Every Destruction fan knows that "Birth of Malice" is the second album of the Schmier (vocals/bass), Damir (guitar), Martin (guitar) and Randy (drums) line-up. The quartet is firmly following the path of the "Diabolical" album, perfecting their modern-flavored thrash metal formula on the new songs, but this time with a much darker mood and lyrical content. Their new LP begins with a mysteriously resonant intro that bears the album title. This is followed by the aptly titled "Destruction", a song about the band itself, their career and their goals in general. It's a real banger in the band's signature style, perfect for live performances, with a very heavy metal-influenced solo in the second half that has to be heard to be believed. The third track is called "Cyber Warfare". This composition is almost entirely in the heavy metal vein, except for a riff that strongly recalls "Black Death" from the timeless "Infernal Overkill" album. Then comes "No Kings – No Masters", which is clearly one of the highlights of the new material, a galloping thrash metal monster. The fifth song is "Dealer of Death", the lyrics of which are about Auschwitz, and frankly I found it musically quite boring. The last song on side A is "A.N.G.S.T.", a composition that hints a bit at the atmosphere of "Life Without Sense", without the industrial touch, of course, while the title of the song is shouted. The B-side opens with the attacking riffs of "God of Gore", but in general I think this song is kind of filler, with very lame riffing ideas and vocal parts. However, the next track, the eighth and provocatively titled "Scumbag Human Race", is definitely my favorite, not only because it is musically super heavy, but also because lyrically it sheds light on the true nature of humanity. "Evil Never Sleeps" continues the sonic carnage with fairly massive but slow riffs, as well as super melodic guitar solos and vocal arrangements, the latter interspersed with guest vocals from Fireborn's Jennifer Gruber. The tenth is "Chains of Sorrow", a riff-oriented tune that focuses mainly on grooves and dynamics. Then there's "Greed", which has a vibe and some riffs that are very similar to the now-classic song "The Butcher Strikes Back", although overall it's much more melodic and its structures are more polished. The album's twelfth and final song is a cover of Accept's "Fast as a Shark". Needless to say, this song now has a really brutal sound thanks to Destruction. Overall, "Birth of Malice" invites thrash metal fans on an interesting, over 50-minute journey, and I must emphasize here that the sound of the black vinyl is truly fantastic. The masterfully designed gatefold jacket with artwork by Gyula Havancsák on the front and back covers, as well as on the printed inner sleeve (which also contains the lyrics), looks simply stunning. This album is a must-have not only for die-hard Destruction fans, but also for every thrash-bitten creature on earth!!!

Good news for Dismember fans who missed the "Historia Mortis" boxset or just wanted to get the "Misanthropic" EP on vinyl, separate from the boxset. Now, thanks to a collaboration between Black Sleeves and BlackSeed Productions, this great 5-song EP is finally available separately on black and electric blue vinyl. Of course, mine is the black vinyl, and like the Nuclear Blast version, which was transparent blue, it spins at 45 rpm. If I compare the two sonically, I only notice that the Nuclear Blast version is a few decibels louder, but they are about the same, because both use the version remastered on vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. We all know that this EP was the precursor to the fantastic "Death Metal" LP, which also marked a return to a heavier, more distorted guitar sound. The five songs are "Misanthropic", "Pagan Saviour" (Autopsy cover), "Shadowlands", "Afterimage" and "Shapeshifter". This current reissue includes an insert with the lyrics on one side and a live photo and credits on the other, while the Nuclear Blast version comes without the insert, instead featuring the lyrics and credits on the back cover. The lyrics of the song "Misanthropic" have been corrected and now include the line "restrained in moral chains", which somehow ended up as the last line of the lyrics of "Shapeshifter" on the CD version, but unfortunately on recent vinyl reissues this line is still there in the lyrics of "Shapeshifter", too bad if you ask me. Oh, and while the first press CD version included the lyrics to the Autopsy cover, the new reissues omit them, but that's no big deal at all. However, there's another, I think much bigger problem with these latest vinyl reissues, which occurs during the "Afterimage" solo. Namely, an audible defect, such as a slight shift or odd jump, if you like, that may have occurred during or as a result of the remastering process. I checked the CD version, there is no such audible error. Well, apart from that, it's a pretty good sounding and looking reissue. Now it's your turn to decide whether or not to invest!!!

Albeit with a slight delay, the third edition of Dismember's legendary 7" EP has been released by Seven Metal Inches Records. This time you can enjoy this 2-song death metal masterpiece on black and transparent green vinyl. As you may know, it was originally released in 1991 as a picture vinyl on Nuclear Blast Records. SMIR has successfully reissued this 7" EP three times since 2023, if I'm not mistaken, in 6 different colors. The only difference from the previous reissues is that the cover is lighter in print and this time there is no insert, which is a shame. I have the black one, which plays at 45 rpm, like all its predecessors, and I have to say it sounds fantastic. The cool feature of all reissues is that the 7" vinyl comes with a cardboard sleeve on which the artwork has been transformed and arranged from the original round to square shape with the help of Cesar Valladares. The back cover shows the same band photo as on the picture vinyl, as well as the obligatory song titles and sides mentioned there, i.e. "Skin Her Alive" on side A and "Defective Decay" on side B. If you missed out on buying the original picture vinyl, or just want to add this cool reissue to your collection, then act fast, because treasures like this sell out fast. By the way, the improved version of the "Casket Garden" 7" EP (second edition on black, transparent blue and transparent red vinyl) was also released at the same time, so it's worth getting both from one of the links below. A Dismember fan doesn't need to be told what to do in this case, right? Buy it now or curse yourself later!!!

Well, I've already written a review of Hirax's "Faster than Death" on the digipak CD version released by Doomentia, but this vinyl release from the same label is absolutely amazing, so I have to write my review of that one too. So what's so special about this edition, you might ask, right? Well, first of all, the whole packaging design. I mean, it's not made in the usual way, as the 180-gram vinyl itself is packaged in an ultra-thick, custom-sized 31.5 cm x 32.5 cm case with a glossy laminate coating. This gatefold case is as thick as cardboard, something I've never held in my hands before. In addition, there is a printed inner sleeve with the lyrics, the cover of the 7" EP of the same title, and a fantastic A2 poster of the album art, slightly reduced in width. These visual elements, created by Thomas Pinheiro, are of high quality and worth every penny invested. Now let's move on to the album and the sound of vinyl. I've got the black vinyl, spinning at 45 rpm, to the delight of all audiophiles, and frankly, it sounds pretty awesome! There are 5 tracks on side A and 4 tracks on side B. From the beginning, Hirax was known for their really fast and short songs, which, like D.R.I., favored a crossover style, which could be considered a fusion of punk, hardcore, speed and thrash metal. Nevertheless, the 9 songs of "Faster than Death" are mostly in the latter genre. It's relentless thrash metal with super-fast tempos, mind-blowing hooks and catchy as hell vocals, with the right length of almost 22 minutes. This heavyweight album was recorded by Katon W. de Pena (vocals), Neil Metcalf (guitars/bass), Danny Walker (drums), and produced/mixed/mastered by Max Norman. The overall effect of the album is like it spins off in one breath, bulldozer-like, with lightning-fast songs that of course sometimes slow down a bit to emphasize the massive grooves, as in "Drowned Bodies", "Faster than Death" and "Psychiatric Ward". So far it's in the top 5 thrash metal albums of the year, so needless to say it's a highly recommended release. Enough talk, buy it or die fast!!!

I have bought all the formats of the latest "Tapping the Vein" reissues and I have to say that the deluxe bookpack version is the best of all, and of course it contains most of the music and visuals. There are 3 vinyls pressed on palatinate purple and black swirl wax plus 2 CDs. I must admit right away that these vinyl records sound slightly better than the transparent red ones, perhaps because of the alloy combination mentioned above. The first vinyl features a remastered version of the original "Tapping the Vein" album by Eroc. This album was always aggressive and brutal in terms of production, but now it's even more massive thanks to Eroc. The second vinyl contains the Redux version of the "Tapping the Vein" recordings, which means that the raw studio tracks were mixed by none other than the axeman himself, Andy Brings, to give a different feel to this killer record. Then there's the third vinyl, entitled "The Final Witchhunt: Live in Cologne, December 28th, 1992", which contains Chris Witchhunter's last performance with the band. The setlist is pretty awesome, so I'll put the song titles here: "Sodomy & Lust", "An Eye for an Eye", "Agent Orange", "Skinned Alive", "Better Off Dead", "Ausgebombt", "One Step over the Line", "The Crippler", "Bullet in the Head", "Wachturm" and "Bombenhagel". This live concert sounds pretty good, but the performance was chaotic. The first CD contains 12 songs from "Live in Tokyo 1992" and 3 bonus alternative remixes from the Redux version, namely "Body Parts", "Wachturm" and "Reincarnation". The Tokyo show sounds fantastic and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The second CD contains 10 songs from "Live in Düsseldorf 1992", with a playing time of 45 minutes. The setlist for this live show is also great and looks like this: "Sodomy & Lust", "An Eye for an Eye", "Skinned Alive", "One Step over the Line", "Exhibition Bout", "Ausgebombt", "Remember the Fallen", "The Saw Is the Law", "Wachturm" and "Bombenhagel". The live sound is something between the other two live shows, but definitely enjoyable. Now about the visual content. The 24-page, deluxe hard bound book edition contains extensive liner notes by Ronny Bittner, alternative artwork by Krasimir Talev, sketches, lots of great photos and memorabilia from the band's personal archive. Oh, and there are also 3 well-arranged vinyl inserts. The insert of the remastered version contains all the lyrics and photos of the members, almost as they appeared on the original first pressing of the vinyl. Well, this bookpack is a huge deal, and needless to say it should be in every Sodom fan's collection!!! So buy now or cry later!!!

When Nuclear Blast released "De Profundis" on vinyl in 2021, the first time it had ever been released on vinyl, I wondered when they would reissue "Black to the Blind" on vinyl too. Well, the time has finally come, it's here, and frankly in a pretty glorious way. Prior to that, it was first released on vinyl in 2012 thanks to Night of the Vinyl Dead Records, but with a different cover and thus a different booklet design. This current vinyl edition has kept the original artwork, and that's great, because that's what I'm personally used to over the years. As with "De Profundis", it has a superbly designed gatefold sleeve and a 12" booklet, this time 16 pages long. The booklet contains all the lyrics, plus individual photos of the members on the back and live photos in the middle. The gatefold sleeve features a cover artwork by Jacek Wisniewski on the front and a killer band photo on the back. I have the black vinyl, but it is also available in red/black marbled vinyl. The vinyl spins at 33+1/3 rpm and contains six songs on side A and five songs on side B. Most people in Europe remember it as a 10-song album, but it finally includes the song "Anamnesis", which was originally only available on the Japanese CD edition at the time of its release in 1997. Musically, it was the successor to the brilliant albums "The Ultimate Incantation" (1992) and "De Profundis" (1995), which further developed and polished the style and sound for which Vader is now so famous and instantly recognizable. This album was shorter than its predecessors, clocking in at 32 minutes including the bonus track. It was like the death metal equivalent of Slayer's "Reign in Blood" at one point, ha-ha... Back then the line-up was Peter (vocals/guitar), Mauser (guitar), Shambo (bass) and Doc (drums/samples). I had the privilege of seeing this line-up live in 1997 in support of the "Black to the Blind" album, so this fact makes this album and that era of Vader even more special to me. "Carnal" is a death metal hit that has been played live ever since the album was released, sometimes accompanied by "Black to the Blind", "The Red Passage" and "Fractal Light". The sound production provided by Andy Bomba was also very special, which not only made "Black to the Blind" unique at the time, but I think it still is today. Well, enough said, death metal fans around the world should definitely get this reissue on vinyl!!!