Review by Carl on June 23, 2021.

What is there still to be said about Germany's Warhammer that has not yet been stated long before? I always appreciated them for their unwavering old school approach, no matter of the ridicule that their truly hardcore dedication to Hellhammer and their music may have incited from some parts of the metal underground. Warhammer simply did their thing and told the rest to fuck off.

I don't think I have to explain the Warhammer sound to anyone who might be reading this. They loved Hellhammer. A lot. Perhaps even to the point of sexual arousal, I sometimes think. The raw sound, the jagged riffing, the gruff throaty vocals, the sometimes-sloppy execution, the aesthetics on their releases, it all has the name Hellhammer emanating from every orifice. The band admitted freely that that was their only goal, and they did their utmost best to copy their biggest inspiration, and in that they succeeded.

Much like their biggest inspiration, Warhammer serves up a good balance between primitive faster material and crushing doom metal numbers, managing to inject a certain amount of variation into their somewhat one-sided sound. If you hear them more often, you can actually hear some other influences seeping through all the worship/plagiarism. In the slow doomed out tracks they sometimes have me thinking of acts such as Saint Vitus and Winter. In the case of the latter perhaps not surprising, because Winter also had a sizeable Celtic Frost/Hellhammer edge to their material, but the guitar tone and sluggish tempo definitely give me this early Saint Vitus vibe. In their more up-tempo tracks, I sometimes hear some Discharge bubbling up to the surface, another act that dealt in stripped down acidic fury, comparable in attitude to Hellhammer, perhaps. A nice touch in between their own material on offer here, is the inclusion of a cover of the Slaughter classic 'Tales Of The Macabre', a band I once heard being described as a cross between early Slayer and, you guessed it, Hellhammer. As you have probably figured out by now, Warhammer worked around a concept, and they stuck to it doggedly.

As this is a compilation of demos and other recordings, the sound quality differs here and there, but for a collection of old material the sound quality never deteriorates into noisy mush. Sure, it sounds raw and unpolished, but come on, there is no way to imagine Warhammer with a production like that of a band like Suicide Silence or other rubbish like that, right? This is pure underground, old school, no frills death/black/doom metal, so what is there not to like about these guys? Original they ain't by a long shot, but boy, is this awesome!

This is an interesting compilation, but only for the Warhammer enthusiast, even if it was just for the Slaughter cover. To those just starting to explore the band, I'd say to start with their albums in chronological order. Or you could just go back further and just start with Hellhammer's "Apocalyptic Raids", of course.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Adam M on May 20, 2025.

This album has a more modern flair than older albums in the band’s discography. It has a grunge type of feel that is very addictive and different for the band. Singing is also memorable and adds to the experience. There is the feeling of bands like Alice in Chains as much as there is like Metallica. It is a rousing affair and also very memorable.

Guitars are crunchy and grunge-like and add to the experience. Singing is distinctive and one of a kind and adds to the experience. This is a very well-performed album instrumentally, but perhaps slightly simple sounding compared to others like Megadeth’s Rust in Peace.

This is not a perfect album, however, and can be faulted for its simplicity. It is not a display of virtuoso songcraft, but rather a more straightforward type of songwriting that is easy to digest and quite memorable. There could be more fireworks on display than there is, but it’s a nicely tuneful collection of songs. It is quite crunchy and has a nice modern flair to it.

All in all, this is a very strong album and one of the best by the band. It is not anything revolutionary, but in particular a good display of John Bush’s vocals talents and fits nicely into the band’s discography. Though it could be made more complex, it’s a very vibrant and memorable recording.

Rating: 7.5/10

Review by Felix on October 17, 2023.

It has already been said a lot of times, the early nineties brought a time of reorientation for the old thrash heroes. The new shit from Seattle made an impact, but was this really reason enough to deny the own roots? Anyway, the great names of the past were not fainting. Anthrax, for example, had a budget great enough to produce an excellent sound. Right from the beginning, “Potter’s Field” achieves a magnificent result in terms of depth, multidimensionality and raw precision. The “Sound of White Noise” makes fun, it’s so powerful yet smooth and very close to perfection.

And in terms of music, Anthrax also showed their teeth. John Bush’s natural voice is much more metal than that of Joey Belladonna. He gives the songs a very male and vigorous touch. He strikes every tone perfectly and enriches the material by his performance significantly. I don’t say that Belladonna is the worse singer, but I cannot imagine the here presented songs with his vocals. They are tailored to Bush’s voice and he makes the very best out of this situation. Naturally, you cannot turn shit into gold just by a good vocal performance. But don’t worry, sometimes the white noise is much better than its reputation.

Anthrax start with a powerful triple strike. The shredding of “Potter’s Field”, the smoothly flowing “Only” with its characteristic drum intro and the mega-catchy chorus and the somewhat inconspicuous but very well done “Room for One More” make fun. It’s no thrash, at least not in its pure form, but the muscular compositions are clearly based on a very stable fundament. Anthrax play an authentic form of metal. They do not whine to the mainstream for attention. Even “Black Lodge” doesn’t do this. Yes, it is a calm number with a certain Metallica-affinity, but it is free from schmaltz. Moreover, it holds emotional harmonies and is cleverly arranged. I don’t say that I am listening to a masterpiece when it comes to this semi-ballad, but it definitely does not annoy the audience with embarrassing details. And, of course, it sets the stage for the power riffs that open the next track “C11 H17 and the rest I have forgotten” (my old chemistry teacher isn’t surprised). It’s a decent track, but the following neckbreaker “Burst” comes much closer to the real thing. Especially its nervous lines at the beginning as well as its explosiveness are impressive.

Unfortunately, some tracks fall short of expectations “Packaged Rebellion” is acceptable, but it stands in the shadow of the opener or “Only”. “Hy Pro Glo” sees Bush doing the Ozzy (which is always a bad idea) and when it comes to “1000 Points of Hate”, I am still undecided: is it pretty cool or just noisy mediocrity? And yes, it is not just the closer (with a great, intense ending) that reveals their newly found weakness for zeitgeist inspired harmonies that made Alice in Chains famous. Either way, those of you who do not always look for the pure dogma, can lend an ear to the album. 30 years after its release, “Sound of White Noise” can be an interesting and good historic document. The spirit of the time could not significantly hurt the quality of the songs.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10