All that is war is brought to you via the relentless hand of punishment that is BARBARIC HORDE. Risen with spectacular might and breathtaking awe, the Portuguese war metal maniacs bring forth their latest installment of disaster in the form of Barbaric Hammer Fist. This album is even better in my opinion when compared to their debut full length Axe of Superior Savagery. The production is seemingly thicker and cloudy in comparison to the sharp grazing noise that was on the previous assault. Vocals are under the bassy kick and the riffs are shelled out under the cloud of clanging.

This kind of production was well thought out you could say as it gives the listener a perspective or representation of a hammering, thudding, groove; and while we could all sit here and share comparisons and debate originality, it's metal, war metal at that, it would be extremely difficult to mask the influences before you and even harder to make a record this sort (black metal) without being a copycat to some degree, so let's not thread down that path. It's the way of the subgenre, you pick your influences and throw on a camouflage, bend in and hope that you still stand out somehow. It's the tale of this subgenre and BARBARIC HORDE while blending in with the likes of a far less chaotic/technical Revenge or Damar, still manage to carve out a sound that they can be identified by. Impressive if you ask me.

Looking into the march that is opener 'Havoc Kommand', leading to a nasty offset in the furious workings of 'Iron Calvary Assassins', the mission seems pretty obvious, demolish to a battered pulp and leave behind a path of desolation. As implied the (instrumental) fury is brought into then spotlight on compositions such as 'Savage Rituals Return' and 'Caller Of Deformed Spirits' give testament to this. All in, no messing around, prepare to be obliterated when you get to the slaughter fest that is 'Sanguinary Triumphators' that display both a pulsating yet semi technical string onslaught in the soloing department. Vocals are a gasping shout and the lofi drumming cloak the instrumental atrocities.

It's a good one that came rather earlier than expected; such is the way of the predator, you always have to be on the lookout when your flesh is weak. Pickup the copy of Barbaric Hammer Fist on LP / CD / MC and digital through Godz ov War Productions on June 10th, 2022.

BARBARIC HORDE is:

Zepar - bestial chainsaw of profanation, venom evoking death and choral spasms, keys of doom
Coffincrusher - flutter of luciferian wings, collapsing burning churches, devilish chanting

MORE INFO AND PRE-ORDERS:

http://godzovwar.com/
https://www.facebook.com/godzovwar
https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/

Wow, what a great billing with so many premieres on that lovely Saturday evening. First of all I had never been to Resonanzwerk in Oberhausen before and was surprised in a very positive way about the location. It is a very nice hall with a huge stage and cool illumination and a good sound. Apart from this the situation was pretty good and the beverage prices are fine, too. So that was a good start into this heavy metal evening, only the slightly disappointing attendance of 115 people on a Saturday where nothing else metal-related happened left a bitter taste.

Starting with Danish Angstskríg who premiered to play in North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time some technical problems appeared first but their vocalist did the best out of this situation and talked in German a little bit about his German at school and also some jokes. That was pretty entertaining and after a few minutes their show could start. Playing a mixture between old Celtic Frost, Mantar, punk and pretty harsh black metal the masked trio knocked the audience soft for the other three bands that should come later that evening. They had a very well balanced mixture of old songs from their debut "Skyggespil" and their newest self-titled output. The only thing I really missed was their bass player who is, as the band told me, not a person. Well, however, like Samael did it with the drums back in 1996, it also works with the bass. Cool show and a lot of people went over to the merch after their gig.

Setlist: 'Skyggespil' / 'Lad Paladserne Brænde' / 'Midt I En Angstskríg' / 'Lucifer Kalder' / 'Vishedens Ulidelige Lethed' / 'Luk Dine Øjne'

Next were the Finnish melodic black metal guys …And Oceans who really got my attention right from the beginning. I only knew their latest output "As In Gardens So In Tombs" which I really liked when it was released last year but I have to confess that I still haven't investigated the older albums yet. Which I quickly noticed was a big mistake because the melodic stuff they performed that evening was really stunning. It reminded me pretty much of old melodic black metal stuff back from the 90s I liked (like Satyricon and co)and there wasn't a single song I considered as weak. The show the sextet did on stage was full of energy and vocalist Mathias Lillmåns (whom the one or the other might know from bands like Finntroll or Ondfødt) knows how to get the crowd moving. Like Angstskríg they did a nice setlist where they included a lot of old songs, too. If there was a winner that evening, I would say that it would have been …And Oceans.

Setlist: 'The Collector And His Construct' / 'Trollfan' / 'The Dissolution Of Mind And Matter' / 'Cloud Heads' / 'Aquarium Of Children' / 'Within Fire And Crystal' / 'Äcid Sex And Marble Tears' / 'Tears Have No Name' / 'Ambivalent God'

With Attic the only German band this evening entered the stage. But before this the stage had to be decorated with a fence, candle lighters and much more stuff. When vocalist Meister Cagliostro appeared with a huge upside down cross which he placed on the altar the show became pretty impressive. Apart from the quality of the songs also the show, (which had quite a home match this evening because they don't come away too remotely), was amazing and very intense. I guess, I haven't experienced such an intense metal atmosphere for many years with all the lights, theatrical elements and scents like the fog and I guess it was incense. Nevertheless the audience was a little bit more reserved than at …And Oceans and I guess there were less people in the hall to watch them which really was a pity. But okay, the Mercyful Fate-similarities might not be the cup of tea for everyone. I liked the show and was pretty pleased that they did some of my faves like 'A Serpent In The Pulpit' or 'The Headless Horseman' but also presented two new songs from the upcoming album ('Hailstorm And Tempest' and 'Synodus Horrenda').

Setlist: 'Iudicum Dei Intro' / 'Sanctimonious' / 'Satan's Bride' / 'A Serpent In The Pulpit' / 'Hailstorm And Tempest' / 'A Quest For Blood Intro' / 'The Hound Of Heaven' / 'Dark Hosanna' / 'The Invocation' / 'Synodus Horrenda' / 'The Hidden Grave Intro' / 'Funeral In The Woods' / 'The Headless Horseman'

And finally, also coming for their first show ever in North Rhine-Westphalia, French symphonic black metal legends Seth appeared. The stage was again decorated with a lot of stuff like skulls, daggers, a Holy Mary statue, all you need to celebrate a black metal session. Center of the show was vocalist Saint Vincent who wore a robe and was more or less disguised with a scarf around his head. The show was more of a celebration than a black metal concert you might know from bands like Marduk and the audience was very much involved in it because Saint Vincent interacted a lot with the crowd and did his comments in English. Music wise they have released 6 albums. They had a pretty strong album called "La Morsure De Christ" up their sleeve but they didn't really focus on it, they did a lot of songs from their first album "Les Blessures De L'Âme" which I find quite remarkable. Well, however the songs were performed really great and just like Attic did, they created a very dense atmosphere during their show. After about 80 minutes and being 0.10 AM the gig ended (I haven't attended a show for many many years that took so long) with a lot of satisfied fans and I guess I am not the only person who hopes that these bands will come back on stage around here soon again!

Setlist: 'La Morsure Du Christ' / 'Métal Noir' / 'Les Océans Du Vide' / 'La Quintessence Du Mal' / 'Hymne Au Vampire Acte 1' / 'Hymne Au Vampire Acte 2' / 'Hymne Au Vampire Acte 3' / 'Sacrifice De Sang' / 'À La Mémoire De Nos Frères' / 'Le Triomphe De Lucifer'