Friday 1 June 2007

Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids (1984)

Gloomy, sinister, punky, primal, chaotic, doomy, thrashy, deathly metal. This was the beginning and the end for this band who would go onto become Celtic Frost, but this record, once described by one sceptical reviewer as "horrible"', has to be one of the most influential. It cannot be classed as black metal despite its satanic imagery and creepy atmospheres because the riffs here are everything from warped punk to minimalistic metal, the production is rough, making the record quite a devilish spin, and Tom G. Warriors throaty expressions are also hard to pin down, it's essentially a very dark metal record, but with all the evil clanking of early Venom, a dirty, snarling thrash assault on the senses. An important record should you class yourself as a collector of extreme metal.
7/10

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