Sunday 27 April 2008

Bulldozer - Day Of Wrath (1985)


Regarded at the time as an Italian Venom-meets-Motorhead, Bulldozer will go down in old school circles as an inspirational, oily, none too serious black thrash outfit, back when metal was real metal. Looking back on this particular record, the basement sound remains stuffy and I'm still digging the raw, prime evil feel to it, 'The Exorcism' being a typical '80s metal intro full of demonic muttering and ghastly winds, bleeding into the attack of 'Cutthroat' with it's Venom-cloned clatterings and bestial vocals courtesy of Alberto Contini, the solo's, of Andy Panigada, bring to mind early Voivod and the rumblings of several European acts, from Celtic Frost and you can hear the sound of Bulldozer in many of today's black metal bands. Favourite cut is the warped 'Insurrection Of The Living Damned', part Slayer, part Venom, and whilst 'Whiskey Time' is more a Motorhead ramble, 'Welcome Death' is a wonderful thirty-second funeral dirge that breaks into the strangling mayhem of 'Endless Funeral'.

Bulldozer are actually a fine, important cult band, their records certainly a prime example of how wasted, wild and weird the early extreme metal days were.

7.5/10

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