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APOCALYPSE
Retaliation

MIMo Sound (2023)
Rating: 6/10

Italian multi-instrumentalist Erymanthon Seth has shifted the sound of Apocalypse over the years. What started out as a power metal act with Gothic edges has now transformed into some serious Bathory worship.

Retaliation is the sixth full-length studio opus from Apocalypse which now veers heavily towards Bathory circa-Requiem (1994). The black thrash barks, the hissing blizzard riffs and bathtub drums are all present, and while completely unoriginal Erymanthon makes up for such mimicry with passion.

This is a solid album that deserves a handful of spins before being shelved alongside the countless other imitations. The strongest track is probably opener ‘Christophilia’ which is rough as Hell black thrash, but I can’t help but think the evil one is rasping “Wrestlemania! Wrestlemania!”

Elsewhere, ‘Mass Grave’ throws in a few tasty chugs and ‘Necropsychomaniac’ is grimly low budget, but there is no staying power for this heap of junk. Closer ‘A Brand New World’ just sounds like a pneumatic drill hammering away in God awful fashion, but it’s a fitting end to an aggressive, primitive and yet altogether unnecessary slab of Quorthon worship.

Neil Arnold

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