Operation Warlord

One more completely unknown band; one which back in the old days never really been too recognized and nowadays is only known and remembered by only very few maniacs… Band, which never went anywhere further than releasing few demos and the traditional 7”EP single... I am talking about Finnish troop called Astaroth. Well, about the band I cannot say anything more than what we can find on Metal Archives, so Astaroth was formed in 1988 and released several demo tapes between 1990 and 1994 and then they’ve done “Operation Warlord” EP in 1995. Their last demo was released in 2000, so it looks like Astaroth never managed to interest any labels with their music (well, except Teutonic Existence from Holland, who’re responsible for putting out the single). Does that mean that their music was so bad? I don’t think so, it was actually pretty decent, but the problem was I think that death metal wasn’t so popular anymore in the mid 90’s and not many labels cared about signing small bands, which were playing this style of music. Astaroth was one of many and one which was just destined to perish in the crowd.

But as I already mentioned “Operation Warlord” EP is not so bad. I quite like the riffing and the production of these two songs, which really reminds me mid 90’s Benediction, with maybe some more thrashing parts here and there. But there are even some more doomy, kind of early Paradise Lost moments, with some slow, melancholic melodies (like in the title song), so really the whole music on the EP is varied and structured. But the music reminds me mainly Benediction, from such LPs as “The Dreams You Dread” – guitar tone, the riffing, the vocals are all quite alike, so is the feeling of the music. Astaroth is pretty good at what they were doing. Maybe the music is not for those, who prefer blasting, brutal and massive death metal; “Operation Warlord” is more or less mid paced and slow, speaking of the tempos, but it works well enough for my taste. Sure, it would be nice if the music had some more power and aggression, but whatever… It is OK. And when I listen to “Operation Warlord” I wonder what the demos of Astaroth were like; because if they were anything like this EP and maybe had more rawer and violent production then it could have been a nice stuff. I definitely will keep my eye open for some more music of this Finnish band.
Final rate: 75/100

Coming from the depths of Finland in 1994 comes Astaroth with this great slab of death thrash. Most of the thrash influence is in the their lyrics. Both tracks are about nuclear war and it's aftermath, a subject covered by numerous thrash bands. Luckily for Astaroth, I never get tired of nuclear war songs. The music has some thrash riffing and some restrained guitar solos, but it mostly falls into the realm of older death metal like Deceased or the first Amorphis CD. After a short intro, the first song cruises along before opening into double time. After slowing down into an Incantation-like part, the band rips ahead into solid thrash territory before heading back into the death metal. The second track starts off slowly, but really picks up after the first chorus. That's when the music charges ahead for a verse before dropping back down to a slow and heavier groove.

The vocals are rough, with English lyrics and a Finnish accent. The guitars are heavy with plenty of buzz-saw distortion. The riffs are mean and sharp no matter if the band is thrashing ahead or plodding along. During the last verse on the b-side, there's some particularly great guitar work utilizing a little feedback and some frantic whammy abuse. That solo is the most chaotic and surprising part of this otherwise above average EP. The bass guitar is buried too much, but that's a pretty typical metal complaint. The bass drum is a little clicky, but otherwise the drums sound great and the drummer doesn't rely too much on his cymbals.

You can really tell these guys spent some time demoing tracks, as they picked two good songs to immortalize on vinyl. The vocals and the guitars sound the best - very clear and upfront in the recording. It's just a shame that with two guitarists, they didn't spend more time playing off each other like Hanneman and King. The band could easily pull this off live with only one guitarist. If you find this 7" down at the record fair, I recommend picking it up.