Not in fact the latest dating app, Bonehunter are a filthy sounding metal-punk & roll crew from Olou, Finland. They’ve been around since 2011 and this is their first full length amongst a history of splits & singles. So what’s it like?
Well if you like it hard, fast & raw then Bonehunter is for you. The aural equivalent of having your ears douched with battery acid while being force fed ten cans of Dragon Soop. Fucking handsome!
With song titles that could grace any Venom album ‘Devil Metal Punks’, ‘Succubus’, ‘Acid Fuck’ etc, and with band member names S.S. Penetrator, Satanarchist & Witch Rider – you know you’re not in for an hour and a half of prog rock noodling! What you are in for is 9 tracks and half an hour of awesome, blackened metal with a crust edge.
Think Nunslaughter playing Motorhead covers with Quorthon recording them, pissed, on a 1970’s mono tapedeck….which he just set on fire. This is great stuff. Every track gets your headbanging and your Special Brew out the fridge. Mostly mid-fast paced rock & roll with some killer solos too. Add to that Satanarchist’s nasty, BM style vocals (sorta how I’d imagine Ihsahn sounding if he was actually having fun) and you have a brilliant package here.
Despite the raw production every instrument is in your face, especially the dirty bass sound which is gnarly as hell. The riffs are infectious and played with conviction and the solos are totally in keeping and never ‘wanky’.
After a short (and to be honest a bit pointless) instrumental intro – ‘Messier 666’ – the album starts proper with ‘Black Shrine’ all retro riffage and almost Diamond Head sounding at the intro but it’s not long until it’s shooting forward like a poked cobra. The neck bothering continues with ‘Acid Fuck’ & ‘Burning Skulls’. My standout track is ‘Succubus’ which is just brilliant. But every track is a blast. You could stick this record on with a few mates over for a barbecue or equally crank it out while blasting along in your car at cop baiting speeds. Multi-Purpose Devil Metal. Love it.
Anyway, enough gushing – buy this. It’s better than the last half dozen Venom albums….apart from the cover.
(9/10 Mark Eve)
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