Apocalyptic Raids

Last year, Darkness Shall Rise re-released the Hellhammer classic onto cassette format so that it isn’t damn near impossible to acquire. Apocalyptic Raids has always been something I was drawn to, and a big part of the first wave of black metal that inevitably pushed me deeper into the genre. Spinning the reissue made me want to gather my thoughts. This specific version tacks on two bonus tracks to the end, giving us a little more to work with, and they definitely fit in pretty well. They’re both fuming bangers, and funny enough, came from an old death metal compilation. I wouldn’t call them that, though.

Granted, that isn’t a difficult thing to do, because I’ve always found this to be a bit scattered. Both of the first two tracks are quick sellers. For how dirty this is, the drumming on “Massacra” has always felt extremely steady with the fills placed wonderfully. If that isn’t enough, the slower riffing contrasts it so wonderfully, and acts as suspense when the speedier picking gets loaded on. It’s like taking the strength on “The Third Of The Storms,” but Tom G. Warrior just capitalizes on it. Composition wise though, “Horus / Aggressor” is probably the most advanced because of its ability to sneak in more melodic riffs, as well as progress more clearly.

Perhaps a hotter take, but I thought the only flaw with Apocalyptic Raids was the execution on “Triumph Of Death.” It’s solely responsible for basically any and all of the disjointedness here. Had it been trimmed down to maybe five minutes, I think the doomier trudge of this would have fared better, but I think it overstays its welcome. Plus, the scattered screams take away from the (once again) impressive percussion. Thankfully, the dirty atmosphere adds loads of charm to make it forgivable, and the general gist of the song is solid.

Despite it being musically scattered and a bit tough to swallow at times, there still isn’t really much out there that sounds like this. Obviously black/thrash has evolved several times over since its release, but the isolation of their sound has always been impressive. Very much an influence on what was to come, which goes without saying.

Originally written for Metal Inferno