets anymore underrated than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWA-1Q4FWnU

ROC is hugely underrated when it comes to DeathMetal history/classics.
Everybody is stating Morbid Angel, Obituary, Autopsy, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, Entombed, Dismember....
as great first "true" developed DM acts. (Note...I am not talking about the origins like Death/Mantras and Possessed here)
ROC is right up there, its even been way ahead of its time. The fact that it didnt spawn 1000 clones (like Carcass and Sweden-Death) doesnt make it any less imporant.

That track has everything in it that makes Realm of Chaos incredible. Those squalling, garbled guitars, so fucking awesome.

Here's another:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePuE5nuei5I