Review by Felix on February 15, 2021.

Another band joins the relatively exclusive club of those who have released at least ten long-playing records. Necronomicon, Destruction's geographical and stylistic neighbours, strike up The Final Chapter. I can't say whether it's the quartet's farewell work. The title suggests it is, but there are no other indicators. Yet it doesn't matter, because even if the colleagues around Freddy would only concentrate on the after-work beer from now on, I would still be spared from depression. In other words, I admire Freddy's perseverance, but the group's compositional qualities were unfortunately never competitive when it came to spearheading German thrash metal. What that means in international comparison is anyone's guess.

The Final Chapter also exposes the song-writing weakness. 'I Am the Violence' opens the thrashy dozen with a one-note chorus that could hardly be worse. Why the group chose this song for the first position is not clear to the listener, because after the also insipid title track, the material gains in class (surprisingly). The old school thrash adds a touch of sharpness, power and cutting edge. 'Wall of Pain' not only has a strong riff, but also a pretty cool staccato bridge. A nonsensical spoken intro to 'Purgatory' immediately puts the brakes on the euphoria, but apart from the beginning, this track also knocks every schnitzel flat. 'Burning the Fury' is also fun. A strong riff rolls out the carpet for a guitar melody, then the double bass takes over and beats the track over the finish line.

At this point I must rudely interrupt myself. If anyone ever gets their hands on the biography that comes with the promo pack: don't believe a word of it. It is simply hogwash that "fans and media alike responded enthusiastically to the debut album". It's a lie that "the interest in the band continued to grow significantly worldwide" with the release of the second full-length (at least in Germany nobody took care of the band) and to call Escalation a "legendary album" (6 out of 10 points in the Rock Hard magazine) puts the crown on it all. The text continues in this tone, and with all due understanding of advertising, these lines border on body injury. I think Necronomicon would do themselves a favour to be realistic. They've never been a magnet for the masses, but their name always stood for an honest thrash band. That's okay, but then you can't throw honesty overboard in the promo text. Just my opinion.

Let's get back to the album which should have deserved a less generic artwork. 'Spilling Blood' illustrates the dilemma of the band while offering light and shadow simultaneously. The soft intro is going nowhere, until militaristic drum rolls add a threatening touch, the explosive chorus sounds great, but the stereotyped, wannabe emotional "ohoho" choirs after the second chorus do not send shivers down my spine, they just suck. Nevertheless, Necronomicon have forged a decent work. The majority of the tracks have some decent parts like the choruses of 'Selling Nightmares' or 'World on Fire' and honestly speaking, that's more than I expected. Apart from song details, Freddy still sounds like Schmier minus high-pitched screams, the technical skills of the formation are beyond doubt and the robust, transparent and guitar-dominated sound helps the album to make a statement. It's sad that Freddy never stood on the bright side of life with regard to Necronomicon – hopefully he did so in his private life – and it would take me by surprise if The Final Chapter would change this situation. It's an album that does not draw back on the punk elements of Necronomicon's early days. Instead, it's another dose of pure thrash with the fiery, compact 'Me Against You' as the final climax and that's a good thing – even if they will never reach the top of the bill.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by JD on October 19, 2015.

Black metal… even the sound of it evokes a mass of emotions- perhaps fear with respect. I grew up listening to the first strains of BM. Venom, Bathory and early Onslaught were the textbooks of what BM was for me. Now a whole lot of the newer bands are finally looking back at the godfathers of the genre, using that and end up making their music, their own.

Combining an uncanny knack of fusing some amazing yet brutal melodies, harsh blast beats with demon-esque vocals and grinding guitars to form a BM act worth listening to Witchclan pay tribute to the old school of BM. Witchclan also seem to transcend them as well, taking it all to that next worshiping level of ‘eviloution’.

As a one man outfit (Matt Bass), Witchclan is one of the best out there. I kept listening to the album over a few days, revelling in the heaviness and power generated. Going through each track, I became more and more impressed as I went deeper into the album. I found that Matt Bass was not only an exceptional songwriter and instrumentalist, but a venom spitting maniac on vocals and has given me one of my favorite black metal albums in the past few years.

Aside from a few mixing glitches in spots on the CD, Witchclan has offered up a BM album that not just the fans of the sub-genre can get into, but it seems it is accessible to may more of the metal family worldwide. A solid album has come from a very solid artist. It basically says it all, and I for one look forward to what might be next.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by JD on October 19, 2015.

Black metal… even the sound of it evokes a mass of emotions- perhaps fear with respect. I grew up listening to the first strains of BM. Venom, Bathory and early Onslaught were the textbooks of what BM was for me. Now a whole lot of the newer bands are finally looking back at the godfathers of the genre, using that and end up making their music, their own.

Combining an uncanny knack of fusing some amazing yet brutal melodies, harsh blast beats with demon-esque vocals and grinding guitars to form a BM act worth listening to Witchclan pay tribute to the old school of BM. Witchclan also seem to transcend them as well, taking it all to that next worshiping level of ‘eviloution’.

As a one man outfit (Matt Bass), Witchclan is one of the best out there. I kept listening to the album over a few days, revelling in the heaviness and power generated. Going through each track, I became more and more impressed as I went deeper into the album. I found that Matt Bass was not only an exceptional songwriter and instrumentalist, but a venom spitting maniac on vocals and has given me one of my favorite black metal albums in the past few years.

Aside from a few mixing glitches in spots on the CD, Witchclan has offered up a BM album that not just the fans of the sub-genre can get into, but it seems it is accessible to may more of the metal family worldwide. A solid album has come from a very solid artist. It basically says it all, and I for one look forward to what might be next.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 23, 2020.

Ragehammer surfaced with their debut in 2016 (time flies…) and here they return with Into Certain Death. The dudes already proved their talent with The Hammer Doctrine and here they confirm it with ten new songs. Programmatic titles ('We Are the Hammer') still show up and the music itself is also aligned with their former works. Ragehammer’s compositions are among these tracks where the borders blur. More or less all types of extreme metal (minus grindcore) flow into the songs of the dudes. Thrash and black metal are the most relevant influences, but this is neither a typical thrash nor a generic black metal album. Only few parts of the material can be clearly classified. The atmospheric first tones of the intro of the opulent closer, for instance, have probably been found at the gates of Blashyrkh, but, as mentioned before, this exception only confirms the norm.

The songs have a lot of drive. Mortar, responsible for the drumming on this album, is constantly active and he loves fast beats. Sometimes his performance borders on blast beats and only rarely it happens that he can suppress his will to destroy. Unfortunately, the snare sounds pretty flat, but more generally speaking, I cannot say that the album becomes a victim of its own production. Maybe the voice is a bit too dominant, but all these details do not hurt the joy of listening. 'We Are the Hammer' creates a strong, straight and compact beginning and the coherent leads of 'Jesus Goat' also have an impact. Believe me, this song consists of 99% goat and 1% Jesus… and it is more or less conventionally designed. This approach leads to a solid degree of catchiness and works very well in 'Peace' which is equipped with an impulsive chorus that drags the listener into the abyss in a matter of seconds. Already this strange hippie with this equally strange Japanese wife knew that it is sometimes a good idea to give 'Peace' a chance – and it goes without saying that this song has absolutely no peaceful sequences. Its first line (“oh the joy of taking lives!”) says it all.

Ragehammer master the art of presenting guitar lines that appear absolutely harsh even though they house a more or less hidden melody. The Polish titled track (forgive me, I am too lazy to seek the necessary special characters) and 'Toxine Fear' mark good examples for the musical understanding of the four-piece. However, Pagan Records have released a homogeneous work and this is both blessing and curse. Ragehammer have found their style, but the songs would profit from five or ten percent more individuality. Once again, that’s no big deal, just a small footnote. The same applies for the useless background vocals at the end of 'Omega Red' which are responsible for the only really weak moment on this album. So what? Into Certain Death presents 46 minutes of music and 45 of them are simply smashing. Even the final songs, the vehement 'Dragon City' and the heroic Deströyer 666-influenced closer which gets more and more intensive the longer it lasts do not picture a band that runs out of breath. Thumbs up for these dudes – they really swing the hammers ragingly.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by JD on October 19, 2015.

Black metal… even the sound of it evokes a mass of emotions- perhaps fear with respect. I grew up listening to the first strains of BM. Venom, Bathory and early Onslaught were the textbooks of what BM was for me. Now a whole lot of the newer bands are finally looking back at the godfathers of the genre, using that and end up making their music, their own.

Combining an uncanny knack of fusing some amazing yet brutal melodies, harsh blast beats with demon-esque vocals and grinding guitars to form a BM act worth listening to Witchclan pay tribute to the old school of BM. Witchclan also seem to transcend them as well, taking it all to that next worshiping level of ‘eviloution’.

As a one man outfit (Matt Bass), Witchclan is one of the best out there. I kept listening to the album over a few days, revelling in the heaviness and power generated. Going through each track, I became more and more impressed as I went deeper into the album. I found that Matt Bass was not only an exceptional songwriter and instrumentalist, but a venom spitting maniac on vocals and has given me one of my favorite black metal albums in the past few years.

Aside from a few mixing glitches in spots on the CD, Witchclan has offered up a BM album that not just the fans of the sub-genre can get into, but it seems it is accessible to may more of the metal family worldwide. A solid album has come from a very solid artist. It basically says it all, and I for one look forward to what might be next.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by JD on October 19, 2015.

Black metal… even the sound of it evokes a mass of emotions- perhaps fear with respect. I grew up listening to the first strains of BM. Venom, Bathory and early Onslaught were the textbooks of what BM was for me. Now a whole lot of the newer bands are finally looking back at the godfathers of the genre, using that and end up making their music, their own.

Combining an uncanny knack of fusing some amazing yet brutal melodies, harsh blast beats with demon-esque vocals and grinding guitars to form a BM act worth listening to Witchclan pay tribute to the old school of BM. Witchclan also seem to transcend them as well, taking it all to that next worshiping level of ‘eviloution’.

As a one man outfit (Matt Bass), Witchclan is one of the best out there. I kept listening to the album over a few days, revelling in the heaviness and power generated. Going through each track, I became more and more impressed as I went deeper into the album. I found that Matt Bass was not only an exceptional songwriter and instrumentalist, but a venom spitting maniac on vocals and has given me one of my favorite black metal albums in the past few years.

Aside from a few mixing glitches in spots on the CD, Witchclan has offered up a BM album that not just the fans of the sub-genre can get into, but it seems it is accessible to may more of the metal family worldwide. A solid album has come from a very solid artist. It basically says it all, and I for one look forward to what might be next.

Rating: 9 out of 10