Hammr-Unholy Destruction

Hells Headbangers Records
2018

Formed in 2013 and originally known as Schizoid Hammer up until 2015, Cleveland, Ohio's Hammr (sic) is a one-man black/speed/punk metal band that has one EP, one demo, and this full-length album to it's name. J. Hammer (Devils, Outline, ex-Demona) is the main-man behind the magic mirror and band's such as Venom, Celtic Frost, Iron Angel, (early) Slayer, Discharge, (early) Bathory, and Sodom serve as the inspiration. Lead solos come courtesy of Midnight's Commander Vanik (who also mixed the album) and the album was mastered by none other than Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust)! Self-dubbed "satanic speed", Hammr is (blood-dripping) raw black metal/underground speed that has been spiked with the last dying breath of dive-bar punk. Naturally, that makes "Unholy Destruction" a must-have recording...especially if you are a fan of the aforementioned Midnight!

Viölence-MotörDemon

Self-Release/Independent
2018

"Loud, Fast, and Rude". Not only is that the way in which I want to live my life, but it is also the motto of Australian' blackened speed metal project Viölence. Lead by Dylan Potter (all instruments), with "MotörDemon" serving as the debut EP from this one man wrecking crew from the wastelands of hell(!), Viölence seems to have shown up from out of nowhere! It was like one day there was nothing and then the next things I know is that this 5-track recording was showing up everywhere I looked. There's a damn good reason for that happening. While it's only an EP, "MotörDemon" is more than enough proof that Dylan Potter knows how to rock the dead back to life! Without missing a beat, Viölence throws you wave after wave of sinister riffs that one minute sound like classic Venom and the next (early) Sodom! In addition to the godfathers of blackened speed metal, Viölence seems to pay homage to the underground side of the N.W.O.B.H.M. scene and quite obviously then, Lemmy. Fact is, "MotörDemon" is too good not to share. So, strap in tight and put your helmet on. This EP is going to be on hell of a ride!

Wraith-Wraith

Self-Release/Independent
2017

Here's a fun fact kids. There sure as hell are a lot of bands out that called Wraith. The other day I found this out the hard way. While searching online for more information about the English hard rock/melodic metal band Wraith (all for a possible review that quite possibly will never happen) I somehow managed to stumble upon Indiana's Wraith. If not for a particular cover track (more on that shortly) I probably would have just skipped over this band. Up front I should probably add that when it comes to this Wraith there isn't a lot to go by. It doesn't seem as if there is a Facebook page for Indiana's Wraith and there is no listing of the band in the Metal Archives. So, as far as line-up information goes I've got nothing. Not that it matters. When it comes to any band it is the music that counts. In regards to Wraith we are talking about a sick mash-up of crossover, street-legit hardcore, (raw) garage metal, and blackened speed metal! The cool thing about "Wraith" is that it puts that short, but sweet noise in-between a sample from Army of Darkness and a cover of Motörhead's "The Hammer"!! Admittedly having seen the band's cover choice I just had to give this one a spin. Ultimately I am glad that I did. This eight song release might not be very long, but it sure does get the job done. Hopefully this is only the first piece of the puzzle for this mysterious band as I would love to hear more.  

Burial Ground-Pain For Pleasure

Independent/Self-Release
2017

Burial Ground is a one-man metal from Russia. The main man in charge of everything goes by the name AlexFromBeyond (Dead Zone, From Beyond, Mass Hypnosis) and this three-track demo is simply the latest in a long list of demos that have been released since 2015. That was the year that this blackened speed metal/thrash project got off the ground. If I'm counting correctly "Pain For Pleasure" would be demo number ten! Toss in the single "Hellraisers" and a compilation entitled "Sounds of Evil" (both from 2016) and you have the complete discography for Russia's Burial Ground. That is a shit ton of work in the past two years!!  Obviously I can't vouch for all of those releases, but here's the wild part friends: "Pain For Pleasure" is fine as fuck!! I mean sure, it is a little strange how this Russian metal band sounds almost German. That's kind of odd, but it's must certainly not a deal-breaker! If anything it's just an observation. Otherwise, "Pain For Pleasure" is a blackened take on wicked speed metal/thrash from the guy pictured below. If that phrase sounds good to you (the whole blackened speed/thrash metal part) then stop what you are doing and mosh your way on over to this one-man band. For more information on Burial Ground there is also this Facebook page.

Böneyard-Below Mediocrity

Witches Brew
2017

Formed back on October 31st of 2015 and featuring two musicians that have ties to the Greek death metal outfit Foul Entry (vocalist Teethsmasher and bassist Defouler), Böneyard is a blackened street metal/punk speed metal band that seems to share my deep affection  for "Welcome To Hell"-era Venom, Israel's Promiscuity and all things Motörhead! What happens when you throw in some mad love for Sweden's Bathory and Gehennah? Obviously enough you end up with "Below Mediocrity". With four original compositions and a cover of  Gehennah's "Decibel Rebel", Böneyard's debut EP can be played several times over before the cops show up to investigate your next-door neighbors noise complaint!! That's right folks. Thanks to the guys in Böneyard (who are not to be confused with the Spanish act that gave us "Fear of a Zombie Planet") you could be kicking out the jams in style while the cops are in the process of kicking down your front door!! Nice. Available as a digital download and on CD, "Below Mediocrity"* is meant to be played as loud as humanly possible! It's a wildly reckless release from a raw and crazy band that also includes guitarist The Witcher and guitarist The Chatterer. And to answer your next question, yes, I do want this CD for my personal collection! I also want to see what else these guys have up their sleeves!!  





*Drums are courtesy of Giorgos Melios (Rapture, ex-Acid Fury)

Midnight-No Mercy for Mayhem

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Hells Headbangers
2014

About a week ago I was strumming through my vinyl collection when I came across Boulder's "555" and I found myself wondering what Jamie Walters was up to? And then it hit me. Wait, isn't my (One time? Current?) neighbor* doing his thing in Midnight? Sure enough and here it is. "No Mercy for Mayhem" is the latest labor of love from Jamie Walters and company and it's everything that we have come to know and expect from this crass, vile and utterly unholy Cleveland band and then some! The last time we checked in with this black n' rolled, punk speed metal band was by way of the compilation disc "Complete and Total Hell". That was 2012 though and in-between that crazy cool compilation and this full-length endeavor the band released a live album, one EP and and a cover of Venom's "Too Loud (for the Crowd)". That particular Venom cover is as good a place as any to start when discussing Midnight's role in the grand scheme of things. But, here is the thing. Seeing as Midnight draws from such a wide range of sources** and marches to the beat of it's own diabolical drummer (which, at least on the 2CD version of "No Mercy for Mayhem" that features Midnight's previously-mentioned live outing, "Alive on the Streets of Cleveland", would be SS) it's nowhere near that easy to define the who, what and where of this occult outfit. Not that it should be easy to pinpoint Midnight's sound and style! What would be the point of it all if Midnight were just to fall easily into some neat little box? Instead we should just consider who is running this lot and accept the fact that just like the other band's that Jamie (aka: Athenar) has been involved with (Mach II, Sweet Roxx, Boulder, Destructor, Terminal Lovers, Toxic Holocaust (live), Abdullah, King Travolta and Hangnail) Midnight runs things it's own way and they are all the better because of that! "No Mercy for Mayhem" is blackened speed metal and it does contain crusty old punk rock and hardcore reference marks, but it also Midnight's own (unmistakable and unholy) brand of noise! If you've heard Midnight before and dug what the band was thrash rockin' on about then you should snag and bag this new disc (preferably in the two disc format as it's all the more spicy!). If you've never experienced this band before then treed carefully. You should still buy the album (or again, the two disc CD version as it's even tastier!) and all, but I would treed carefully nonetheless! As a final note sometimes I find it amazing that a band like Midnight hails from the hometown of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For all intensive purposes Midnight destroys rock and roll and I mean that in the best way possible! But then maybe rock and roll should be destroyed? Or at least that shame of a building called The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? In it's place we could build a new "holy site" dedicated to Ohio's true saving grace, it's metal scene! And (naturally) right off the bat we would induct bands like Midnight! This time I really think I'm on to something....


*Back before Jamie (aka: Athenar as he is known in Midnight) founded this (killer) blackened speed metal project he played in Boulder (among several other bands). And as it turned out Boulder's contact information happened to be located in my hometown. And yes, It does still boggle my mind that the same (extremely cool) guy that once sent me misc. Boulder merchandise is now fronting one of the most compelling black metal bands out there!

**What I love absolutely about Midnight (besides it's front-man) is how they are able to take what are essentially some of my all-time favorite bands (Motörhead, Tank, Raven, Exciter, Venom, Mantis, (early) Metallica, Megadeath, Slayer, Possessed, (early) Sodom, ("Gates to Purgatory"/"Branded and Exiled'-era) Running Wild, Warrant (the German one duh!), Discharge, The Exploited, Carnivore and (on the newer side of things and also connected to Hells Headbangers) Speedwolf, Crucified Mortals, Tiger Junkies and Intöxicated) and (by way of mystical magic and/or occult practices) turn them into blackened metal mania!