Nightfly Until a few weeks ago I’d never even heard of Butcher. After hearing a couple of advance tracks off 666 Goats Carry My Chariot, their second album, I immediately went in search of their first, Bestial Fukkin Warmachine and was so impressed I ordered the pair of them straight away.

Butcher come from Belgium, a country I don’t have too many metal albums from with only Bathsheba, Saille, Aborted and Enthroned coming to mind. Butcher doesn’t sound like any of them. What we have here is a very retro 80’s sounding blend of speed and thrash metal with a bit of black metal borrowed from Darkthrone thrown in here and there. This stuff is manic from the histrionic often high pitched vocals of R Hellshrieker to the music which is very busy and fast most of the times. Guitarist KK Ripper unleashes an impressive barrage of riffs, licks and solos, the kind that drew me into this kind of extreme metal back in the 80’s.The rhythm section of bassist AH Wrathchylde and drummer LV Speedhammer tie it all down, though their playing is equally busy and at times this frantic melee sounds on the verge of all falling apart, which is not a criticism and is a measure of their skill in holding it all together. It all adds to the retro vibe aided by an analogue (I presume, it certainly sounds it) production. You can imagine this is how the band sound on stage as it has very live feel without loads of overdubs in the guitar department.

I liked the first album very much, which I’d played a few times before getting this, but on 666 Goats Carry My Chariot they have raised the bar with an even stronger collection of songs. I don’t suppose you’ll hear much new music like this this year so lap it up, you won’t regret it.