Friday, 13 February 2015

Panzerchrist - Battalion Beast (Neurotic Records, 2006)


Panzerchrist - Battalion Beast

I was acquainted to these Danes through their third album, _Soul Collector_, which was a prime cut of groove-laden, bulky US American death metal. Unfamiliar with any subsequent releases, I was taken aback with the stylistic shift the band has taken from its prominent American death metal backbone present in the aforementioned effort to bona fide European forms which sublimely mold the sound of their latest album.On _Battalion Beast_, black metal and European death metal have inevitably taken control of the album's musical direction, making it relatively more straightforward while still remaining brutally imposing and aggressive. Of course death metal technicality is still present in driving the high tempo dynamics of the compositions, but this time it is imbued with a more conspicuous black metal aura which pervades the album's pulsating guitar work.
 
There is also the addition of a keyboardist who makes her appearance sporadically throughout the album, adding a further dimension to its cinematic interludes / climaxes. Reno Kiilerich's top-notch drumming delivers the goods throughout the album, but this is only something to be expected from someone who has pounded the skins for acts such as Dimmu Borgir and Hate Eternal.

 
From any perspective, apart from being a respectable offering to their dedicated fans, Battalion Beasts may actually make new ones with their latest bullet-riddled slab of death metal. 



Contact: http://www.panzerchrist.com

(originally written for Chronicles of Chaos - 5/10/2006)

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