Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Bolt Thrower > The Peel Sessions 1988-90 > Reviews
Bolt Thrower - The Peel Sessions 1988-90

1990: Bolt Thrower at their peak - 95%

robotniq, June 21st, 2022

I've discussed the connection between John Peel and Bolt Thrower elsewhere. The Peel Sessions are an important part of UK music history. Peel's willingness to invite the most experimental, extreme, underground bands into the BBC Radio 1 studio will never be forgotten. Bolt Thrower recorded three live sessions for him during their formative years. All three appear on this release.

The first was recorded in early 1988, featuring the original vocalist Alan West. It is the definitive recording of their early punk/crust/hardcore era, and is better than the debut album ("In Battle There is No Law!"). The second was recorded at the end of 1988, a few months before their second album ("Realms of Chaos"). It features Karl Willetts on vocals and shows the band's evolution into death metal. Both are great sessions, and both deserve more than the threadbare description I give them here.

I don't want to detract from the main event: the band's third and final session from 1990. Have you ever wondered what Bolt Thrower might have sounded like between "Realms of Chaos" and "War Master"? Imagine the uncurbed violence of the former and the improved song-craft and heaviness of the latter. You don't have to imagine, because it happened. The four songs on this final session represent the pinnacle of Bolt Thrower. They are so overwhelming in their death metal awesomeness that I can barely contain my excitement when writing about them.

All four songs will be familiar to Bolt Thrower veterans, but the live energy of these recordings buries the studio versions. "Destructive Infinity", "War Master" and "Afterlife" are phenomenal in their organic aggression, and the brutalising version of "Lost Souls Domain" is the icing on the cake. The band's punk roots made them ideal participants for a live studio recording, particularly with the BBC's high-end equipment. This is a rare case of the perfect death metal band recording in the perfect studio, at the peak of their career. It is one of the best death metal recordings ever made.

WWIII takes to the airwaves - 75%

autothrall, February 1st, 2013

Though I consider myself fortunate enough to have had local college radio available to me through puberty (WJUL Lowell in particular), and plenty of exposure to the metal and hardcore/punk underground in the mid through late 80s, introducing me to hundreds of bands, there wasn't quite anyone like England's John Peel that I could tune into, at least not to my knowledge. Most of us American fans probably know the name through the 'Peel Sessions' sets he would allot to up and coming artists in various genres, many of which were released as EPs that the rest of us outside the UK would hungrily track down. While Bolt Thrower was still pretty small time when it first appeared on Peel's show in '88, I can just imagine how cool it would have been for these guys (and gal) to show up at my studio and churn out some fucking war metal...really, one of those 'best job in the world' situations that you simply have to envy.

Bolt Thrower had three Peel sessions, each more or less corresponding to promotion for one of their first three albums, and the first transmission was released as an EP through the Strange Fruit imprint in 1988. Undoubtedly a collector's item, the better option was the 1991 re-issue which also featured the later sessions (another in '88, and then the War Master preview in '91). So, basically a 12-track tour of Bolt Thrower's formative, influential material captured for posterity, and for what it's worth, I think it sounds pretty good, better than many of the professional live albums I've heard from extreme metal outfits. The songs in each session don't necessarily correspond with the albums in chronological order, so listening to the material in sequence definitely feels as if you were capturing a gig back in the early 90s. There are a few issues, like the drums feeling extremely loud over various of the sessions, the kicks creating a rumbling tectonic plate that often feels disparate from the rest of the instrument mix, but what I enjoy about the entire experience is how it really captures that grim and oppressive atmosphere of the first two records, even on the later tunes like "War Master".

The grooves sound incredibly evil, Willetts' guttural timbre is smoky and ominous like a massive gunbarrel post-payload, the bass trembling and the guitar tone just about perfect, and though the production of the various albums did differ, the collected sets here all sound quite consistent. You really feel as if you're ducking behind cover in some massive urban warzone, buildings collapsing and tanks crushing the debris while survivors hide in any nook and cranny that will shelter them. There's also a track here from the 2nd, Realm of Chaos Peel session: "Domination", which is exclusive, though bits of it were cannibalized for other material later. Not their best by any means, and gets a little monotonous through the blasted stretch in the center, but an added bonus nonetheless. Otherwise, the track choices are just awesome: "Attack in the Aftermath", "Drowned in Torment", "Eternal War", "Lost Souls Domain", "Imperial Erection"...oh wait, no, the last one was just my reaction as a Warhammer fiction enthusiast.

In other words: a quintessential Bolt Thrower live offering that satisfies just about any desire I'd ever have to purchase such a medium. It's no wonder they haven't strung us along with a bunch of useless live recordings, they've certainly got the popularity, but apparently they've also got too much class, and had already given us the first tasting before releasing a full-length. The only alternative I can think of would be their Earache 'Into the Pit' .mp3 session Live War, but the track I heard off that did not impress me as this did. Unfortunately, I can't imagine this is easy to find anymore. If you were lucky to be collecting tapes or CDs back in the 90s, it wasn't all too difficult (I saw numerous copies at my local import shops), but these days it is probably due for a reissue. Maybe even an iTunes reissue?! Someone get on that.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Bolt Thrower Live in the Studio - 90%

Death_Heat, April 27th, 2003

That's what this is, songs recorded for the John Peel radio show from, and it's great for die hard fans of the band. This is a collection of three diffrent sessions between 1988-1990 (first session was songs from In Battle There Is No Law, second session was songs from Realm Of Chaos, and third session was songs from War Master.) The first four songs were recorded with their original vocalist, Alan West. His vocals remind me of a "Deathier" Paul D'ianno, which is cool if that makes any sense. The rest of the tracks were recorded with Karl Willets on vocals, and are basically rawer versions of songs from their first three albums. The song "Domination" was never put on an album, but can be found here. It's not up to par with their other material, so it's not a big loss, but still interesting.

If you see this one, pick it up, it's been out of print for a while.