Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Heavy, March 14, 2005
I had no idea what these guys (and girl) sounded like when I first bought the album. I was quite surprised! I had not heard anything that heavy since Bathory (and maybe Suffocation). The playing is superb and I can actually understand some of what Karl Willets is singing, though I'll be the first to admit I rarely listen to the words even if they are clear. I always had this CD in my truck and when I did a lot of traveling, I would put this on to start the trip, kind of as a good luck charm. It worked well! Now the CD is scratched up some and skips all over the place in my crappy CD player so I don't play it as much. But because of this album I went out and bought all of their others except Mercenary (couldn't find it). I like them all. One could say all their albums sound the same and in a way, maybe they do. But that is the same formula AC/DC uses and I love them! Don't need no surprises, don't need the band to evolve into something entirely different. When I pick out a Bolt Thrower album, I get exactly what I want!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Bolt Thrower, January 22, 2002
Most DeathMetal bands rely on speed and grunting vocals to sound heavier, but not Bolt Thrower. Their music has a good groove, like a tank that moves a bit slower but overall is more powerful than the others and consistantly plows over and crushes everything in it's path. Karl's vocals are excellent in that his vocal range is just low enough to sound dark, but high enough that it doesn't compete with the tuned-down guitars and other instruments, and fits well in the mix, unlike other bands that pretend to be of this type where the guitar and vocals step on each other. They re-tune and play their songs using an an "egyptian" like scale which has an almost etherial but hard edge yielding their unique signature sound. Before there was Korn, Bizkit and all the other 7-string guitar bands, Bolt Thrower was there with their tuned-down 6 string defining a new trend in metal of crunchy buzz-saw guitar. The lyrics are among the most thoughtful in that though they sing about war, they convey how stupid and miserable a thing it is (As the World Burns). Get this one first, then get Mercenary.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my current favorites., July 26, 2003
Even though these guys are often tagged as Grindcore, I find it completely unfair that a band of this skill and calibur is grouped into such a style of metal. Quite frankly, I think that Grindcore (for the most part) degenerates into unlistenable noise. This is not the case with Bolt thrower. This is slow, thunderously heavy, groove oriented Death metal played in the same vein as Obituary (only with more focused vocals). The entire album is perfectly executed. The drums, guitars, and bass roll along at a comfortable and listenable pace. Karl Willet's low, bellowing voice fits in perfectly with the downtuned instruments. The lyrics are good and intelligent and depict a brutal and realistic scenario of war. My favorite pieces include the title track, "Icon", "Where next to conquer", and "As the world burns". Overall, a very solid, non-repetitive piece of Death metal.
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