Tag Archives: axe

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BLOOD TSUNAMI, For Faen! (2013, Indie Recordings)

The skull:
He’s got a mouthful of logo, a fanny pack full of weapons, enough bullets to make, like, two bullet-belts, and a title that invokes Satan in Norwegian. This skull is ready for action! He’ll need some help getting to the action, of course, lacking as he does legs or other means of conveyance, but if you’re willing to carry him, he’ll totally fuck some shit up wherever, whenever! Hey, where are you going? Aren’t you going to take this skull with you? I’m sure he’d really appreciate it. No? Well, fuck you then, the Blood Tsunami skull doesn’t need your fucking charity. Dick.

The music:
Sounding a bit like reunited Destruction but looser, Blood Tsunami bring a lot of speed metal riffs to their thrash metal party, and while there isn’t much of a crossover influence here, the overall vibe leans more toward a DIY/punk aesthetic than the Bay Area nostalgia of your average rethrash band. Maybe they’re just channeling the death/thrash of bands like Destroyer 666 and Desaster. They have some legit black metal pedigree in drummer Faust (ex-Emperor) but the actual black metal content in Blood Tsunami is minimal (though not non-existent). This isn’t bad stuff, and it’s packed with great riffs, but this kind of shambling, fuck-you-all-the-time thrash has never been my cuppa. There’s just something about the attitude that I find offputting, but that’s just a personal thing, and if you like your thrash fast, loud, and rude, then this is probably right up your alley. As an added bonus, the production is refreshingly analog-sounding, without triggered drums or buzzy, overworked guitars. This is bullet-belt metal for sure, and meant for a very specific scene, but if that’s your scene, then you definitely need a piece of this.
— Friar Johnsen

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RIGOR MORTIS, Decomposed (1987, demo)

The skull:
Okay, it’s back to basics here: a supershitty evil skull drawn with a marker. What makes this cover is the landscape. I’m guessing this is some kind of fantasy scene, some Hyborean wasteland with perhaps a wizard’s castle in the distance. The skull of a lone warrior (who is well past the rigor mortis stage, but certainly decomposed) is staked out with his battle axe and some other kind of weapon thing. A spear maybe? Who knows? It’s a badass skull to keep you off the wizard’s lawn. Are you gonna do it? Are you gonna turn away? Damned straight you are! This guy looks like he was really mean, and he had an axe and some barbed pokey thing, and look what happened to him? You are totally out of here!

The music:
This is not another release by yesterday’s Rigor Mortis, but a whole ‘nother Rigor Mortis entirely. This band would eventually become Immolation, a band I have always hated and will always hate, although at this point, only the bald guitarist who does the funny headbanging is left from Rigor Mortis. But whatever. Immolation is death metal for assholes. And as crappy as I find them now, they were WAY crappier back in 1987. This is high school death metal at its worst. It makes the case for the theory that death metal was just thrash played by guys who weren’t good enough for the job. Even by the standards of mid 80s death metal demos, this is weak stuff, every bit as bad as the cover would suggest. Astoundingly, they band thought this was good enough to reissue on CD, so if you’re a real glutton for punishment, you can pick up a copy of Immolation’s eloquently titled Stepping on Angels… Before Dawn to enjoy Decomposed in all its remastered glory. You asshole.
— Friar Johnsen

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RIGOR MORTIS, Rigor Mortis (1988, Capitol)

The skull:
The smashed out eyes make this a particularly distinctive skull, and that feature is also, amazingly, unique in the Skullection. Here at Skull HQ, we’ve seen skulls that have suffered all kinds of abuse, but this is the first and only example of occular disembonement. But while that negative space is what draws the eye (so to speak), it’s the maniacal grin that really seals the deal. This skull (who doesn’t seem to have a name, although I spent a fair amount of time looking) just doesn’t give a fuck that he’s got no distinct eye sockets, and he’s even proud to hover there with the mace that did it. The axe and bone are bonus accoutrements that nevertheless can’t compete with this skull’s luxurious mane. “I’m so fucking bad, they put me in the logo, too. Twice.” While a nice, real skull, staged and photographed, might have made a better 300th skull, those are shockingly hard to come by, and as illustrated BDSes go, this Rigor Mortis cover is about as awesome as they come.

The music:
A shocking number of thrash bands managed to land major label deals between 87 and 90, but few were as mediocre as Rigor Mortis. Meliah Rage comes close, maybe, and even they had a couple truly excellent songs. Rigor Mortis were weirdly lightweight, lacking the depth and punch of a Testament, while being sillier even than Exodus at their goofiest. Their riffing and songwriting, as with most Texas thrash bands, were thoroughly pedestrian for the times, and the anemic production didn’t do them any favors. Finally, they were saddled with a vocalist who lacked any unique character and whose lyrics were stupid (and not funny, which is the one possible salvation of stupid lyrics). They were far from the worst thrash band on the scene in 1987, but there were probably scores of bands more deserving of the opportunity afforded Rigor Mortis (who of course completely squandered it and were dropped in a couple years). Nevertheless, they’re a band that’s developed something of a cult reputation, perhaps due to the rarity of the album on compact disc. Their subsequent EP and full length can be had fairly readily, but the debut on Capitol commands a rather stupid price. You could spend $100 for this middling effort, or you could save yourself at least twenty bucks and pick up the infinitely superior Wargasm debut, which is similar to Rigor Mortis in many ways but always much, much better.
— Friar Johnsen

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BLOODY SKIZZ, Gods Breaker / Bloody Road to Death  (1982, Belgravia)

The skull:
This skull is served with the works: an inverted crucifix, wings seemingly fashioned from metal or driftwood, an axe, a lightning bolt, and a mace that’s absolutely soaked in blood. The skull itself has seen better days — he looks concerned, and appears to have suffered a terrible accident, as he’s got blood pouring from his mouth. It could reasonably be assumed he was smashed in the teeth by the blood-soaked mace in the picture. It’s not an easy gig posing for these obscure European metal 7 inch picture sleeves!

The music:
Typical of much obscure Euro metal from the early ’80s, Bloody Skizz have a ton of heart, an enchanting rawness, an annoying vocalist, and not much that makes you want to return for seconds. The shambling “Gods Breaker” is clearly inspired by Iron Maiden and ends up sounding like Witch Cross before they found their muse with the Fit to Fight album. “Bloody Road to Death,” rather, is more influenced by Judas Priest. The vocals in this song are a very weak attempt at Rob Halford in the Hell Bent for Leather era. If it weren’t for the heavily-accented vocals, this could easily pass as a NWOBHM release. These two songs are all Bloody Skizz ever offered, and believe me, you can live without this…you’ll be fine.
–Friar Wagner

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EMERALD STEEL, Emerald Steel (1990, Woodstock Discos)

The skull:
First you’re like, “What’s the worst he can do? Bite me? I can handle one fucking skull in a fight,” and then he shows up armed to the (grinning) teeth, and you’re like, “Aw, shit!”

The music:
How on earth have I never heard this before? I knew the name, and based on the cover, I assumed they were crappy NWOBHM. Instead, they’re more like a crappy Crimson Glory knock-off, which is exactly my kind of crap. Singer Wagner Geronymo (obviously his real name), a Brazilian transplant to Florida, has a strong, piercing high voice, and he delivers his lines with exactly the overblown theatricality you want in an act like this. His pitch sometimes doesn’t quite hit the mark, especially when he harmonizes, but when he lands it, he sounds great. The songs are not classics for the ages (see: “Sex Metal”), but they’re certainly better than a lot of other US power metal bands from the late 80s, comparing favorably with early Heir Apparent, Oracle, Sacred Oath, or others in that vein. If, like me, you already own all the classics, and all the second-tier guilty pleasures, and then all of the third tier junk from the heyday of American melodic metal, then it’s time to open a new tab, bring up eBay, and find yourself a Hot Metal bootleg of Emerald Steel, yet another band that deservedly fell through the cracks but is still kind of okay.
— Friar Johnsen