Barbarians

I can’t believe I’m the first person to review this awesome album. Maniac Butcher is a relatively unknown black metal band hailing from the Czech Republic. This is their debut album and for the most part is a solid slab of darkness.

First things first, as with any black metal album it’s all about feeling and atmosphere. Maniac Butcher conveys the feeling of total war; there is no escape and the only thing that is certain is death. The sound is raw and under produced, the drums have a tinny, light sound to them and the guitars sound fuzzy, and distorted.

Maniac Butcher takes their cue from both the first and second wave of black metal. The influences of, Immortal, Bathory, Von, and Hell Hammer can be found in their sound. No trace of keyboards or female vocals made it on this album, and I am thankful for that. Those types of atmospheric aids do not belong on an album like this.

The music is fast paced and relentless, most guitar riffs are tremolo picked chord suspensions. When the music does slow down, the band settles into a Hell Hammer styled groove that really gets your head banging! The drumming does need to be commented on. It takes a lot of endurance to play as fast and as hard as Michael plays.

My only major gripe with this album is its running time (6 songs at 30:52), its way to short. Other than that this is a great black metal album that will appeal to all fans of the genre