{"id":102083,"date":"2023-12-15T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T00:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=102083"},"modified":"2023-12-19T14:00:28","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T14:00:28","slug":"album-review-bunker-66-portraits-of-dismay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-bunker-66-portraits-of-dismay\/","title":{"rendered":"BUNKER 66 – Portraits Of Dismay (2023) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUNKER 66
Portraits Of Dismay<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nDying Victims Productions (2023)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not often that I review compilation albums but this one is essential. With cover art that nods towards Sodom\u2019s classic 1986 release Obsessed By Cruelty<\/em>, Portraits Of Dismay<\/em> is the work of prolific Italian black \/ speed metal act Bunker 66, a torrent of a trio that\u2019s been in existence since 2007 and has issued four full-length albums and a vicious batch of underground split releases.<\/p>\n

A lot of the band\u2019s most splendidly satanic split offerings are collected here for an 18-track compilation that rips from start to finish. Within the wicked heap of seething thrash hymns you get raked by a handful of lethal cover versions too; Mot\u00f6rhead\u2019s \u2018Dr Rock\u2019, Carnivore\u2019s \u2018Male Supremacy\u2019, Discharge song \u2018The Possibility Of Life\u2019s Destruction\u2019 and Convulsed tune \u2018Psychopharmax Convulsions\u2019. After these more familiar tracks have cemented themselves into your ear canals you get scorched by a sickening, scathing tirade of thorny aggression that results in a wave of sharp, direct metal plucked from the bands discography of death.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018We Guys Are From Hell\u2019 sums up the vile, hostile sound of Bunker 66. Hellish rivers of billowing black thrash carved from the blackened blood of old gods Sodom, Bathory, Destruction<\/a> etc. is the order of the day here. One moment the band combines Judas Priest with Exciter (\u2018Tombatron & Tormentor\u2019), and next there are sinister vintage Slayer<\/a> chugs (\u2018The Merciless March\u2019).<\/p>\n

Bunker 66 dwells within the pitch black corners of 1983, soaking itself in oil and alcohol before rabidly constructing a crude pentagram illuminated by flickering candles. Riffs are tight yet dirty, the percussion is filthy and punky and the trickling bass acts as a rusty spine. Whether it\u2019s your \u2018Global Thermonuclear War\u2019, your \u2018Winds Of Damnation\u2019, or your \u2018Mellhammer\u2019, this compilation joyously treads over familiar cracks while bringing its own fizzing, apocalyptic vim.<\/p>\n

There is so much wickedness here to revel in but one cannot help but sacrifice a goat to the nefarious forays of \u2018Pandemonial Storms\u2019, \u2018Sulphurous Lust\u2019 and \u2018Army Of The Dark\u2019, a trio of belters expertly crafted for nights by the graves. Portraits Of Dismay<\/em> is a whip-cracking joy ride into the fiery pits where the flames dance hotter with each rancid anthem.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BUNKER 66Portraits Of Dismay Dying Victims Productions (2023)Rating: 8\/10 It\u2019s not often that I review compilation albums but this one is essential. With cover art that nods towards Sodom\u2019s classic 1986 release Obsessed By Cruelty, Portraits Of Dismay is the work of prolific Italian black \/ speed metal act Bunker 66, a torrent of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,5541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-bunker-66"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102083"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102112,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102083\/revisions\/102112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}