HELLS HEADBANGERS Records & Distribution

Primitive Black Metal

	ARPHAXAT "Loudun la Maudite" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 028 release date: October 28, 2008 ♫ audio preview

The long awaited full-length album from the mighty ARPHAXAT now awaits! Truly Necro & Morbid Blasphemous hymns, NOT for open-minded idiots who have no idea what true primitive Black Metal is about! Consists of Shaxul (ex-HIRILORN, ex-founding DEATHSPELL OMEGA member, SABBAT (Jpn) session member, etc). and DRAKEN (ex-Putrefactor). "Loudun la Maudite" forges even more holocaustic obscurity inspired by their majestic and mysterious myths of Pictavia. Those possessed by their 2003 demo tape easily know what to expect from this obscure album.

Review from Nathan T. Birk of METAL MANIACS/ZERO TOLERANCE:
If you ask me (and you didn't), the first era of Deathspell Omega beats the newer, second era everyone's seemingly so enamored with, hands down. Dunno specifically, but there was simply an intangible something - filth meets mysticism, maybe? - that made the once-shadowy band stand head 'n' shoulders above most other early Noughties black metal. Now, the secret's out and the "message" seems more profound, but it's also a lot more complicated/convoluted, and I just don't got the time to figure it out. (And I could name the reasons why Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum won this mag's writers poll last year, but it'd make me appear more of an asshole than I already am.) Give me back the days when everyone hated BM.
Which is all to say it's quite interesting to see/hear former DsO co-founder Shaxul back in action with Arphaxat. Loudun la Maudite is the French duo's debut album, and it features no guitar whatsoever. In other words, this is all drums and bass (but not drum 'n' bass, mind). And surprisingly, it's not the downtuned dirge-fest - or Beherit buried in mud, whichever - I was expecting. Instead, Shaxul and vocalist Draken erect coursing, cruising waves of total dinge, the former favoring the high strings and then running that shit through a broken distortion pedal, in effect giving proceedings a classic crust sound: more Prophecy of Doom than Fallen Angel of Doom, if you will. Despite the abundance of hooks - and a handful of 'em mightily reminiscent of the Infernal Battles era, too - much of the record begins to blur into itself, but for sodden, sooty atmosphere alone, you can't do much better these days. Let the hate begin again.

ATOMIC AGGRESSOR
"Rise Of The Ancient Ones"
(CD) / $10

Ancient Death Thrash

HELLS 026
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ATOMIZER
"Caustic Music For The Spiritually Bankrupt"
(2CD) / $14

Bleak Atomic Metal Power

HELLS 025
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	ATOMIZER "Caustic Music For The Spiritually Bankrupt" (DOUBLE CD)
	price: US $14.00 catalog #: HELLS 025 release date: November 26, 2009 ♫ audio preview

OUT NOW! - Deluxe limited edition DOUBLE CD in 12" size glossy gatefold cover with 20 page 12" size book featuring 21 tracks of previously unreleased demo/rehearsal material & long out-of-print/hard-to-find 7" EP tracks. Also comes with an obi strip & extra insert with commentary about each song featured on the bonus CD. This is a one time pressing of only 500 copies!

The bleakest, most powerful ATOMIZER offering, completely evolved and removed from the conjurations of any other thrash or black metal outputs of today. The band has stripped down their already well-known style and dejected the atomic metal power with a dismal aggression full of depth and gritty catchiness backed by a strong murky production, compliments of Kurt Ballou (Converge). In addition to the radical audio and superb gloom packaging, guest contributions have been made by drummer Sean Cummiskey (Astriaal), Iscariah (ex-Immortal, Dead To This World) and Yasuyuki (Abigail, Barbatos).

TRACK LIST FOR BONUS DISC:
1) Now That's Fuckin' Evil - Taken from Rehearsal Tape 15.10.1998
2) The End Of Forever - Taken from Rehearsal Tape 15.10.1998
3) Gimme Natural Selection - Taken from the 'Gimme Natural Selection' 7" Recorded mid 2000
4) I Wish You Were A Beer - Taken from the 'Gimme Natural Selection' 7" Recorded late 2000
5) Ace Of Spades - Taken from the 'Gimme Natural Selection' 7" Recorded 19.11.1999
6) Ritual - Taken from Atomizer Demo January 2001
7) Unit 731 - Taken from Atomizer Demo January 2001
8) Somebody's Gonna Die Tonight - Down Home Hatebreeder Mix
9) The Only Good Human - Seething Mortal Flesh Mix
10) Intro Oriax/Thy Blood Eterne - Taken from the Tyrus: The Doom War 7". Recorded October 2002
11) Cold Steel, Warm Death - Taken from the Tyrus: The Doom War 7". Recorded October 2002
12) The War That Never Ended - Taken from Atomizer Demo July 2002
13) The Only Weapon Of Choice - Taken from Atomizer Demo July 2002
14) For Blackness Absolute - Taken from Atomizer Demo August 2002
15) And The Hunt Starts Again - Taken from Atomizer Demo August 2002
16) Untitled - Taken from the Songs To Swing To Demo 2005
17) Hail Hail To The Hangman - Taken from the Songs To Swing To Demo 2005
18) The Bellman's Lament - Taken from the Songs To Swing To Demo 2005
19) Fucked Up - Taken from the Songs To Swing To Demo 2005
20) A Song To Swing To - Taken from the Caustic Music... Demo 2005-2006
21) Science: The Great Usurper - Taken from the Caustic Music... Demo 2005-2006

ATOMIZER
"Caustic Music For The Spiritually Bankrupt"
(CD - Single Disc) / $10

Bleak Atomic Metal Power

HELLS 025
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ATOMIZER
"Songs Of Slaughter... Songs Of Sacrifice"
(CD) / $7

Hell Rockin Black Thrash

HELLS 008
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CEREKLOTH
"Pandemonium Prayers"
(CD) / $7

Evil Metal Of Death Worship

HELLS 036
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CHURCH BIZARRE
"Sic Luceat Lux"
(2CD) / $12

Teutonic Black/Death metal

HELLS 027
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CHURCH BIZARRE
"Sinister Glorification"
(CD) / $10

Teutonic Black/Death metal

HELLS 010
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DEIPHAGO
"Filipino Antichrist"
(CD, Digipak CD) / $10

Hi-Speed Satanic Bestial Metal

HELLS 039
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	DEIPHAGO "Filipino Antichrist" (CD, Digipak CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 039 release date: October 23, 2009 ♫ audio preview

*CD (jewel case)*: 12 page booklet w/ metallic gold print & alternate layout/artwork from Digipak CD

*CD (digipak)*: deluxe 10-panel fold-out digipak w/ metallic gold print & alternate layout/artwork from jewel case CD (limited one time pressing)

The ultimate annihilation in audio torture is now at hand! In this time of over-saturated bestial metal, Deiphago blaze their own barbaric trail of Satanic Metal with the most punishing, primitive & bestial attack of 2009!!

With a background of demo tapes throughout the 90's & their debut full-length endorsed by the Ross Bay Cult, the Filipino Antichrist's succeed in making this hi-speed attack even more rewarding than before. No wannabe Fallen Angel Of Doom, no wannabe The Oath Of Black Blood, no Angelcunt or even War Cult Supremacy. Just pure uncompromising, unconventional violence: this is bestiality. Deiphago are the true beasts. Fuck off to the false!!

FOR DIE HARDS OF: Blasphemy, Sarcofago, Profanatica, Beherit, Archgoat

..."PICK OF THE ISSUE" IN ZERO TOLERANCE #30, view here...

• "Fucking EXTREME album!!!!!!! Furious vocals!!!" - Deathlord, Blasphemy/Ross Bay Cult

• "Filipino Antichrist is fucking INTENSE and rabid warfare noise metal!!! it's so fucking killer!" - Impurath, Black Witchery

• "The most chaotic and extreme recording... sounding like an ordinary thrash or grind metal group passed violently through some kind of human-size blender, every element of their recording feeling sore and bloody like a 29-minute sustained car accident" – The Convivial Hermit• "Sounding like the bowels of hell opening up... Overall, this banshee-stabbing outfit are the Satanic missing link between JOHN ZORN’S PAINKILLER and PORTAL, only with 137% more virgin violation to their theoretical credit" – Hellbound.ca• "I like the old-school sound as much as anyone, but this LP takes the sound way too far" – GaspETC.com• "If the underground metal world had their own ‘awards’ show, then Deiphago would most definitely win for the most primitive, chaotic release of 2009 hands down... Fans of the more overdone, polished metal of the current scene will hate Deiphago, but fans of early blackened war/thrash metal like BEHERIT, SARCOFAGO, and ARCHGOAT or miss the days of rehearsal demos and tape-trading, get Deiphago and they will take you back to a time when metal (no matter the genre) was more chaotic and disturbing" – Primitive Ways webzine

TRACK LIST:
01. Intro: Annihilation, 02. Christ Eater, 03. Articles of Death, 04. Storming Chaos, 05. Command Destruct, 06. Subliminal Satan, 07. Satanic Metal, 08. Hate (Sarcofago cover), 09. Satan, Semen and Blood, 10. Filipino Antichrist, 11. Outro

DESTRUKTOR
"Nailed"
(CD) / $10

Warring Black Metal of Death

HELLS 035
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	DESTRUKTOR "Nailed" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 035 release date: October 21, 2009 ♫ audio preview

*CD*: printed on black paper with metallic foil stamping.

Raging for well over a decade in the isolated land of Australia, Destruktor have stood the test of time with a few EPs and a demo under their bullet belts. Now after much anticipation the war beast strikes again with their debut full-length album entitled "Nailed" featuring 10 new tracks of the highest degree accompanied by blasphemous Riddick illustrations. Harnessing the essential elements of fore founding extreme metal troops, Destruktor deliver a dark brutal desecration of exceptional warring bestial black metal of death that easily rivals those in the same battlefield. Destruktor will win the war... with or without your support!!!

FOR FANS OF: Bestial Warlust, Order From Chaos, Destroyer 666, Corpse Molestation, Abominator

TEETH OF THE DIVINE REVIEW:
"Man, I'm still sweating and I've not done anything but sit on my ass and allow the deafening tones of Destruktor's "Nailed" to wash over me... like a layer of soot. The Australian firebrands don't care much about easing into anything; it's about assuming the position - head down, fingers positioned on the frets, drum sticks in the air, and amps cranked to 10 - and fucking going for it! Anything else is left to the pansies and pretenders.

What we have here is not a failure to communicate. Rather Nailed kicks the groan and punches the throat with a style that marries old school death (think Drawn and Quartered, Necrovation, etc) to blasting - and sometimes thrashing - black metal. The bellowing growls, the grainy images of bullet-belted men in an Olympic synchronized haircopter competition, and the suffocating denseness is genuine. It is the stuff of mass genuflection at the feet of the ancient Death Metal gods.

Much of Nailed is straight forward blasting intensity, but it is not without compositional refinement, that is, once the dizziness from the initial body blows begins to subside. You'll hear more variety during the second half in particular with songs like "After Death Murmurs" that lean toward blackened thrash and the rather epic (in a hate fueled shitstorm kind of way) album capper "Spawning the Immortal," complete with naked, nefarious bass lines and effective pace changes. What can I say? Australian metal extremism and Hells Headbangers; two peas in a motherfucking pod. I'm sure a goat was involved at some point as well." - Written by Scott Alisoglu

DISHAMMER
"Vintage Addiction"
(CD) / $10

Blasphemous Crusty Metal Punk

HELLS 029
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	DISHAMMER "Vintage Addiction" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 029 release date: January 27, 2009 ♫ audio preview

A perverted overdose of raw diabolic metal punk. Sounds like a fist-fight between Hellhammer and Discharge while Motorhead, Bathory & GBH are being blasted in the background! Played by members from other established underground bands.

SONG TITLES INCLUDE: 1) Smoke Of Death 2) Wish Of Suffering 3) The End Here And Now 4) Exterminate The Parasite 5) Werewolves On Wheels 6) Pain In The Ass 7) Into The Bong 8) Asmodeus (By My Side) 9) Blessed With Catalepsy 10) Age Of Disgrace 11) Bomb In The Womb 12) Vintage Addiction

TEETH OF THE DIVINE
"From the opening moments of that chainsaw riff and bruising bass/drum propulsion on "Smoke of Death" you just know that you are hearing something some of us like to call "the real deal." It is just something about that raw, live-like production and bullshit-free bass/drum/guitar attack on Dishammer's Vintage Addiction that cannot be copied by faux metal wannabes. It is the kind of sonic atrocity that you feel in your guts. And when the pace picks up on that very same song and gets all Discharge on your ass, the feeling is pure 'n crusty metallic punk bliss.

With a vocal style that falls somewhere between Venom and Darkthrone, along with a blistering and ugly guitar tone and an amp-blowing sound mix, Vintage Addiction is designed to be played at one volume only: loud as fuck! Every damn song is a monster; the lyrics spat out like poison and the attack absolutely pummeling. Much of it is played in crust punk overdrive with the occasional thrashy riff (the title track in particular) and a layer of dirt reminiscent of Hellhammer and the first couple of Bathory albums. "Wish of Suffering" and "The End Here and Now" are probably most representative of the style.

The bass work is tough as hell too, often vital to the heart and soul of the song, as "Exterminate the Parasite" demonstrates. The bass rumbling on this one is fantastic and when the (early) Motorhead-ish solo hits with that rock-hard rhythm section backing it up the result is nearly orgasmic. Nobody is bullshitting around with Pro-Tools or needless overdubs here.

Indeed, Vintage Addiction is about as real as it gets. And how about that album cover? Makes ya feel a little dirty, doesn't it? It's ok, just go with it, man. Besides, wait until you see the back cover and the pictures in the booklet - pure filth and degradation, just like the music! Seriously, get off your ass and buy this album. It is essential!" - Scott Alisoglu

DREAM DEATH
"Pittsburgh Sludge Metal"
(DIGIPAK CD) / $10

Doom Death Pioneers

HELLS 043
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	DREAM DEATH "Pittsburgh Sludge Metal" (DIGIPAK CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 043 release date: October 15, 2009 ♫ audio preview

Out Now on Hells Headbangers & NunSlaughter Records:

Short-lived crushing 80's Doom/Death. Members would later move on to Penance, Pentagram (U.S.) & Cathedral. Features the very first DREAM DEATH gig live at the Electric Banana circa 1986 with excellent soundboard quality audio. Songs are mostly from their first demo plus cover tracks of Angelwitch and Celtic Frost exclusive to this live set only. Includes original artwork and ancient unpublished photos from 1986 encased in a factory sealed digipack CD. Running time 44:50.

FAN REVIEW OF "Journey Into Mystery"
Long considered one of the underground classics of doom metal, this Pennsylvania band's debut and only album is certainly a weighty and genuinely sinister affair. While not really belonging to the Sabbath school of doom, Dream Death were along with Medieval, Post Mortem and Blood Farmers, part of a school of thought that did not exclude punk snot and venom from the execution of the style. This basically means they have more deliberately rough edges than many in the genre, but also carry an organic feel that rounds out this record greatly. It's a bit disconcerting at first how some of these songs shift passages one to the other within their frameworks, but after a short while the flow of "Back From The Dead" and "Divine In Agony become apparent. "Hear My Screams" dives in with a chugging pace and wonderfully malevolent (though hardly death metal) vocals from guitarist Brian Lawrence, also featuring a nice drum performance from Mike Smail. And man, listen to the distortion oozing from the guitars on "The Elder Race," a slow and crawling number with visions of evil monks and Satanic rites dancing in it's head. This record, despite the fact that far more mature and professional material would come from it's some of it's creators in their future guise as Penance, retains a unique aura and one singular to underground US metal of this era. Thus like Cirith Ungol and Brocas Helm, Dream Death are true cult cave dwellers in the shadows of metal's mainstream presence, too obscure even for many fans who consider their tastes to be subterranean in it's guise.

TRACK LIST:
Back From The Dead
Rhaizes Shadows
Wolves Bane
Under The Blood Red Moon
Method To Madness
Circle Of The Tyrants
Angel Of Death
Sealed In Blood
Dream Death

EVIL ARMY
"Evil Army"
(CD) / $10

Thrashing Whiplash

HELLS 030
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	EVIL ARMY "Evil Army" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 030 release date: January 26, 2009 ♫ audio preview

Most metal fucks missed this while the punks bought the first pressing on Get Revenge Recs. This Hells Headbangers re-issue has a re-worked layout with new interior artwork & band photo.

Some of the very best real thrash around these days! Not to be lumped in with the latest craze of crappy thrash polluting the underground. Features 13 tracks of demonic driven speed metal with a raw hardcore attitude. For fans of old SLAYER, D.R.I., old METALLICA ("Kill 'Em All" era). GET THIS!

TRACK LIST:
Edge Of Destruction, Evil Army, Driven To Violence, Realm Of Death, Wrong Approach, Sgt. Says Kill, Conquer Human Life, Severe Mental Disorder, Relentless Assault, Satan Made Me Do It, Scum Of The Earth, Watch Me Fall, Friday The 13th

"This is what I call a bullshit-free release, an attribute that always scores points in my big book 'o reviewing. One might even call it an unmitigated mofo. The "it" to which I refer is Evil Army's self-titled album, an offering that is pedal-to-the-floor vintage thrash metal without an ounce of pretension, studio gloss, or mall crawling plasticity.

Originally released by Get Revenge Records in 2006, the only differences with the Hells Headbangers re-issue are "re-worked layout with new interior artwork and band photo." Works for me. More importantly is that if you didn't know about these Memphis boys when the original album was released, then I'm about to tell you why any self-respecting thrash-head should run right out and plunk down the bucks for this bad boy. The reasoning is without complexity. You get 13 tracks of consistently played and well-written old school thrash. The style is largely of the Kill 'Em All era Metallica variety (the young Hetfield approach style in particular) with shades of early Slayer and, to some extent, D.R.I. There isn't a stinker in the bunch. "Evil Army," "Edge of Destruction," "Realm of Death," and "Driven to Violence" represents only a handful of these savagely delivered and pretty damn memorable songs. The playing is loose (as in wild 'n wooly, not sloppy), the feeling is raw as hell, and the atmosphere stinks of smoking bomb craters. It's also a treat to hear a drummer that is actually playing without the assistance of studio machinery.

Oh, it is not as though it hasn't been done before, but since when was that of paramount importance for a vintage thrash affair? Evil Army delivers the goods with conviction and genuine passion. Fundamentally sound songwriting and hair-raising tempos don't hurt either. This is the good stuff." - Teeth of the Divine

EVIL INCARNATE
"Waiting For His Return"
(CD) / $5

Christ Hating Death Metal Propaganda

HELLS 005
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	EVIL INCARNATE "Waiting For His Return" (CD)
	price: US $5.00 catalog #: HELLS 005 release date: May 25, 2005 ♫ audio preview

After over 4 years of silence, EVIL INCARNATE has returned to strike the earth with bloodshed. All out war against christ, his father, the holy spirit and all who worship the Nazarene pig from Jerusalem, born in Bethlehem. Very blasphemous christ hating Death Metal propaganda inspired by infernal legions such as POSSESSED, DARK ANGEL, MASSACRE, DEATH, and CELTIC FROST. Embrace the Devil's music as EVIL INCARNATE lead the people to Satan, lead them to hell and burn them!!!

REVIEW BY NOKTORN:
"To say that this is oldschool would be a vast understatement. Evil Incarnate is music for people who own completely threadbare Throneum and Nunslaughter shirts and about thirty different Angelcorpse patches sewed onto anything they can get their hands on, and not just limited to clothing (Angelcorpse couches/chairs/bedspreads, etc.). This is a band that's part of that oldschool death metal scene that never really changed or went away; it just languishes in its sort of mid-level obscurity, content in its position in the underground. I guess it's ironic, then, that that scene routinely produces some of the best metal out there today by virtue of how un-self-conscious it is. And I can imagine that, for people fully immersed in that wide range of subterranean death metal, 'Waiting For His Return' is exactly the sort of music that they would love and expect from such a long running band as Evil Incarnate. For those outside of it, it's still worth a look, though not with quite the alacrity of those whose Blasphemy hoodies are still stained with blood from when the wearer got in a fight with Chris Barnes outside of BB Kings back in '94.

Let's work backwards and start with the production, which is a perfect replication of the mid-range and mid-'90s sound. The mix is completely dominated by the dirty, ultra-bassy guitar tone, which is so distorted as to render some of the more minimalist riffs nearly indecipherable. Drums are pushed into the background and nestled next to the vocals, with only bass drums and cymbals being very readily audible for the former, and not much at all audible for the latter, as the gruff, mid-range growls of Michael Eisenhauer occupy a similar acoustic space to the guitar, pushing them together into a single homogenous mass. The overall sound is very forceful and seething, and it fits the somewhat chaotic style of death metal that Evil Incarnate plays pretty perfectly. It's clean enough to allow the listener to understand everything that's going on, but not so much that the evil, anti-Christian atmosphere is compromised.

The music is structured in a strangely disjointed, linear style, a lot like Immolation minus some of that bands deeply technical passages. Maybe it's more like Nunslaughter covering Immolation, injecting more attitude and spite to that band's convoluted constructions. The riffs are entirely unmelodic tremolo/chug affairs that segue into each other somewhat awkwardly, with a complete refusal to construct riffs in a clean, cyclic fashion. It's not 'smooth' death metal at all, with high production values and ultra-refined songwriting; it sounds like these are the best of the band's basement tracks, with some movements that only make sense to them and just seem bizarre to everyone else. And yet that's part of its charm; for all the strange midpaced Bolt Thrower-esque grinding that the band does, when it works, it really works (midway through 'Temple Of Blasphemy'). The overall tempo of the music here is not very high, and it seems more intent on crafting this blasphemous, evil atmosphere than it does making anything catchy or accessible.

In fact, the band seems entirely bent on making oldschool death metal devoid of thrash bounce or memorable riffs. This gives the music a decidedly darker, more negative tone, not unlike early Suffocation, but without even that band's more lively tremolo riffing. The overall package is very strange and oppressive; I can honestly say that 'Waiting For His Return' doesn't sound like any other death metal album I've heard. It works in sort of a grey area as far as the different corners of death metal go, but one thing is certain: this is probably the most willfully amelodic death metal album I've heard recently. Even your most brutal death metal features some catchy riffs or engaging rhythms or melodic solos, but this album is like a sheer face of death metal without any footholds at all. It's very hard to understand, and it's most certainly a demanding listen.

For that reason, I'd say that Evil Incarnate's newest LP is worth a try. It's an ambitious release that really gives no quarter to the listener and attempts to fill no expectations. It is the sound of a very specific breed of death metal, and it's that breed in its most tumultuous and uncertain state. It is not good-time, easy listening death metal; it is instead the essence of the genre and everything that defines it as the brutal, uncompromising force that it should be."

GOSPEL OF THE HORNS
"Realm Of The Damned"
(CD) / $10

Aussie Black Thrash With A Vengeance

HELLS 014
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GRENADE
"The Howling Damned"
(CD) / $10

Aussie Black Metal of Fucking Death

HELLS 016
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	GRENADE "The Howling Damned" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 016 release date: May 14, 2007 ♫ audio preview

A grenade attack of Aussie Black Metal of Fucking Death! Distinctive and harsh Thrashing Black Metal from the Blue Mountains of Australia. Brand new studio songs along with their sold out "Venom of God" and "Hell Song" vinyl only 7" EPs. Pull the pin asshole, Grenade will explode in your fucking face!! Not to be ignored!

REVIEW FROM METALREVIEW.COM
"Never eschewing melody for the sake of sounding brutal, Australia's Grenade have found their happy place within the black/death metal realm and they're clearly channeling that sense of balance on their first full-length, The Howling Damned.

Much like Nachtmystium, Destroyer 666, I and a handful of other bands that take their influences from uniformly dark but recognizably different subgenres, Grenade prove that purity is for pussies. Who needs straight-up thrash, death or black metal when you can combine all three? Scenes can go to hell. Or heaven. Whichever is worse, I suppose. Anyway, the point is that there's an advantage to not having to fit some rigid set of rules that defines what makes a band black or death metal. I seriously doubt these guys, who, coincidentally, are now disbanded, sat in a room for hours on end deciding what exactly they were going to sound like, genre tag and all. I picture frontman Nygil picking up a guitar, playing a few practice notes, then kicking into some nasty riff before the other guys join in. In other words, it's an organic process, the result being an obliterating sonic holocaust.

While I'd argue that atmosphere is still pretty important to The Howling Damned, the principal element is certainly the guitar. Songs like "Hellsong" and "Metal of Death" are dense with rich, spine-tinglingly excellent riffage. A thick layer of good old-fashioned rock and roll attitude keeps the album afloat even when things start to sound redundant ("Carnivorous Lunar Activities"). Personally, were I Grenade I might have tried to keep this at under 40 minutes, but most of these 8 songs are very well-written and, generally speaking, The Howling Damned rips. This hybrid black/death metal sound hasn't been overly exploited, at least not yet, so the album's shelf life should be pretty long considering it's one of the best examples of the genre I've heard. There's a reason why these guys (well, guy now) are on Hells Headbangers (aside from the fact one of their song titles is "Headbanger From Hell)". They're talented, and the band has a keen ear for songwriting. While you will notice the hybrid sound, the focus is always on moving things forward in a uniformly thrashy fashion, so it never sounds superficially diverse. Whether you're into black, death, or thrash metal, this one's for you."

HAVOHEJ
"Dethrone The Son Of God"
(CD) / $10

Extreme Black Metal Pioneers

HELLS 017
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HAVOHEJ
"Kembatinan Premaster"
(CD) / $10

Black Noise Grand Master

HELLS 033
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	HAVOHEJ "Kembatinan Premaster" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 033 release date: July 13, 2009 ♫ audio preview

The second full-length album is now complete! Deemed to be the grand master of unholy darkness and black perversion, "Kembatinan Premaster" destroys all past work & is the definite Havohej ritual to be observed by ALL devotees of the genre. Easily the ultimate contender on the bestial black throne of metal to deliver such complete utter fucking darkness so very few can capture. "Kembatinan Premaster" is a single meditation consisting of 8 parts in 37 minutes of total fucking blackness with acclaimed black vocal vomits and signature style profanatic percussion. This is the continuation of the now classic Ledney atrocities committed in 1993 and yet again breaking major ground 16 years later.

Excerpt from SONIC FRONTIERS:
"Anyone expecting Profanatica part 2 is largely advised to take a hike. While both bands may wallow in black metal's filth-ridden underbelly, Havohej is an even more abstract and perverse descent into the genre's outer limits. Tracks such as "Bloud and Souls" and "Sundowning (Destroie Men and Beasts with Lookes)" would probably come off as standard black metal fare, were they not awash in layers of burbling distortion and noises that sound like they're being transmitted from the depths of a black hole. "Melancholike" is a ten minute decrepit epic of slow, creeping doom and static glitchiness, creating an effect that is both hypnotic and unsettling. "Homerica Medicatio" as well as parts of "Bloud of the Word" are pure ambient soundscapes that come off like a lo-fi version of Lustmord. Ledney leaves no stone unturned in his attempts stretch the boundaries of black metal into new territories of cacophony, and this is what makes Kembatinan Premaster so oddly compelling.
With the progressive, quasi-psychedelic turn American black metal has started to take in recent years, it's great to see folks like Ledney pushing things even further out there with a take on BM that is far more heavily indebted to early Merzbow than it is to Norway circa 1994 or Pink Floyd. While so many others talk about evil and ritualism, Havohej has actually created something that sounds truly aberrant and unnatural." {read more...}

HUNTERS MOON
"The Serpents Lust"
(CD) / $7

Epic Bathorian Black Metal

HELLS 037
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MANTICORE
"Bowels Of The Holy Anoint Us In Evil"
(CD) / $10

Bestial Black Death Metal

HELLS 024
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	MANTICORE "Bowels Of The Holy Anoint Us In Evil" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 024 release date: October 23, 2008 ♫ audio preview

Long out-of-print debut full-length album re-issued on CD with improved artwork and layout. Well-executed, simple down-tuned, raw chaotic distorted hymns; one of the very best in the warring bestial black death division! Too brutal to be called "Black Metal", too Satanic to be called "Death Metal"! This is an ABSOLUTE FUCKING MUST for fans of: Archgoat, Profanatica, Blasphemy, Conqueror, Bestial Warlust, Beherit (early) and Black Witchery.

REVIEW FROM "VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE" ZINE:
"Last year the Ohio-based blasphemous three-piece released their Demo "Ritual Cleansing Of The Whore" on MCD / LP as a collaboration between Merciless Records and Breath Of Night and left behind an extremely positive impression when they toured Europe with BLACK WITCHERY, AVENGER, ARMAGEDDA and KRIEG. Now MANTICORE's BEHERIT, ARCHGOAT, PROFANATICA-influenced blackened Death Metal proves itself on their first full-length and holy hell... they really managed to top the MCD. Although they improved the sound only marginally, the song material is just destined to be a future classic (at least in my opinion). MANTICORE create brutal christmocking songs that unlike bands like MORBOSIDAD are not just infernal, blasphemous noise attacks but actually have a couple of really strong and - I hate to say this word - catchy hooks and lines. In MANTICORE's case this is not a sign for wimp-out or shit like that, but exactly what makes them so unique, individual and good. While retaining brutality and grim aggression they have memorable structures, understandable almost whispering Death Metal vocals and so managed to prevent the music from just rushing by. The fast opener 'Our Will Is His', the sinister mid-tempo track 'Feast Of The Beast', 'Urine Flowing Through The Veins Of Christ', the BEHERIT-Cover 'The Gate Of Nanna', 'Unholy Awakeneing' and all other songs just fucking kill!!!! If you like raw sounding, uncompromising, very dark, possessed Death Metal that will grant you long-time pleasure get this album. It's one of my favourites this year."

MASSACRE
"The Second Coming"
(CD) / $10

Death Metal Pioneers

HELLS 021
::buy::

MORBOSIDAD / MANTICORE
"Invocation Of The War Beasts"
(CD) / $6

Bestial Black Death

HELLS 034
::buy:: | ♫ audio

NUNSLAUGHTER
"DEMOSlaughter"
(2CD) / $12

Devil Metal Death

HELLS 032
::buy:: | ♫ audio

NUNSLAUGHTER
"Fuck The God In Heaven"
(Shaped CD) / $8

Devil Metal Death

HELLS 007
::buy:: | ♫ audio

NUNSLAUGHTER
"Goat"
(CD) / $9

Devil Metal Death

HELLS 006
::buy:: | ♫ audio

NUNSLAUGHTER
"Hex"
(CD) / $10

Devil Metal Death

HELLS 019
::buy:: | ♫ audio

	NUNSLAUGHTER "Hex" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 019 release date: June 30, 2007 ♫ audio preview

Like blood soaked entrails ripped from the disemboweled body of christ, NunSlaughter rape the heavens with their much awaited third studio album! "Hex" is a pyre of 80's Devil Metal Death featuring ten new satanic commandments plus the devil's seven classic cuts on the "Face of Evil" demo finally re-recorded in a proper studio! There is no sign of "progression", "maturing" or other form of weakness; "Hex" is a continuation of NunSlaughter's last album or last 7" EP and soon to become a fan favorite... This is the same music you've enjoyed for the last two fucking decades!!

TRACK LIST:
1. This is Fucking War, 2. I Hate Christians, 3. Pyre, 4. To Defile, 5. Immortalize, 6. Ogrish, 7. Unbaptized, 8. Hex, 9. Smell the Burning Churches, 10. Face of Evil, 11. Lucifer, 12. My Evil Concubine, 13. Slaughter the Heavens, 14. No Place for the Cross, 15. Rebuilding Sodom, 16. Riders of the Apocalypse, 17. Power of Darkness

CUSTOMER REVIEW:
Nunslaughter. If this most unhallowed name rings unfamiliar to your ears, heed these words for when the metal inquisition draws nigh, you shall be without excuse and the strained snapping of your breaking bones upon the unholy rack shall be the last sound you hear, unless you are one of the lucky ones and quickly run through.

Since 1987, these stalwart Satanic metal warriors have waged their campaign against all that is regarded as holy by the mindless thralls that have surrendered their humanity to the imagined whims of an invisible taskmaster. For those within earshot of this Promethean quartet, the message is clear. Free yourself or be crushed as you stand in the path of Nun-fuckin'-slaughter!

"Hex" was unleashed upon the underground just a month ago, but you wouldn't know it by hearing it. Nunslaughter adheres to a solid, time-tested sound and words like "progression", "maturity", or "commercial" will never apply. This is the sound of early Death Metal such as Venom, Death, and Possessed and there are simply no apologies. Remember when riffs were catchy, vocals were steeped in hatred, and the songs weren't bogged down in pretentious musical showmanship? Nunslaughter embodies that bloated carcass of Classic Death Metal (the One True Death Metal) and beckons you to partake in its flesh and drink deeply of it's tainted ichor in blasphemous communion.

With song titles such as "This is Fucking War", "I Hate Christians", and "Smell the Burning Churches" there is no question as to what motivates the band, and with the longest track on the disc clocking in at two and a half minutes, each composition is a swift, venomous blast of hatred that burns out quickly and never simply fades away. Also, as Nunslaughter was in the process of forging these unholy hymns, all weakness and other unnecessary elements were stripped away leaving "Hex" with a total running time of just 30 minutes; a finely tuned instrument of torture.

The packaging for this disc is also true workmanship. The 24 page booklet printed on heavy stock is filled with atmospheric photography, full lyrics, and band photos. Though my only complaint is the lack of a hand-drawn cover as in ancient times passed, the impaled effigy bathed in candlelight on the cover is most certainly evocative and not ruined by Photoshop filter-fuckery as most modern releases are plagued by. Highly Recommended.

PROFANATICA
"Profanatitas De Domonatia"
(CD) / $10

Extreme Black Metal Anti-God Fathers

HELLS 015
::buy:: | ♫ audio

	PROFANATICA "Profanatitas De Domonatia" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 015 release date: May 14, 2007 ♫ audio preview

Easily the best fucking Black Metal album of 2007! Much awaited full length studio album from one of the most influential and original godfathers of extreme Black Metal. Spilling holy fucking blood with 10 ruthlessly scouring Profanatica signature style hymns, "Profanatitas De Domonatia" is a continuation from where the black cult vanished in 1992. Profanatica vomit on your god and shit on your so-called Black Metal!!

Review from Nathan T. Birk of METAL MANIACS:
"Profanatica: the original masters of mesmerizing filth, barbaric simplicity, heavy metal's minimal-is-maximal ideal alternately taken to its most retarded and most enlightened end(s). No introduction should be necessary.
Alas, since the band's original dissolution in 1992 and vocalist/drummer Paul Ledney subsequently sallying forth with the more concertedly primitive Havohej, only two releases of new Profanatica recordings resulted - one a two-song 7", the other a download track - leaving the promise/premise of a Profanatica full-length otherwise unfulfilled. Enter the overwhelmingly UG-anticipated Profanatitas De Domonatia, the band's official debut album following their sporadic rebirth at the beginning of this millennium. Does it meet expectations? Exceed them, or fail them? How high do those expectations need to be, anyway? Only you can decide, which ultimately hinges upon how proportionally fanatical you are about Profanatica.
This much is certain, and from as coolly biased a perspective as possible: Profanatitas is everything a Profanatica full-length record should be, no more and no less. It immediately sounds exactly like Profanatica, yet never a whiff of total deja vu. It is strict and sleazy, militant yet molten. Its waves of unfettered filth wash over you with a stench of familiarity, only because very few bands ever could milk lock-step simplicity quite like this. If anything, this is Profanatica at their "heaviest," the guitar/bass chunder impossibly thick and molasses-like, and rarely has Ledney's paradigmatic vocal blasphemy ever sounded this possessed, this stretched into the shit-strewn sewers of black metal's primeval underbelly."

TRACK LIST: Master of Man Absolute, Unto Us He Is Born, Mocked Scourged and Spit Upon, Scourging and Crowning, God Dethroned in Heaven, Cursed Nazarene Whore, Palid Savior, Profanation of The Gods, Them That Dwell In Heaven, Betrayal of The Lamb

PROFANATICA
"The Enemy Of Virtue"
(2CD) / $12

Extreme Black Metal Anti-God Fathers

HELLS 020
::buy:: | ♫ audio

SHACKLES
"Traitors' Gate"
(CD) / $10

Death Thrashing Heavy Metal

HELLS 031
::buy:: | ♫ audio

TONDRA / NORDIC MIST
"Split"
(CD) / $5

Frigid Winter meets Classic Frost

NSR 002
::buy::

TRENCH HELL
"Southern Cross Ripper"
(CD) / $7

Aussie Black Thrashing Speed Metal

HELLS 022
::buy:: | ♫ audio

	TRENCH HELL "Southern Cross Ripper" (CD)
	price: US $7.00 catalog #: HELLS 022 release date: September 23, 2008 ♫ audio preview

Long awaited debut mini album with six new Dirty Black Thrashing Speed Metal songs from down under. Up front raw production with no bullshit just real heavy fucking metal certain to be added to your list of Australia's finest. For those who discovered the brilliance of newer old school bands like TOXIC HOLOCAUST and/or crave the sound of real fucking metal from over 20 years ago, this is for you! You won't escape TRENCH HELL's hammer!!!

FOR FANS OF: Running Wild (early), Assassin, Celtic Frost, Destruction, Gospel of the Horns, Destroyer 666

SOD #28 (review)
9 Skulls
"Thrashing Speed Metal from the land of kangaroos and Mad Max, Southern Cross Ripper is a breath of fresh air for those choking on the pollution of the Thrash Metal copy band resurgence. Fans of old Hobbs Angel Of Death and Destruction will feel right at home banging their heads to tracks like "Armoured Fist", "Morbid Crimes" and "Last Rites". This is Thrash Metal from the heart, and infectious as a dirty needle at a gay whorehouse, so sit back and prepare yourself for Trench Hell! (DH)"

REVIEW FROM VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE ZINE:
"What a filthy treat, a true surprise. The sad fact of the matter is, ever since the retro craze began, hardly any band has reproduced the 80s vibe convincingly, not even bands who paved the groundwork for that special sound. TRENCH HELL is different. Haling from Australia, home of SADISTIK EXEKUTION, THE WIZAR'D, MORTAL SIN, and so many others, they've done their country men proud. "Southern Cross Ripper" is an EP showcasing 80s Metal worship at its finest. Elements of the finest bands that magical decade produced are observable such as HELLHAMMER, VENOM, DESTRUCTION and BULLDOZER. Clocking out at twenty two minutes, this EP is a short one, as EPs should be. Rest assured, this band gets it."

TRACK LIST:
1) Intro / Night Stalker 02:07
2) Southern Cross Ripper 03:27
3) Armoured Fist 04:38
4) Morbid Crimes 03:17
5) Last Rites 04:49
6) Infernal Screaming 03:12
Total playing time 21:30

VICTIMIZER
"Resurrected Abominations"
(CD) / $7

Rapid Thrashing Violent Speed Metal

HELLS 038
::buy:: | ♫ audio

VICTIMIZER
"Rapid Thrashing Violence"
(CD) / $10

Rapid Thrashing Violent Speed Metal

HELLS 013
::buy:: | ♫ audio

VICTIMIZER
"The Final Assault"
(CD) / $10

Rapid Thrashing Violent Speed Metal

HELLS 018
::buy:: | ♫ audio

	VICTIMIZER "The Final Assault" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 018 release date: August 13, 2007 ♫ audio preview

Some of the best fucking music out of Denmark since cult Mercyful Fate!! Running wild in nuclear streets over the last 9 years, the band released some underground demos, 7"s and split LPs which now seem like classics from 80-fucking-3. "The Final Assault" is their first studio album, a sure lesson in violence... a heavy fucking bulldozer plowing through the wave of newbie friendly fag thrash. This is Rapid Thrashing Violent Speed Metal Hell with an evil edge that cuts like RAZOR!!!!! Face the music, prepare to die!!!

Song titles for this skullcrusher: Pentagram Warfare, Circle of Annihilation, Pride of the Zombie Squad, No Escape from the Jaws of Hell, Demons in the Night, Beast of Slaughter, Tyrant's Genocide, Running Wild in Nuclear Streets, Raise the Fucking Knife, Flamethrower Madness.

REVIEW TAKEN FROM METALREVIEW.COM:
"Be careful what you wish for"; a statement that should have been tossed around a few years ago when metal fans were clamoring for a thrash metal revival. Now that it's here and bands are being snatched up by Earache and Century Media only weeks after releasing their first demos and EPs, many thrash fanatics are turning their backs to what they've been waiting over a decade for. Why? An overwhelming number of thrash metal albums that are uninspired carbon copies of what came decades before.

Thankfully, Denmark's Victimizer offer a much more inspired and memorable take on the rather limited genre of thrash metal. Of course, those who have done their homework will take note that Victimizer have been around for a few more years than your Fueled by Fires, Bonded by Bloods, or your Eviles. It was 7 years ago that the band released their first demo, and more demos, EPs, and splits have followed at an almost yearly pace. 2007 sees the end of that cycle as the band have called it quits, but not before unleashing The Final Assault.

Victimizer seems more than happy to ignore most thrash post-1985, though this leaves ample room for influences from Artillery, Exodus, Sodom, Destruction and the like. The emphasis for Victimizer is on simpler thrash numbers with less notes, straight one-two thrash beats, and while the band can, and does, put the pedal to the metal, they don't overwhelm the listener with ample amounts of speed. While things aren't as simple and as lacking in variation as Toxic Holocaust I wouldn't say the bands are entirely dissimilar. The production is actually top notch for a band of Victimizer's size and the style for which they play, it's not fuzzy or muddy, and it doesn't have an insane amount of reverb on the vocals while also missing many of the other quirky production choices many bands of this ilk have come to love.

In songs like the opener, "Tyrants Genocide", Victimizer give a nod to a slightly less extreme style as many of their contemporaries. The guitar riffs bring forth images of pure '80s thrash, when it wasn't extreme simply for the sake of being extreme. There's a definite lack of "death" or "black" influence as well, aside from the vocals which are on the slightly more extreme angle, bringing Tom Angelripper to mind. "Beast of Slaughter" is definitely a song that caught my attention and immediately required the repeat button, mostly for its great chorus rhythm and the shouts of "RISE! RISE! RISE! Beast of Slaughter!". With that said, the speeding rager in "Pentagram Warfare" should not be left out. Did I mention Victimizer do better than to have simply noisy, Slayer-esque solos? While Mr. Born To Lose (yes, that's the name Victimizer's guitarist goes by) may not be a virtuoso he is able to craft interesting solos that aren't merely chaos. I also have to question what's up with the recent interest in Stallone movies for lyrical inspiration. Evile had Rambo and now Victimizer have taken what is arguably the best action film of the 80's, Cobra, and created a solid thrasher around it, but who can turn down the line, "This is where the law stops and I start, sucker" in "Iron Cobra (Pride of the Zombie Squad)"?

Fun, interesting, and filled with enough vigor to keep one interested for the long haul, The Final Assault is a thrash album worth owning, which is sadly the exception instead of the norm."

WITCHTRAP
"No Anesthesia"
(CD) / $10

Witching Black Thrash

HELLS 011
::buy:: | ♫ audio

	WITCHTRAP "No Anesthesia" (CD)
	price: US $10.00 catalog #: HELLS 011 release date: December 29, 2006 ♫ audio preview

Attention headbanger, WITCHTRAP is back!! Brand new full length studio album of dirty fucking thrash from Colombia!
Four years have passed since the last megawatt devastation "Sorceress Bitch", too much time for sure! "No Anesthesia" promises to be the right successor for "Sorceress Bitch" and the answer to the credibility WITCHTRAP has won. Featuring songs such as "Priests of Sin", "Disturbing the Dead", "Gallows and Crows" and the hit "Heavy Drinker" among others soon to become classics! WITCHTRAP shows how heavy metal must be: WILD, RAGING & DESTRUCTIVE! "No Anesthesia" is ready to rock you till you thrash your damned room! "Satan recorded our first note that is why this thrash shall be played so fucking loud!!!"

CUSTOMER REVIEW:
"Lately due to being sick of traffic, $3.06 a gallon gas, the war in Iraq, and global warming I have been walking a round trip total of 8 miles to and from work. The journey isn't strenuous, but I definitely need to hear something motivating during my mini trek. This is where Witchtrap joins the fracas with their brand of 80's Speed Metal/Thrash loaded up on cocaine, whiskey, and a "FUCK YOU TOO" attitude.

As usual my love for all things Colombia never fails, and 'No Anesthesia' proves this fact via addictive riffs jammed at high octane with a Metal pride theme gushing from each note played. Every song blisters with an exceptional main riff that twists, twirls, and loops intricately. Hooks are more gravitating than a bad case of herpes as they pile-drive the spines of unsuspecting listeners. The strumming is carpal tunnel inducing, but melted into a sense of dynamism and urgency, which is both spastic and violent. Most decadent are melodic guitar god solos that are heavy and precise enough to make my speakers sweat. Fuck, all I wanna do when I hear that guitar is bust my bald skull against the stage till it bleeds in concussed gore.

Making the methamphetamine guitars robust is the complimentarily rotund drums and bass. Together this unit performs well by giving the rhythm section a slightly sleazy speedy thrashy-bulge in a hotties face-sound. The bass is deep and poignant and it's played with a double flair for technicality and support. The drums are super fucking fast and the traditional single bass drum does not hamper the tempo. The cymbals crash delightfully in unison with headbanging, the snare has an energetic spring back, and the drum patterns, ripe with rolls and fills, are played methodologically, but raucously thereby giving the whole record an almost garage vibe hearkening back to days long gone when Speed Metal/Thrash ruled Metal. Not to be outdone by the guitar, bass, and drums are the vocals. The shrieking and shouting give Witchtrap an all out Metal in your face with an empty bottle of whiskey crushing your skull attitude.

Musically, Witchtrap is highly competent with their multidimensional arrangements that encompass variation between being blister machines, contemplative, catchy, and angry. Hell, the hooks alone will cause your chiropractor to make you 'Customer of the Month.' Therefore, Witchtrap is perfect for listeners NOT keen on an album where each song sounds the same but with a different title. So set your fucking hair on fire with a blow torch, turn up 'No Anesthesia,' down a bottle of booze, and go crazy cause if you love that Old School shit like Raven, Exciter, Slayer, Kreator, and a hint of Racer X then your gonna squeal like a gutted pig for Witchtrap!!!!"