At the  time of the band ‘s formation they weren’t playing thrash metal but by the time of the 1985 demo Black Metal (featuring a cover of Venom’s landmark song of the same name), the band was delivering speedy metal.

The demo dropped just a bit after the debut full-length albums from Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer and same year that Exodus released their debut album. However, a full-length album wouldn’t come about until 1990. What we’re looking at is the 1998 album To Kill Evil, a reissue of the 1990 self-titled debut sans the four extra tracks.

A-Side of To Kill Evil

Off the bat, the first two tracks slap. They slap hard. The titular track sets up what you think the entire album will be with a strong, fast-paced pounder led by Coffey’s vocal work but then you get the awesome display of speed and vocal ability that is the Starks-led “Time Is at Hand”. Remember the opening as we go through the album.

I’m a big fan of vocalists such Sergeant Salsten from Deathhammer and Stace “Sheepdog” McLaren formerly of Razor where both of their voices have bite and grit to them but they can also fling their voices into piercing, screams. I’ll always mark out for a piercing scream in a song and “Time Is at Hand” has the right amount.

“Pain” slows things down early into the album. It’s one of three slower or mid-tempo tunes on the album but it’s solid. Things pick up a bit with “The Great Controversy” which starts on the slow side but heads into speed metal territory in the second half of the song. The vocals here are more spoken word which works well here.

Stone Vengeance picks things up again with “The Persecution” which is a bit thrashy at points but pretty funky and speedy throughout. I dig this song a bit for the bass and drum heaviness here. We’ll run with this track as the A-side closer since this reissue was on CD and featured a reshuffling of tracks.

Strongest Tracks: To Kill Evil, Time Is at Hand**

B-side

The B-side opens with a short instrumental which is almost inaudible on the iTunes version of the album. It’s an acoustic piece. Following that is “Malice” which returns to the thrash approach of the first two tracks of the album.

I wouldn’t say it’s stronger than “Time Is at Hand” but it has more power and punch than the title track which opens the album. Coffey continues the vocal duties here and a song like this is what I lean into more to appreciate his vocal ability and delivery.

Now, I love my faster tracks but “Higher Now” is a pretty good, slower-tempo piece. Beyond the faster stuff which Coffey’s voice is suited for, something like this works. Following that is another instrumental which is more audible than the first (“Bullfight”). It sets up for what is technically the album’s closer of the original tracks: “Long Live Stone Vengeance”.

Coffey’s vocal performance here features moments where he pops a scream and I could’ve used more of those here. The band as a whole delivers a speedy ride that is similar to very early thrash where it isn’t pure power, speed and aggression. Again, see the first two tracks on the album.

Strongest Tracks: Malice, Higher Now, Long Live Stone Vengeance

Best of the Bonuses

Looking at the four bonus or additional tracks, you have a good cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and “The Pill” as the standouts. The cover has Coffey more in his bluesy hard rock bag. He was also in that bag for the song “Chase” which is worth a listen as well. For me, it had the relatability of hip-hop or soul in rock trappings was thumbs up from me.

“The Pill” does the same but in thrashier trappings. It’s as if Rick James did speed metal or thrash without ending up at groove metal or funk metal. Stone Vengeance took Black musical storytelling throughout and kept it well within a speedy approach.

The Best: Foxy Lady, The Pill*

Strength of the Opener: To Kill Evil

With there being a few style and tempo changes throughout the album, the opener did it’s job in getting me interested in checking out the rest of the project. It lets you know that there will be some thrashing going on but it doesn’t let you know about the entire musical journey.

Well, to a degree. You kind of get an idea of the lyrical approach or themed covered here with songs about belief and basically spirituality but it isn’t antagonistic. Had the album been entirely thrash along the lines of the strongest songs on the album with some venturing into “Chase” territory, I’d say it’s a strong opener. However, it’s more of a strong song on it’s own and a solid opener.

“Time Is at Hand” would be the best replacement opener while “Malice” would do alright in that slot. Overall, this was an enjoyable listen and I’m looking for to checking out the available 2000 release The Angel.

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

We’ll have to dive into this project as there was no listed demos or other projects before the full-length debut for Three. It simply dropped in March 2023 via Black Mold Records, a label that has typically released sludge metal and doom metal projects.

Now, a label’s usual output doesn’t indicate that’s all you’re going to find. You could look through the catalog of a black metal label and find some old school metal in the mix of album releases by bands on the label.

In the case of Three, the release is in the slower waters of doom but with a late 70s-early 80s metal sound. Not so much Black Sabbath but more like a grimier Cirith Ungol with some healthy splashes of Brocas Helm thrown in.

A major contributing factor to that approach is the tandem of  multi-instrumentalist Corey Bing and guitarist/bass player Bahb Branca. The two are Ohio sludge scene veterans who have played in several acts together—many most with releases on Black Mold Records.

Opening Act of Three

Three has seven tracks across almost 31-minutes. The opener is “County Line”, a track that gives “controlled Brocas Helm” vibes. It’s not a rapid jaunt but it’s not s slog either, we’re talking about a pounder that gives the listener some idea of what to expect sonically. This song and “Red Dragon” have a kind of dungeon epicness to it—especially “Red Dragon”.

That track really piqued my interest in the rest of album because it reminds me of what I like to hear from epic heavy metal or U.S power metal: not too produced or clean but still epic in a Conan or Kull sense.

While “Red Dragon” really impressed, “For Your Love”, the second track on the album is the standout of the opening three songs. The longest track on the album, “For Your Love” is a slower-paced affair but it showed what this trio could do with a lengthier piece.

Strongest Tracks: For Your Love, Red Dragon

Second Act

The fourth  “Missing You” is somewhat similar to “For Your Love” only shorter and heavier. The doom is much thicker here. “Remember” is a longer rocker that could’ve been on Black Death. It still has that cavernous sound and slower-tempo while not being similar to other tunes on the album.

If you like your dark and slow romantic doom then “When Your Love Comes Down” might not be too up your alley. It’s notably faster than other tracks on Three and it gets the thumbs up from me. One thing I always liked about old school doom is that you could get a speeder on a slower-paced or mid-tempo release and it would stand out—sometimes as if it was the star of the show such as “Free Country” from Witchfinder General’s Death Penalty.

Closing out the album is “Mirror of Darkness”, a song that has a similar tempo to “When Your Love Comes Down” and gave me more of what I was seeking from this release lyrically: fantasy or dark fantasy themes. It’s a strong closer and could’ve been a stronger opener.

Strongest Tracks: Missing You, When Your Love Comes Down*, Mirror of Darkness*

Strength of the Opener: County Line

Opening tracks are very important since they can set the pace for the album or give the listener an idea of what they’re getting into. The faster and more bombastic, the stronger the opening, for me. In the case of Three, “County Line” is an opener: not the strongest but not the worst choice to kick things off.

However, tunes like “For Your Love”, “Red Dragon”, and the closer “Mirror of Darkness” are very strong picks to open the album just by being the standout tracks on this release.

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

And rightfully so, Glover is a singer with range and presence. Both are definite thumbs up in my book. Let’s look at another pioneer in Cleveland, Ohio’s Siki Spacek.

Black Death and Early Ohio Metal

The lead singer and guitarist for pioneering Black heavy metal band Black Death, Siki embodies everything I like about open musicians.

Just being open to different genres or bringing in elements from different eras. Black Death was the start and it came out at a time when the Ohio metal scene was getting its first bands such as Destructor, Chastain, and Axe Master. Bands were exploring both heavier and faster sounds and while many didn’t continue or release a full length, some demos show that “This band was on the right track.”

Black Death was no different in their demos with the second and third having songs worthy of full length placement.

What I dig about Siki’s vocals on this release is that there’s a lot of grit and soul to it. It gives some tracks such as “When Tears Run Red” and “Streetwalker” a different air than pounders like “Scream of the Iron Messiah” and “Here Comes the Wrecking Crew”.

Now, I’ve been listening to interviews to fill myself in about what happened with the band and Siki Spacek post-debut album. A lot occurred in metal worldwide after 1984—in Ohio metal alone—where’s like “Siki’s vocals would fit this.” I have the same thoughts about contemporary Guy Speranza of Riot. It’s a very “what if” scenario where you can plug an artist into different genres, bands, and on particular albums.

For those with long memories, think about that period where Rob Halford being interested in doing black metal was of note.

The Iron Messiah Returns

Decades later and with the band Black Death Resurrected, and Siki delivered The Return of the Iron Messiah. It fit some of what I figured Black Death would’ve grown into in a follow-up—only with modern production and a lot more experience playing. Similar to going through UK thrash veterans Onslaught’s discography—where the band got faster and even more aggressive with modern releases—Black Death Resurrected was a faster, darker BD.

The approach of this band was rooted in the original but it sounded how the band should sound almost 30 years later. That is, if we had 30 years of releases in that time to see the band grow. It was a familiar sound with new energy that delivered a new release filled with pounders.

With that said, The Return of the Iron Messiah dropped in late 2015. Where did Siki ply his vocal talents after?

Three

I touched on the Ohio metal scene of the 80s, the 21^st century of the scene saw a faster breed of bands such as Midnight and Vindicator. It also saw some solo projects and projects from OG acts such as Winters Bane, headed up by vocal veteran Tim “Ripper” Owens.

Eight years after The Return of the Iron Messiah, Siki Spacek returned with his vocal and guitar stylings. With the power trio Three, you see Siki in the mix of a darker, slower metal. There’s a 70s-early 80s doom sound with a lot of cavernousness, it also sounds like straight up late 70s metal from the period at the same time. It’s a change in pace if you’re familiar with some of the stuff Siki’s voice has been involved in but his voice fits this sound.

Ultimately, Spacek is a singer I wish there was a lot more from, heavy metal, doom, speed metal, blues, funk—straight up hard rock—the guy’s voice could fit in with a couple different genres and add an old school “street metal” sound.

If you’re familiar with the work of Siki Spacek, what are some of your favorite releases? Also, if you’re into the Ohio metal scene, share some of your favorite bands.

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

While I was really enjoying the stuff that didn’t feature heavy blackened or punk influences in the production and sound—the blackened stuff was intriguing. You had bands where the blackened element came in the instrumentals and production and less from the vocals. This worked for me and I was discovering bands such as the disbanded Baphomet’s Blood, Dismantle, Children of Technology, and Mortifier.

Basically, bands on the “Slayer-Sodom-Kreator” end of the thrash pool including Toxic Holocaust.

Toxic Holocaust and 2000s Thrash Metal

The Joel Grind-founded and led Toxic Holocaust was formed in 1999. This period—late 90s and early 00s—was a period when several of New Wave of Thrash Metal bands would form and disband. Looking at some of the bands from that time on Encyclopedia Metallum, you’ll find that some of those early bands were more like prototype or precursor projects.

Grind honed TH’s early sound across two years of demos and split albums, progressively improving—as were a couple of the band’s contemporaries such as Skeletonwitch and Violator. The 2000s run of Toxic Holocaust produced three projects and we’ll see which one was the best of the decade.

On “Best of the Decade”, we go into a band’s discography for a particular decade and rank the albums. The last one listed is what we consider their best of the decade. The only criteria here is that the band have at least three full-length albums in that decade.

Let’s dive into these early Toxic Holocaust projects!

Evil Never Dies (2003)

I discovered this album about five years after its release and was impressed by the atmosphere and speed on display. Mind you, the deeper you dig into the New Wave of Thrash, you’ll find similar approaches and influences less than six feet down. Since TH was one of the first bands of that wave I discovered, they stood out. It also didn’t help that the band became more varied in lyrical content and sound with time, addition of members, and advances/access in recording.

Basically, Toxic Holocaust became more polished—in a good way. Here, the black metal influences on TH’s sound is still very thick including the very production. It makes for a darker, feral thrash sound which will always work with the lyrical content the band worked with heavily in the first trilogy of albums.

I love diving into early discographies and I’m always pleased when the debut is worth the listen and enjoyable start to finish. END fits the bill will several bangers across 32-minutes of twelve tracks about nuclear war, the post apocalypse, and Hell—all themes I dig!

This album or An Overdose of Death make for a great introduction to the band. Unfortunately, I discovered our next entry before the debut and that provided a bit of a problem when trying to appreciate END.

The Bangers: War is Hell**, 666*, Atomik Destruktor*

An Overdose of Death… (2008)

Of the decade, An Overdose of Death is my favorite from Toxic Holocaust. It was the album I discovered the band through and enjoyed instantly from the opener “Wild Dogs” but was sold with “Nuke the Cross” and it’s hard thrashing gallop. It’s a banger-banger. There are other strong tracks here but the bombs drops came in the first two tracks. Everything else is cannon and shotgun fire because like the two albums before it: TH was about speed and gross power.

However, the 2008 release was the start of a more-polished TH. Personally, I put it down to access to better recording, better song writing, and so on. It was almost a decade since the band was formed and five years since the debut. Bands tend to improve early on before getting into the groove the fans expect.

Having listened to their discography, I’d say they were really ending towards interesting times creativity here. The album doesn’t have the speed of END or Hell on Earth but it does have a heaviness that the first lacked.

The Bangers: Wild Dogs*, Nuke the Cross**, War is Hell*, Death from Above*, City of a Million Graves**

Toxic Holocaust – Hell on Earth (2005)

We’ve gone into the other two albums enough that there isn’t too much to say about the best of the decade here. It has enough of the vocal and instrumental approach and energy from Evil Never Dies but production and lyrical focus-wise, it’s the bridge to An Overdose of Death. It’s the Reese’s Cup of the 2000s trifecta: the best of both worlds.

What I dig the most about this album is that it kept the speed of END and went feral with it. The album clocks in at 27 minutes and change but there are a number of instrumentals here. Normally, I’d boohoo that since I’m not a big fan of instrumental tracks on albums but that atmosphere from END is present here and the instrumentals contribute heavily to that.

Besides, if I was ranking this based on meat on the bone, An Overdose…would get the nod as best of the decade. As far as tracks to check out here, “Thrashing Death” is probably the star of the album for me—but I’m a sucker for thrash anthems—“Ready to Fight” and “Hell on Earth” are definitely worthy of banger status.

The Bangers: Arise from the Grave*, Thrashing Death**, Never Stop the Slaughter*, Ready to Fight*, Hell on Earth*

If you listened to these albums, how would you rank them? Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

It’s different for artists who have been around for years and I pick them up later into their career when they’re an established artist. For instance, I discovered Judas Priest shortly after Angel of Retribution dropped in 2005. Venom was discovered right before Metal Black in 2006. In the case of Venom, I was going through a bunch of the 1980s New Wave of British Heavy Metal and stumbled upon Black Metal, their highly acclaimed album.

Then we have Flint, Michigan artist Mario Judah. While he’s been involved in music prior to 2020, that year was an quite the debut for the young artist as he released several unique, strong singles showcasing a style of hip-hop and rap-rock that took me back to the early 2000s. Obviously, “Die Very Rough” was the viral single that really grabbed my attention.

The thing is, I discovered that song year’s after it went viral and it still impressed me. It held up and that’s a feat because nowadays there’s a push to keep making music—remaining relevant in an industry loaded with talent with more talent being discovered or releasing each month. Tunes that were hot last year could end up buried by other artists’ stuff or even new material from the artist that made said buried banger.

I wrote on 2024’s Endure and went to see if Mario Judah had anything else afterward. While I really dug Endure and the length of the project reminded me of 80s rock album releases, it was significantly brief by hip-hop or rock standards today—or of the decade in general. Seriously, folks release 18 and 20+ track releases and you might conclude “Eh, it could’ve been done in 15 tracks, really.”

“What Happened to Mario Judah?”

So the thought is “There’s gotta be more stuff. An EP, some features, etc” since Endure dropped early in the year. Looking on Apple Music I found that his debut full-length remained the most recent thing. That’s not unusual for artists who have been at this for a five, ten or more years.

For younger artists, that’s somewhat unusual because of they’re still at that stage of establishing themselves and keeping relevant. It’s letting listeners and fans know “I’m still here, I’m not a flash in the pan, and I got stuff bubbling—but I’m working with my contemporaries and peers.”

What I did find in my search were questions of “What happened to Mario Judah?” It’s a question with mixed meanings. On the one hand, listeners remember the artist dropped some heat in the past but they haven’t seen anything out of them recently. Then again, there’s also the sense of the artist falling off. I saw the same question around California artist Remble who had a banger with “Untouchable” in 2021 and RMR who had a banger with “DEALER” in 2020.

Both of them would continue making music after those releases each year and have released material this year with RMR dropping his second album “Tribune” in July 2024.

When fans of Mario Judah are looking for ways to show their support and celebrate his unique style, custom keychains are a perfect choice. These personalized accessories can feature memorable lyrics, artistic designs, or even tributes to Judah’s iconic visuals. Besides adding a touch of personality to everyday items like keys, bags, or backpacks, they can also spark conversations among fans. Consider making your own custom keychain, a fun way to carry the spirit of Mario Judah with you wherever you go!

…and It Better Be Flames

And yes, metal is filled with such bands. In the late 2000s, I discovered California’s new thrash act Dismantle which ultimately had a six-and-a-half to seven-year run of dropping material. Nothing out of them since 2013 but they reformed in 2016. I’m going to do a “Greatest Album Debuts” on them but I’m still interested in new material from them.

On that note, this is a benefit of Mario Judah not releasing anything recently. He debuted in 2020 and released something at least this year. Sure, I’m hoping for more music from him but hip-hop has a more “Go! Go! Go!” pace for younger artists which isn’t exactly a thing for younger metal bands. You can hope for it to be flames but if it falls short, all that artist has to do is keep at it, get some collabs, sharpen their craft and they just might drop some flames again. Consistency makes it something of a numbers game, looking at it.

However, an older artist whether in hip-hop or metal dropping something after anything over five years? It should be flames. I mean rust aside, that’s enough time to put your best foot forward. Ten years after the last release? It better be flames. There’s no excuse for why the release shouldn’t slam.

Ultimately, art takes time to make but a certain level of quality can be expected considering the time. Still in his 20s, time is on the side of Mario Judah and just because he hasn’t dropped this summer—a prime time to drop music—that doesn’t mean he fell off entirely.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

What is Bathory?

Bathory was a one-man act by late Swedish musician Quorthon. Up until the 1988 release Under the Sign of the Black Mark, Bathory played exclusively black metal and is considered—along with acts Venom, Hellhammer, Sabbat (JP), and Bulldozer—to be pioneers of black metal in its first wave. With Under the Sign of the Black Mark, the band began forging what would become Viking metal.

With this debut album, you can hear the influences of thrash and Venom’s releases but Quorthon’s faster playing and vocals really helped in establishing more of what we would hear out of the Norwegian-heavy second wave in the early 1990s.

Perhaps we’ll get into a “Best of the Decade” for the first three albums from the 1980s but let’s focus on the debut because it’s a strong album and a pioneering one.

A-Side of Bathory

Now, this album is just under 27 minutes, so it goes by fast and has this nasty sound and production I like. By 1980s standards, the production—compared to larger metal acts—it’s not bad but not on par with the large commercial releases. Again, this is a debut from a young band playing an abrasive style. Factor in the lyrical content, very clean production wouldn’t really fit this release.

An instrumental or ambient track serves as both the intro and outro here. The original just eight tracks but the version I got has 10. On the A-side, we have five tracks with one being the introduction “Storm of Damnation”. I typically don’t get into intros, outros, or instrumentals. It fits the atmosphere of the album, though.

The meat of the A-side and B-side are the eight tracks making up the bulk of the album. “Hades”, “Reaper”, “Necromansy”, and “Sacrifice” make up the stronger tracks on this album but I wouldn’t say either are the strongest track on the release. I consider “Hades” to be the opening track but the tunes “Necromansy” and “Sacrifice” are two songs that really ride.

Of those two, “Sacrifice” is the rockier of the two—or rather, it’s as rocky as songs about Satan, evil and sacrifices can be. That’s another thing about this album, it’s black metal in the truly old-school sense with lyrics that based around dated, simplistic views of evil and depictions of Satan and devil worship.

“Reaper” holds the honor of being the strongest track on the A-side. It rips and rides and could’ve easily been the opening track—and a ridiculously strong one.

Strongest Tracks: Necromansy, Reaper**, Sacrifice*

B-Side

Second verse, same as the first. These five tracks are still decent but the B-side has two tracks that sometimes require multiple listens for me to just really get into. “In Conspiracy with Satan” and “Raise the Dead” don’t hit on the first listen like “Reaper” or “Sacrifice” but they fit the atmosphere of the album. Now, the stronger tracks of “Armageddon” and “War” slam with “War” being my favorite track on Bathory and the strongest tune on the release. Some might go with “Reaper”—which slams—and that would be a pick worthy of the spot but “War” just really puts the bow on this debut.

I tend to rearrange tracklists to see if the album could’ve been a different party with the same songs. In Bathory’s case, I typically got a strong A-side that rocked hard as hell because “Reaper” and “War” were there. Go figure.

Overall, I’d say that this was a very good debut and Bathory got better with each release in the 1980s. An even better debut would’ve been The Return… but that album came about for reason. If the two album swapped release dates, Bathory would sound like a step back or stripping of established trappings.

“Hades” was a solid opener that lets you know what kind of party this is going to be. That’s the job of the opening track, after all. As I said before, “Reaper” would’ve been a stronger opening track but “Hades” does the job.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

My parents weren’t metalheads although they have heard it before. Both leaned more towards hard rock—the classic stuff that plays on your local Rock or The Eagle stations in U.S. You know, before it’s time to get the Led out. My father enjoyed Zappa, AC/DC, and actually rocked with Sir Elton John. Meanwhile, my mother enjoyed some Heart, Journey, and—as she got older—appreciated Maroon 5, Matchbox Twenty, and so on.

They both enjoyed Aerosmith and Blondie.

Growing Up with Black Rock Fans as Parents

Between the two, my father was the one who played rock music in the house regularly. He’d sit in the den, working on some car part or whatever behind the bar while playing blues and hard rock on the den’s radio or 8-track player.

The den was usually thick with cigarette smoke and seemed like a hole-in-the-wall spot—only with AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap playing. He often wouldn’t allow us in the den when he was chilling and that’s either because of the nature of the music or that he was smoking—or both.

My parents were very adamant that we grew up happy but not troublesome. I remember that my mother didn’t allow us to say n***a in the house even though we were in high school and heard from our peers and even a few teachers to the point where it was normal.

Eventually, she would relent when we got older only for us to find out that she used it fairly regularly as well. One thing she didn’t play about was the rock music of the late 90s and early 00s.

20/20 and Satanic Concern

Now, I use “Satanic concern” because by the late 90s, the whole Satanic panic thing of the 70s and 80s was fading into the 90s. It still had sturdy roots throughout the South and there was very much a concern that edgier music such as gangsta rap and metal—at that time replaced with MTV’s nu-metal and aggressive rock—was making teenagers angrier and disruptive.

My mom wasn’t a fan of it in her house but didn’t discourage it. However, she viewed it in the more stereotypical sense of it being “Kill your mom, kill your dad” music. Also, older Black parents—especially ones raised in the church or who attended church—can be a bit superstitious at times and overly moral at others.

Now I’m not saying this wasn’t a lyrical theme or lyrics in some artist’s or band’s tunes in the late 90s and early 00s but I wasn’t listening to that kind of stuff. I will admit that a lot of what I listened to was on the angsty, violent end.

Hell, a lot of the metal I listen to now is either aggressive or violent in some way. What can I say? I like excitement in my music. I won’t lie, if she had been more strict, we probably would’ve been stuck with just gospel, pop and R&B in the house which would’ve been—yeah.

At any rate, it didn’t take long for her to accept that we all liked different music just play it in a headset or something. As a parent, she just didn’t want us reenacting what we heard or taking it as a way to live. Considering what I listened to at the time—that wasn’t happening. Lots of Slipknot, Insane Clown Posse, Three 6 Mafia, and Slayer throughout high school.

It’s just that at that time, there was a lot of stuff on television that would warn parents about “sullen, disinterested teens” and so on. It’s a mindset that persists 20 years later. I recently listened to an episode of the Snapped podcast and a case about a juggalette who killed her husband featured a detective or lawyer who noted that juggalos—the fans of the Insane Clown Posse and similar/related artists—were a gang.

Now, some juggalos are definitely involved in gang activity but the entire fanbase? It’s 2023. That’s like saying all metalheads, punks, or stoners are degenerates. That’s definitely a wide paintbrush being used on a fanbase or scene.

How did your parents handle your love or enjoyment of metal music or other music that wasn’t played in the house regularly? Share your story below and let us know what you listened to exactly at that time—genres or artists.

Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

That isn’t to say Hellhammer was chopped liver, the demos and compilations all have gems and the quality of the recordings are decent enough to have been full-length releases in the 1980s. The main problem is that Hellhammer only has a couple of songs to its name and Warrior and Martin E. Ain we’re Celtic Frost-bound by 1984.

We’re going to take a super quick dip into the 1990 compilation Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D, a six-track selection of some of Hellhammer’s best. The band definitely has more songs as the Demon Entrails compilation shows. The reason we’re not going with DE is because disc two is the two 1983 demos while the first disc is the landmark Satanic Rites demo from that same year.

If anything, Hellhammer could’ve re-recorded some of the songs in the second disc that didn’t make the first—then again, Demon Entrails is a collection of demos. For Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D that would’ve been the play.

A-Side of Hellhammer – Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D

As always, we split the album into the A-side and B-side—which is odd in this case since it’s just 27-minutes with six tracks. Again, this is a quick dip, folks. The A-side kicks off with two dark, thrash pieces that simply ride. Usually, I don’t get that feel of a thrash album that rides unless it’s something with thrash influences like groove metal where there are thrashier songs but there’s a bounce to them.

Another good example of that “bounce” in meta is a lot of the drum and bass work in the early works of bands that came out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. It’s all heavily reliant on the drums and the bass and most of the songs on Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D have something similar. As for the A-side; all of the tracks hit. I’m not even a big fan on lengthier songs unless it’s stoner doom but “Triumph of Death” works for me at over nine minutes.

On that note, “Triumph of Death” does have this aggressive doom metal approach down pat. If more doom sounded like this off the bat, I’d have an easier time going through full albums of it. Again, I’m a fan of fast and aggressive stuff.

Strongest Tracks: Massacra, Triumph of Death

B-Side

Flipping the tape over and we find that it’s much of the same. Actually, Hellhammer had a distinct sound which was more varied in the Celtic Frost and the post-CF act Triptykon. The faster songs can all sound very similar and the lengthiest stands out because of its time. If it was in the under-five-minutes club it would sound like some of the other tracks.

When I originally listened to Demon Entrails, most songs had to be replayed in part because they end up bleeding into each other. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking you were listening to an unusually lengthy Hellhammer tune. The B-side has songs that could’ve been on the A-side easily and the entire thing could be put on shuffle and still be enjoyed. Hell, you might even come up with a better tracklisting.

Strongest Tracks: Horus/Aggressor, Messiah**

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

With that said, we will be looking at this artist’s work in Moor and Phantom Castle. Think of this as the introduction before the interview. You know, explore the work of Halfden Svarti before we get the firsthand insight into the songs from these bands.

Moor

We’ll start with the band I heard first with Halfden’s black metal project Moor. Now, just a disclaimer: I’m not the biggest black metal fan. Or rather, there’s a period or a specific sound from that period I really love when it comes to this genre. I’m talking about the older stuff like Bathory, Venom, Bulldozer, and Sarcafago. I wouldn’t make an issue of it if you added early Sodom to the list.

The point is that I dig that production and variety in vocals as well as the generation of black metal that came afterwards. One of my top three—Darkthrone—came out of that second generation of the genre.

Moor is likely a young band—we’ll find out in the interview—but you can hear a lot of that second, heavily Norwegian-led 90s black metal in the first two singles for “I Am the Forest” and “The Nighthag.” These two songs mark the lengthiest of Moor’s tunes at a bit over five minutes each but you get to hear what Halfden Svarti can do in longer form—or as I like to say “with more room to groove.”

Of course, I dig speed and shorter, punchier tracks as my articles here on The BRHM show and Moor has them! The demo Worthless Abomination was released in March 2022 and featured the tracks “Concubine Upon the Altair” and “Suffering Whore (in a Epic Burial)”. Both tracks had what I expect from black metal I’m going to sit and listen to: aggression and speed that rides.

Speed in black metal can be presented in different ways. The listener can be blasted and buried by a wall of sound or they can ride out a song or album at a fast pace without being totally smothered. If anything, this kind speed is similar to old school thrash or 90s power metal before it became more epic in scale and in some cases more symphonic.

Moor’s brand of speed on Worthless Abomination allows the listener to take in the tales that Halfden is weaving while also enjoying the atmosphere. We aren’t just ripping through this blackened speed metal style—which I do love—but at the same time, these aren’t slower-than-pancake-syrup tunes.

Beneath the Graven Totem is the other demo which has a few tracks that are identifiable only by number, but I also found it enjoyable. The thing here is that Moor’s output is such that you can’t really tell how much he improved from release to release. These singles and demos all dropped between 2021 and the summer of 2022.

Unless Halfden was rehearsing in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z—which would be pretty damn cool to practice the strings and drums in 10-times gravity while a day equals a year—I wouldn’t expect a noticeable change in ability. It’s possible but Moor’s releases had this Darkthrone/Motorhead/Sodom-like consistency across them.

Mind you, I’d only use that descriptor for consistency from album to album but it’s the same scale of consistency. Halfden is aiming for an October 2022 release for Moor’s debut album, so it’ll be interesting to hear the new material as well as what has already been released and it fits on album.

Before we move on to Phantom Castle, I recommend swinging by Moor’s Bandcamp and checking out the band’s tunes. The Forest Rituals compilation includes the first two singles “I Am the Forest” and “The Nighthag” as well as the Worthless Abomination demo—remember, it comes with two tracks as well.

Phantom Castle

Now, on Phantom Castle’s Bandcamp, the band’s style is described as encompassing power metal, speed metal, and thrash and as being a one-man project with some featured artists. Meanwhile, over on Metal Archives, the band is described as heavy metal and thrash and has Jack Shit as the vocalist. However, if you check the Medieval Ghouls entry, we have the long-deceased Jack Shit—formerly of The Mentors—as the vocalist.

That’s the power of metal, folks. You can pass away in 2011 and still deliver some good vocals a decade later from the grave. Seriously, it’s a different Jack Shit doing the vocals on two of the band’s two releases along with guest guitarist Odd Øyvind Ekornsæter delivering the solos on the debut EP.

Besides those two contributions, everything else was handled by Halfden for this one. As for the genre: it’s a mix but I believe it’s an album-to-album thing. The first demo by Phantom Castle is Trauma? Starring: Jack Shit. Released in May 2022, there’s a thrash metal/hardcore punk base in both tracks with Jack on vocals.

The punk element comes more from Jack than Halfden, Odd, and guest soloist Stian H. Schei. I’d say they were here for the thrash/speed metal element of the songs which is kind of the root of Phantom Castle’s sound.

Rewinding one album, we have the Medieval Ghouls EP—which sounds like a lost album by The Misfits or Nekromantix from the title. However, it’s anything but horror-doused hardcore punk. There are definitely tales to be told in this three-song EP and Jack’s alternating vocals are a great touch.

Before dive all the way into Medieval Ghouls: the logo is awesome, and I dig the album artwork. Never change the logo.

The sound in this EP is different from Trauma? It seemed like these songs as along with Trauma and the released Unfinished Tales were all part of one 2021-2022 recording period. However, they ended up scattered into three different releases. The Trauma tracks—which, should Phantom Castle be around for ten years—are something I’d like to see become the Trauma Tapes.

While it isn’t the sound that sold me on giving Phantom Castle—and later Moor—a listen, it was pretty cool. If anything, I’d say do as they do in hip-hop with mixtapes and just make the more punkish stuff a series between full-length and EP releases of Phantom Castle’s stuff.

Back to the vocals of Medieval Ghouls as I’m a vocals fan—Jack did the business here. I really enjoyed his wails—unless these are Halfden’s wails. “Everything” and “all instruments” does include vocals if he did them, after all. Being a fan of singers like Rob Halford, Gerrit P. Mutz, King Diamond, and Siki Spacek, vocals that add to the atmosphere of the songs and aren’t there because “We need vocals on this track” is a big thing.

Jack’s vocals work with the fast pace of the songs and don’t seem out of place at all. I mean, it helps that he did the lyrics as well. On that note, you can kind of see that Phantom Castle is supposed to be leaning towards thrashier power metal. The aggression that comes with Jack’s vocals push this release away from power metal as we know it today to the harder-edged epic metal.

Actually, it’s not just Jack’s vocals doing this. Halfden and Odd’s playing is aggressive as well, so this wasn’t going to be Hammerfall or Iron Fire-type power metal. If I had to mix bands to explain the sound here, it’s as if American power metal pioneers Omen formed a supergroup with Canadian thrash legends Razor and the remains of Swedish thrash band Cranium.

They would take the thrashier approach of Razor and Cranium but Omen won the coin toss on lyrical themes and the stylistic approach. The result is some speedy, rough power metal—and I like that approach! Especially with how much European power metal used to get roasted as “flower metal”.

It’s not a fresh approach because you have bands like Rebellion, Stormwarrior, Sacred Steel, and Sabaton that really show “There ain’t no flower in our metal.” However, I always dig when younger power metal bands come along and take the hard-edge approach.

I’d say definitely give Medieval Ghouls a listen. It’s three tracks at a little over 25 minutes. The first two tracks are well worth a listen, for sure.

Unfinished Tales is a demo of unfinished tracks in instrumental form. This goes back to my theory of all these releases originally being part of one album recording session and some stuff—Trauma—veering off course. Then you had these tracks which were just unfinished.

I’m not the biggest fan of instrumentals, neoclassical metal, or shred but these are all solid. I’d like to hear these with the vocals that Halfden intended for them. It’s as if they were supposed to be with the Medieval Ghouls tracks.

Who knows, maybe they will be finished down the line. The tracks you’ll really want to check out are “Knights of the Hexagonal Table” and “Phantom Castle”. Seriously, the self-titled track deserves its vocals! Also, it’s the strongest song on the release. “Strider’s Song” seems like it would either be in its instrumental form as an interlude on the debut full length from Phantom Castle or as a Lord of the Rings concept album.

I’ll put in a selfish request for a song about Phantom Castle’s mascot in the logo.

Expect The Black Rock & Heavy Metal interview with Halfden Svarti in September 2022 and be sure to check out Phantom Castle over on Bandcamp if you haven’t already. Also, follow Moor on Instagram if you dig treks through mysterious woods alongside some love of metal.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Sure, many artists leave their music, books, and so on “open to interpretation” but I’m not gonna lie, folks. As a fan of different things for many years: leaving it open to interpretation can go in the weirdest, most left field directions. I’m talking about directions that you’d never considered.

Of course, sometimes the music video itself is vague or doesn’t explain specific things in a song. It could just be a display of the band’s ability or just a creative project within a creative project.

Let’s check out a couple of music videos that can sell you on a band.

Judas Priest – Painkiller

“Painkiller” is definitely my personal favorite Priest song and the music video simply rips. I’ve gone into the song and album before and the album is all motor from the start. The music video would have to match that speed and intensity. These were new waters for the band in a project that was their most all out, modernized effort.

It was also an effort that Judas Priest never really attempted again. Sure, they had songs that could’ve been on Painkiller II if you compiled them but the approach/project with Halford was never given a sequel.

“Painkiller” the music video is just as bombastic and outrageous as the song itself without really touching on anything in the song. This is just Judas Priest going apesh** at ludicrous speeds! The video itself is shot in black and white with flashing lights in what appears to be a factory. Lead singer Rob Halford is screaming and screeching each verse.

This is perfect form Judas Priest to me and this video is what I’d picture the performance being. However, “Painkiller” is actually the introduction to a powerful sci-fi being or character.

Malefactor – Elizabathory

This was a song I stumbled upon while romping through music videos on YouTube. It was a lyric video and I thought it was a pretty decent song on its own. The lyrics about Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory and the lore around her “vampirism” was very interesting.

Of course, after discovering a new band I do a bit of research into them and found that there was a music video for “Elizabathory”. I’m a sucker of music videos, so of course I was going to check it out. Sure enough, it amplified the song.

Now, “Elizabathory” didn’t just jump into my own top ten or top five on this video. It’s on the list because of the power of music video and how the band as well as the actors performed in it. A story was being told and everyone was doing their part in the presentation extremely well!

It made me give another look to just the song itself and dive into the band’s discography. There was some juice in the music video.

Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah

A song that is in my top ten is the super catchy and over-the-top “Hard Rock Hallelujah” by Finnish band Lordi. This music video makes the list because of the progression of “the power of hard rock” throughout the video. Everything escalates into lead singer Mr. Lordi sprouting demon wings and the band reaching the big climax of the song.

This was a perfect fit for the song which has hard rock anthem simplicity mixed with the heaviness and largeness of 80s heavy metal. If you want something that is simple, theatric, kind of cartoonish, and over-the-top in a KISS or Alice Cooper way—check out the video for “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.

Immortal – Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)

Norwegian black metal legends Immortal—which split into the band Abbath—had classic after classic album in the early 1990s. Battles in the North was released in 1995 and featured two music videos: “Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms” and “Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)”. Both songs and others on the album were about the fictional kingdom of Blashyrkh, created by the band members.

Battles in the North is in my top ten favorite albums and part of that is that I vividly remember “Blashyrkh”. Parts of the music video became memes on metal message boards in the 2000s and that’s because of how it was filmed.

The music video’s camerawork isn’t bad at all. However, some of the scenes are hilarious in how they are performed and cut into the video. For the most part, it’s still a rad music video that can be a cool introduction to this speed demon of a band.

W.A.S.P – L.O.V.E Machine

I’m not the biggest fan of romance or sex songs. One is fine but several can kind wear on me and I’m likely to bail on the rest the album. The exception has been rapper YN Jay and his Coochie albums.

Fortunately, W.A.S.P doesn’t give you a brick of sex demon songs with three or four in a row on their self-titled debut. Oh no, there are some bangers and an anthem or two between those tunes. One of the tracks that became a single and got a music video was “L.O.V.E Machine”.

The first time I heard this song was via a cover version by the Chris Jericho-fronted band Fozzy. I enjoyed his vocal performance and wanted to check out the original. That meant waiting a week and half for someone else to return it to the public library then for my library to the W.A.S.P album.

Anyway, someone put a questionable quality version of the music video up on YouTube. I instantly became a W.A.S.P fan from this video. I definitely gave the whole debut a second and third listen and came to love songs like “Animal (F** Like a Beast)”, “L.O.V.E Machine”, “Tormentor”, and “On Your Knees”.

We’ll look at that album in a future “Greatest Debut Albums”. The song itself isn’t even the best song on the album but it did get a very well shot, darky mystical music video that is memorable. If you’re familiar with Motley Crue, enjoy that band, but want something with a little more edge—check out W.A.S.P and check out “L.O.V.E Machine.”

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.