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BLOODDUST
Fortress Of Unholy Power EP

Unholy Fire (2023)
Rating: 7/10

In 2017 German thrashers Blooddust released a solid demo entitled Fire Of Sacrifice, which emerged six years after debut demo Gates Of Hell. This act is most certainly not the most active band on the planet when one considers they formed in 2008 and that Fortress Of Unholy Power is their debut EP. Even so, for whatever reason, things take time and I’m glad that this eight-track affair is now upon us.

The EP runs for 21 minutes and for me it has a South American vibe to its aggression and rawness, particularly in the snaking, speeding guitar tone and rasping vocal yaps of Fabian Krieg. The combo does deliver melody amongst the black thrash nastiness, but for the most part it is a primal speed fest showcased in the likes of the title track and ‘Satanic Command’.

One could imagine such a snarling opus to have emerged alongside the first wave of black metal releases where bands were driven by tales of unholy war which they put to their destructive blend of speed metal and black thrash. The titles here pretty much say it all; ‘Slaves To The Majestic Winds Of Mayhem’, ‘Invocation’, ‘Nunripper’ and ‘Howling Of The Werewolf’ are all short and snappy retorts of rust, denim, leather and bullet belts.

There is little variety on offer here but there is enough black, billowing smoke and blasphemous streaks of speed to choke on.

Neil Arnold

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