Night Slasher

As testified by the success of Hellripper and Midnight, there seems to be an ever-growing thirst for vintage speed metal bands with a blackened edge rocking in the name of Satan (and all the correlated vices) in today's scene. Could this have been the reason Lithuanian speed/thrash band Alcotopia (who had already released an enjoyable debut album back in 2019, proposing a very interesting melodic take on the genre) to change their names in Night Slasher and add some black-ish influences to their already unmistakably old school sound? Well, let's put aside all conspiracy theories about the band wanting to jump onto an ever-growing trend: regardless of all that, I just can't help but be glad of having an album like "Night Slasher" blasting in my speakers as I'm writing.

To be honest, the band's sound hasn't changed drastically, and there's not even THAT much black metal added to the mix: by listening to this album, it appears as clear as day that the band's heart still lays in classic 80's metal. Songs are still built on frenzied, sawing speed metal riffs ("Clyster Lizard", "Towers") and blistering melodic solos ("Ice", "Black Trip", "Pit of Hate"). Alcotopia's consonant, unmistakably 80's-style sense of melody has been thoroughly preserved and even expanded upon. Even the band's thrashing foundations have mostly been left intact, as shown by the pummeling riffing from "Black Trip". The change of style pertains indeed more to what has been added than what has been taken away: the blackened elements manifest occasionally in blasting melodic sections which do honestly remind more to Belgian blackened speed metal masters Bütcher than any "pure" black metal band.

As hinted at earlier, the band's melodic identity is still as rooted in classic metal as it's ever been. These songs, no matter how minimal in construction, carry a strong melodic underpinning all throughout, with choruses that often work as excellent payoffs to the verses despite their stunning simplicity ("Ice", "Ablaze", "Towers"). Solos are intensely satisfying in answering to any question posed by the riffing, carrying songs to their climax as shown by the ripping finale of... well, "Liver Ripper" indeed. Night Slasher also tends to build upon their minimal foundations with slightly atmospheric melodic sections reminding us of "Open Hostility"-era Razor if they went even more overboard with those droning elements, giving songs like "Black Trip" and "Clyster Lizard" an even stronger sense of melody. In this framework, the band's newfound blackened influences get even more space to shine: such is the case on the sinister intros of "Towers" and "Liver Ripper", which bear an unmistakable blackened aura while still remaining firmly rooted in 80's melodic sensibilities - and in order to remind us of that beyond any doubt, the band goes nuts with some straight-out classic heavy metal riffing here and there on "Pit of Hate" and "Towers", and closes the album with a banger in the form of bluesy hard rock ("Satan in the Hall").

While there's no rocket science to "Night Slasher", the album's amount of craftsmanship, professionalism and functional songwriting is honestly stunning. And while not reaching the peaks of Hellripper or Bütcher, these Lithuanian guys have proven themselves to be able to truly give acts like Midnight, Toxic Holocaust or modern Destroyer 666 a run for their money: for this reason, I hugely recommend you to check this record out if old school black/speed metal with a classic metal underpinning is your bread and butter. You can't go wrong with this one.

Published in Italian language on Black Metal Ist Krieg webzine.

From the distant Baltic states, we have a very nice surprise coming in the form of a Lithuanian black/thrash/speed metal band Night Slasher from Vilnius, with their independent self-titled debut full-length album Night Slasher, released on February 6th, 2024. If you are looking for a banging soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic future engulfed in flames and chaos, then you have come to the right place my friends!

Without a second to waste or any unnecessary build-up, the album already starts to rip and tear with the opening track “Ice” by coming in full speed ahead with thrashing guitar riffs, d-beat drums and harsh shouting vocals that altogether annihilate everything that moves, which goes even crazier and more aggressive on the second half of the song when we get double-bass drumming and a shredding guitar solo. When the following bangers such as “Black Trip” and “Clyster Lizard” come to play, the band is still locked and loaded for a bonus round of black/thrash/speed metal destruction that just gets even heavier, more intense and more insane as the album progresses. You'd think that with such an introduction and constant thrashing, that the album would probably take a short break before jumping into action and rapid fire, but you would be wrong, dead wrong in fact! Although tracks such as “Liver Ripper” and “Ablaze” start off slowly and more relaxed just for a moment, it’s only a calm before the storm that continues slashing all the way through. There are however a couple of tracks that could be considered as somewhat of stylistic departures on the album for a couple of reasons. The seventh track “Tower” is somewhat exceptional for including mid-tempo rhythm as opposed to d-beat or double-bass drumming, plus it has a slightly more melodic harsh vocals, but all of that certainly does not drop the ball even for a fracture of a second, because the album is still going strong. The final track “Satan in the Hall” is the one that mostly differentiates from the rest for being more of a standard and almost uplifting thrash metal song, but on the sidenote, it does give this album a powerful conclusion.

No matter how much of a raw energy or rough musicality you’ll experience on this album, you will see that the album has a very strong dynamic songwriting where everything feels in place and that certainly holds your attention all the way through without skipping a single track or fast forwarding to the next one. Speaking of progression, this album has a big sense of progression where the songs would get even heavier and more extreme, plus the songwriting on some songs feels much richer and stronger. Judging by the dystopian cover art done by Mindaugas Mališauskas, the album really has that sort of post-apocalyptic feel to it that was just amped up with the aggressive output of Night Slasher, where you really get a sense that everything has been wrecked apart and it’s just going worse from here. Something that really caught my eye about that artwork is the strong aquatic lake blue tone of the sky and background that is unusual but a very unique feature that somewhat compliments the musical output of the band. Speaking of how this album sounds as a whole, it has a very strong and heavy modern sound production that amps up the performance from the guitars and bass but without leaving out the vocals and drums lying in the background. So overall, it’s pretty decent.

I guess I have stumbled upon a very interesting revelation for an oldschool black-thrashing maniac such as myself, always on the lookout to find some goods that will satisfy my appetites. Night Slasher’s debut is an example of a simplistic approach taken to all the extremes without allowing itself to waste a single second, going all in and out with heavy bangers that just deserve to be blasted at full volume. For fans of bands such as Hellripper and Midnight, I highly recommend that you check out Night Slasher from Lithuania, because it will be a blast.

Written for www.Metalbite.com