Bladecrusher

Releasedate: 24-11-2023

An old-school release belongs on an old-school format. That’s what Bladecrusher must have thought with the release of their latest EP. The band produced a limited edition on 7” vinyl for Death, Revenge, War. which you should buy just for the artwork alone. While I certainly love the sentiment, I tend to listen to my music on Spotify. So I got my old, crappy headphones to get into the old-school mood as I explored Death, Revenge, War.

Bladecrusher is a thrash-metal band from the northern parts of the Netherlands. The band combines their love for fantasy stories with the love for old-school bands like Exodus and Slayer, to create an epic, fast, and dark sound. The first release, Tempest, was released in 2022 and just a year later, the band is back with their second release. While the previous release was more thrash-heavy, their latest release “Death, Revenge, War.” displays more blackened influences, making for an even darker sound.

Death, Revenge, War

Still very heavy on the old-school sound, bordering on speed-metal in some parts, Death, Revenge, War. is a 15-minute whirlwind of trashing riffs, guitar solos, and grunts. The EP has three full tracks and one instrumental, displaying the technical abilities of the band. Not that we needed that display: the EP is layered with intricate guitar solos anyway. The songwriting and production quality are above and beyond what you might expect of a tiny band from the North, displaying the talent within the Dutch metal community.

The EP starts with a massive display of strength with “Obey the Reaper”. Halfway through the track, we get surprised by a nice groovy break. The Obey the Reaper part is easy to shout along and I can imagine the crowd happily shouting that from the moshpit. This fast-paced track filled with trashy riffs and solos is easily my favorite track of this EP.

Chronicles of Steel starts as an almost atmospheric black metal track, displaying a different side to Bladecrusher. This instrumental intermezzo maybe wasn’t needed on this EP, but it’s a nice prelude to the definitely blackened trash track Justification. Again a nice shout-along part with Justification, some room to headbang, and in addition to the various guitar solos, a small bass solo part as well. I love the fast-paced speed-metal main riff, which is best displayed 2,30 minutes in as heavy growls aren’t layered on top of it at that point.

The final track on this EP is Siege of a Thousand Daggers. After another melodic intro, the track unfolds as a typical thrash-metal moshpit track. The heavy headbanging riff towards the end however takes down the energy,, before we head back into the intro riff for the remainder of the track. It feels like the perfect ending to a live performance since it’s the type of track that lingers in your ears after it’s over.

Final Thoughts

Death, Revenge, War. is a fun little reminder that Bladecrusher is still very much alive and kicking ass. The EP leaves me wanting more from this band, as 15 minutes is just a little short. A benefit of having a longer album is that there’s more room for ‘okay’ tracks. My favorite track of this EP is Obey The Reaper and while the rest of the tracks are fun to listen too, they don’t stand out yet. I can’t wait to hear more from this band on a full-length album with possibly more gems like Obey.