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Deströyer 666 > Cold Steel... for an Iron Age > 2011, CD, Season of Mist (Reissue) > Reviews > lonerider
Deströyer 666 - Cold Steel... for an Iron Age

Meat-and-Potatoes Blackened Thrash - 70%

lonerider, December 30th, 2021
Written based on this version: 2011, CD, Season of Mist (Reissue)

Let's cut right to the chase, shall we? After their sophomore album Phoenix Rising turned out to be a surprisingly potent affair, Australian blackened thrashers Deströyer 666 unfortunately took a step back with 2002's Cold Steel… for an Iron Age. Where Phoenix Rising delivered that immensely satisfying blend of nasty, skull-fracturing black/thrash metal along with some truly majestic moments seemingly coming out of left field, Cold Steel… is a bit too content in simply going through the motions by delivering a rabid yet rather formulaic black/thrash ass whipping. Songwriting and memorability matter, even for a band—and genre—that generally values brutality more than musicality.

As can be expected from a rowdy demolition squad with Deströyer 666's infamous reputation, there is no shortage of breakneck speed and thrashing riffs on Cold Steel…, and you can't even say there aren't a number of nifty guitar solos and harmonies, but these are few and far between, never sustained for long and they don't really carry any of the songs. The result is a certain arbitrariness as well as a lack of structure, distinctiveness and atmosphere. It is therefore rather difficult to point out any particular highlights or truly memorable tracks. The band will definitely bludgeon you, but they won't necessarily captivate you for the album's entire duration.

Album opener "Black City – Black Fire," with its simplistic yet effective chorus, is nonetheless noteworthy, even if it somehow sounds like singer K.K. Warslut repeatedly belts out "Frodo, black Frodo" instead of "fire, black fire," providing some unintentional comic relief. Anyway, this track encapsulates what Cold Steel… is all about, establishing a suitably apocalyptic and chaotic mood thanks to some rapid-fire riffing, unrelenting blast beats and paramelodic guitar leads. A lack of all-out aggression and malicious intent certainly isn't an issue here. Then again, the slowed-down and more melodic section beginning around the one-and-a-half minute mark provides an aptly timed and welcome respite before the mayhem fully resumes for the song's finale.

This kind of compositional prowess is precisely what this album could have used some more of. What we get instead is a lot more of the same predictably basic formula, sometimes delivered in slightly less frantic fashion (as in "Clenched Fist") and sometimes even more recklessly (as in "Raped"), but mostly lacking a certain catchiness factor that would have gone a long way toward making this whole affair more enjoyable and memorable.

Other cuts making a more lasting impression are the adequately majestic—in a wicked sort of way, of course—title track "Cold Steel…" with that badass "rape the world" part, the presumably Matthew Hopkins-inspired "Witch Hunter" and the furious "Shadow," which is easily the most black metalish of the tracks and closes out the record on a rather high note. Sadly lacking on Cold Steel…, however, is a more epic, daring and monumental composition rivaling the amazing "I Am the Wargod," which graced the band's previous album Phoenix Rising. All but three of the nine regular tracks (the 2011 reissue comes with a bonus track) are only between three and four minutes long and Cold Steel… rushes by in a matter of only 35 minutes, not outstaying its welcome but leaving the listener feeling slightly underwhelmed and wanting for more.

The band's instrumental performance is more than capable and singer/guitarist K.K. Warslut can definitely cough up some pretty menacing growls and screams. Unfortunately, his lyrical prowess leaves something to be desired as his lyrics could hardly be described as literary masterpieces. Some of his outpour comes across as rather immature and puerile, with the slightly cringe-inducing "Raped" ("then they raped her … and she liked it") serving as exhibit A.

The production and mix on Cold Steel… is at least adequate but it fails to register as a true strength. While every instrument is sufficiently audible, the overall sound is, for lack of a better term, quite dry and neither clear and dynamic nor raw and gritty enough to endow it with a certain unmistakable identity.

All things considered, Deströyer 666's Cold Steel… for an Iron Age is the kind of solid yet unremarkable record you will spin occasionally without it having any sort of profound emotional impact on you—meat-and-potatoes blackened thrash, if you will. As far as blackened thrash goes, you can do worse but there are numerous better examples of that particular genre's wicked charm, some of them even among Deströyer 666's own back catalog.

Choicest cuts: Black City – Black Fire, Cold Steel…, Witch Hunter, Shadow

Rating: 7.0 out of 10 points