Review by Krys on September 8, 2001.

It doesn’t get any harder than to write a review to a CD of one of the bands you grew up with. Like it was yesterday, I remember buying their first self-titled album and hiding it from my parents in fear of heaving it taken away. Being one of the most controversial bands of the eighties, both lyrically and image-wise, WASP terrified everyone from hags to married couples, from priests to politicians occupying their sleepless nights thinking of what effect would WASP music have on the youth of this world.

“Unholy Terror” represents the eighth chapter in a colorful band’s career that amazingly takes us back to its glorious days and gets more attention with every release. But would this trend continue? I think so... although I have some doubts. The lyrics are as provocative as ever. Blackie’s thoughtful booklet intro walks you through his state of mind and explains main ideas behind each track and let me assure you since WASP is not all sex, drugs and rock and roll there is a lot to read. And music... well, in short, take their first two albums, give it better arrangements, sound and production and that’s your “Unholy Terror”. I don’t think I’d ever have enough of Blackie’s vocals but the music doesn’t send any chills through my spine and that’s not good.

Maybe I should see a doctor and check my head but as good as “Unholy Terror” is, it misses some of the early magic from “The Last Command” or “The Headless Children”. Picking the favorite track is almost impossible cause all of them are on this same quality level, good, old WASP – and that’s what “Unholy Terror” is for – old fans.

Bottom Line: Every old fan of the band would be more than satisfied with a new (classic) W.A.S.P. release but I’m not sure if “Unholy Terror” will bring them some new followers since Blackie & Co. have already done this before.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by JD on February 17, 2014.

Sludge metal is a genre of metal I have a love/hate thing going on with it. Some of it I just love (Kylesa for one) while others are just not connecting with me (Greif). From Beneath Billows slides on to my desk and I am intrigued. Which side will this album land on for me? Will it be a like or not like?

Norway’s From Beneath Billows is one seriously eclectic band that is mixing some rather odd and unique parts of a darker form. Doom, sludge, industrial, some experimental and post metal collide into a slow moving storm of great power and constant slow motion- surging forth to tell its slowed tales.

Each song is eight minutes or longer, each building and growing in their own time… guiding us into a darker realm than our own. Minimalistic at points and heavy the next, the band seems to know when to do things or add or remove other things – and always doing it right. From Beneath Billows are one of those rare breed of bands that can incorporate these very scattered parts into something entertaining.

This was one album which has been a pleasurable one to review, one I will be playing long after it has been posted for the metal masses to read on-line. Monolith is now officially has a spot in the ‘love’ category, and won’t leave there for a while. Good music from a good band.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 9.5
Production: 8.5
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.1 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 9, 2020.

When symphonic black metal provides the scene with the four-ply toilet paper, then Baxaxaxa are the community's sandpaper. A recently hyperactive greaseproof paper. Normally it took the band at least ten years to find the record button in the studio, but now the production is running at full speed. Two new songs greet from some swampy morass of Hades. The sound may be a little less rough and raw than on The Old Evil, but by its very nature it still moves in a completely different galaxy than any form of glossy black metal. The guitars still sound like a bastard from Bathory's "The Return...." and a Moonblood recording and their mighty appearance sidelines both vocals and drums. But this is rather part of Baxaxaxa’s nearly prehistoric concept than a defect. The band is focused on a mighty atmosphere and the dudes are not afraid to use keyboards from time to time in order to reinforce the hellish vibes of the material.

Both tracks deliver accessible patterns. The A side offers an almost complex structure, but don’t worry, nobody is intellectually overstrained. Moreover, despite the meticulous design of the tracks, they never lose their aura of primitive brutality. I am sure the guys work with enthusiasm - which I only get up to a certain degree. No doubt, Baxaxaxa do not disappoint, but the intro of the title track is a noisy waste of time and A side and B side of the 7” miss an iota of compositional greatness. Please understand me properly - there exist definitely worse things than worshipping Hellhammer’s pioneer works and especially 'Revelation in Sin' gives a delicate foretaste of hell. Its guitar lines reflect cruelty, intransigence and it seems to be only due to an unexpected coincidence that one or the other melody-like fragment got lost in the song. Nevertheless, I am sure that Baxaxaxa have more skills than they show here. However, it is also clear that sandpaper can be an important thing every now and then, while four-ply toilet paper is always for asses and shit.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Jack on July 14, 2001.

This is quality kick-ass ripping up death, Viking ass metal! I’ve never really been a huge fan of the heavy ass quality of death tunes, but this is one of the few records that really changed my perspective about death albums.

Amon Amarth, with “The Avenger” have released a tight, sophisticated short album (shade over 35 minutes) that is pretty much flawless. With ferocious drumbeats by Fredrik Andersson, and sweet twin guitar work by Ovali Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, it’s really a struggle to find a problem with the second record from Amon Amarth. Vocal work is expertly handled by Johan Hegg, which is of a tough meaty style.

Why only 8.5/10, if this is such a killer record? So what is the main problem with “The Avenger” you ask? It’s damn too short. I’m used to black metal length albums, 50-60 minutes, whilst I’m not judging Amon Amarth, it would just be nice for an extra 15 minutes of playing time, 3-4 more tracks. “The Avenger” just feels like it has room for a bit more shredding Viking action.

Personal favourite tracks for me are the opener: ‘Bleed for Ancient Gods’ and the wickedly titled ‘The Last with Pagan Blood’. The later displays awesome drumbeats, cool nifty guitar work... and fulminating roars from Johan Hegg.

Bloody awesome Viking shit. Unstoppable death riffs... hard ass tunes. Better than any of their other records. Even if you don’t like death metal much like me, still buy this album... you will not be disappointed.

Bottom Line: This is the ultimate in killer death albums... and Amon Amarth are rooted in sweet Viking mythology. I don’t really like death metal heaps, but this record kicks some serious bottom.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on August 20, 2019.

A ghost sneaks through the thrash metal scene. Its perfidious mission is to make actually good music completely emotionless by stealing its soul. Suicidal Angels fall victim to this mean phantom again and again and some people say that Havok are also lost. Well, their last album was maybe no milestone and yes, a certain lack of emotions occurred. Yet the straightforward double bass and the jagged riffing of the programmatically titled opener "Prepare for Attack" shows that Havok once had heart and soul. Here they do not play thrash by the numbers and the equally configured, double bass driven and chorus-crowned "Fatal Intervention" is another well designed kick in the teeth. 

Nevertheless, the ghost does its deeds in the background and his diabolic work shimmers through when it comes to songs such as "D.O.A.". Is it a bad song? No. Does it trigger any emotions? Again: no. This is the problem of the less convincing pieces on this album: they pass by more or less smoothly, they do not hurt the flow, but they forget to mark their territory. The consequence is that it takes some time until the opening riff of "Killing Tendencies" draws me back into the full-length. Its Testament-inspired chorus does not score with a really impressive vocal line, but the guitar work during the verses and the bridge ensure a very robust basis. I have mentioned Testament and maybe I should add that Havok play typical US American return-to-the-Bay thrash. Dirty elements are missing, technical precision forms the material. The voice of lead vocalist and guitarist David Sanchez is aligned with this musical approach. He sounds vigorous, but he is never at risk to lose control or to convey some grains of filth. Needless to say, that all is framed by a clear production that avoids inappropriate sounds. No problem, I don't speak of an entirely sterile appearance, but at the same time the mix is not able to lend Havok more individuality. Shitty ghost.

"In this world of efficiency, there's no room for mediocrity". That's not my finding, but Havok surprise with this line. It describes their own problem pretty well, because too many average parts show up after the exciting beginning. "The Cleric", a mid-tempo headbanger, introduces itself with truly mighty guitars, but they get lost as the song progresses. Thank God, at the end they reappear and even a gloomy atmosphere is created by the solos, while the rasping six strings do their work unswervingly. It is getting clear that this band, in particular main composer Sanchez, is too competent to pen worthless tunes, but the here shown form of consensus thrash - the level of harshness can be located between Testament and Exodus - fails to feature special or even unique qualities of the formation. No doubt, Time Is Up has its moments of glory. The two openers remain the best tracks, even though the finishing title track combines pinpoint riffs with accurate drumming. By the way, the double bass of the closer sounds almost mechanized - is this you, Ghost?

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by Adam M on May 8, 2011.

Crisp riffs with a solid sense of tempo and crunch highlight this old school influenced Thrash platter. A couple of bands that immediately pop to mind when listening to the disc are Coroner and Kreator, as the music sounds like a combination of the two. The guitar licks are scalpel like in precision and complemented by pristine solos. Musically, this is really solid stuff throughout. It might not appeal to fans of the Bay Area Thrash style as the more aggressive type of Thrash that Kreator perform, however.

The vocals don’t display the more straight ahead singing of the Bay Area scene, but are rather shouted out. This is my least favourite element of the disc because in terms of song-writing and instrumental prowess, the album is about as tight as they come in the Thrash genre. An interesting bridge or solo is always inserted when it seems the music might be dying down slightly. Also, the main riffs in the rhythm section crush. It might not quite be my particular favourite style of Thrash, but there’s no denying the quality of the music on display here. Not a single track on "Time Is Up" isn’t of the highest standard of the Thrash genre. There are plenty of highlights here. Amongst them are 'D.O.A' and especially 'The Cleric'. The latter has some of the most melodic and intricate portions on the entire disc. This album isn’t exactly my style, but I can’t deny the quality to found on this release.

Anyone that’s looking for a Thrash album that is powerful and well-constructed should look no further than this disc. This is great material, but not quite at the level of last year’s "The Evolution Of Chaos" by Heathen or even "Ironbound" by Overkill. It’s still far superior then most Thrash you’ll hear these days by a longshot, however.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8.5
Originality: 7
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Jack on July 14, 2001.

This is quality kick-ass ripping up death, Viking ass metal! I’ve never really been a huge fan of the heavy ass quality of death tunes, but this is one of the few records that really changed my perspective about death albums.

Amon Amarth, with “The Avenger” have released a tight, sophisticated short album (shade over 35 minutes) that is pretty much flawless. With ferocious drumbeats by Fredrik Andersson, and sweet twin guitar work by Ovali Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, it’s really a struggle to find a problem with the second record from Amon Amarth. Vocal work is expertly handled by Johan Hegg, which is of a tough meaty style.

Why only 8.5/10, if this is such a killer record? So what is the main problem with “The Avenger” you ask? It’s damn too short. I’m used to black metal length albums, 50-60 minutes, whilst I’m not judging Amon Amarth, it would just be nice for an extra 15 minutes of playing time, 3-4 more tracks. “The Avenger” just feels like it has room for a bit more shredding Viking action.

Personal favourite tracks for me are the opener: ‘Bleed for Ancient Gods’ and the wickedly titled ‘The Last with Pagan Blood’. The later displays awesome drumbeats, cool nifty guitar work... and fulminating roars from Johan Hegg.

Bloody awesome Viking shit. Unstoppable death riffs... hard ass tunes. Better than any of their other records. Even if you don’t like death metal much like me, still buy this album... you will not be disappointed.

Bottom Line: This is the ultimate in killer death albums... and Amon Amarth are rooted in sweet Viking mythology. I don’t really like death metal heaps, but this record kicks some serious bottom.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Jack on July 14, 2001.

This is quality kick-ass ripping up death, Viking ass metal! I’ve never really been a huge fan of the heavy ass quality of death tunes, but this is one of the few records that really changed my perspective about death albums.

Amon Amarth, with “The Avenger” have released a tight, sophisticated short album (shade over 35 minutes) that is pretty much flawless. With ferocious drumbeats by Fredrik Andersson, and sweet twin guitar work by Ovali Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, it’s really a struggle to find a problem with the second record from Amon Amarth. Vocal work is expertly handled by Johan Hegg, which is of a tough meaty style.

Why only 8.5/10, if this is such a killer record? So what is the main problem with “The Avenger” you ask? It’s damn too short. I’m used to black metal length albums, 50-60 minutes, whilst I’m not judging Amon Amarth, it would just be nice for an extra 15 minutes of playing time, 3-4 more tracks. “The Avenger” just feels like it has room for a bit more shredding Viking action.

Personal favourite tracks for me are the opener: ‘Bleed for Ancient Gods’ and the wickedly titled ‘The Last with Pagan Blood’. The later displays awesome drumbeats, cool nifty guitar work... and fulminating roars from Johan Hegg.

Bloody awesome Viking shit. Unstoppable death riffs... hard ass tunes. Better than any of their other records. Even if you don’t like death metal much like me, still buy this album... you will not be disappointed.

Bottom Line: This is the ultimate in killer death albums... and Amon Amarth are rooted in sweet Viking mythology. I don’t really like death metal heaps, but this record kicks some serious bottom.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10