Warfist. I won’t lie, not being familiar with the band the first image that came into my head was a load of spotty inadequates, smelling of TCP sat round a table throwing dice and moving miniature wizards about. But no. Wrong again Marky. This bunch of spike, studs & leather enthusiasts are a three piece from Poland who have been in the black thrash game since 2004 with a relatively stable line-up with the only changes being the departure of original vocalist…… Witchfucker……. and drummer M. De Sade departing over the years.
“Metal To The Bone” is the bands 2nd full length album and the follow up to 2014’s “The Devil Lives In Grunburg” (I think you’ll find he has now moved to Jaywick). The album has the right title because wrapped in the most metal cover art I’ve seen for years (skulls, snakes, axes, zombie nuns….nice work Maciej Kamuda) are nine, mostly sub four minute explosions of precision thrash metal with titles such as “Pestilent Plague”, “Convent Of Sin”, “Necro Venom” and “Breed Of War”. Obviously the lyrical subject matter is not an introspective analysis of the pressures of modern relationships. No, thankfully this is all death / war / Satan and nun shagging. Which is what we want right?
The band nail a great Sodom meets Nunslaughter vibe and there are some awesome songs on here like the absolutely ripping “Tribe Of Lebus” (which wouldn’t have been out of place on an early Kreator LP). The songs all tear along in a maelstrom of fairly simple but precise and memorable riffs with little chance to catch your breath until “Breed Of War” starts with its much slower, heavier first half until that goes all D.R.I. and vanishes off into the sunset too.
As a crusty old bloke who loves old school underground thrash I loved this record. Nothing inventive or remotely game changing at all but neither is a leather jacket, a bag of chips and a can of Special Brew…. and you can’t go wrong with those either.
(8/10 Mark Eve)
Leave a Reply