UMUR "Regiment Ragnarok" is the 6th full-length studio album by Danish death metal act Panzerchrist. The album was released by Listenable Records in April 2011. It´s been five years since the release of "Battalion Beast (2006)" and the lineup has changed significantly in those years. The only remaining members are band leader and bassist Michael Enevoldsen and guitarist Rasmus Henriksen. New second guitarist is Lasse Bak (also keyboards), whom Michael Enevoldsen had played with on the Illdisposed debut album "Four Depressive Seasons (1993)". However the most significant changes have occured on the vocal and the drum spots. New vocalist Magnus Jørgensen replaces Bo Summer (who now fully concentrates on Illdisposed) and drum machine Reno Killerich is replaced by Mads Lauridsen. Both have giant shoes to fill.

The music on the album is ultra fast played death metal with a blackened touch. Actually I´d say "Regiment Ragnarok" is the most blackened album yet from Panzerchrist, but they are still a death metal act at their core. New vocalist Magnus Jørgensen both utilizes deep growling and higher pitched raspy vocals. He does a decent job but I prefer Bo Summer´s growls. It´s the same with new drummer Mads Lauridsen, who does a great job, but he is no Reno Killerich. The lyrics as usual evolve around war which is obvious just from looking at song-titles like "For the Iron Cross", "We March as One", "Trenches" and "Ode to a Cluster Bomb".

I don´t know what it is but "Regiment Ragnarok" doesn´t make my blood boil like some of the earlier releases by Panzerchrist. It´s definitely a high quality blackened death metal album with well written and effective tracks, a professional and powerful production and a very well playing band, but I´m still waiting to get the irresistable urge to give the album more spins when the album ends. So for now a 3.5 star rating is warranted.

J-Man Denmark's Panzerchrist has seen quite a few lineup changes over the years, and Regiment Ragnarok is no exception. Only two of the members from the band's previous album (Battalian Beast from 2006) remain in the fold this time around, but that should not be viewed at all as a bad thing. Despite the amount of lineup shuffles that have occurred within Panzerchrist, the band has always stayed true to their relentless style of death metal, and Regiment Ragnarok shows the band as brutal and creative as ever. This album is filled with bone-crushingly heavy riffs, captivating war-themed lyrics, and fantastic musicianship that just oozes with class. If you like your death metal to be uncompromisingly brutal, yet still intelligent and technically demanding, Regiment Ragnarok is one of the best recommendations I can think of. Panzerchrist fans and newcomers alike will definitely want to check this one out.

For anyone familiar with Panzerchrist, their style of brutal technical death metal with black metal influences should be instantly recognizable. A chilling atmosphere and highly memorable riffs set this apart from your average fast-paced death metal album, though. There are just enough melodic tendencies and riff variation to keep the album from ever becoming a boring mess. Every song is memorable, extremely fast-paced and heavy, and captivating even after multiple spins. Regiment Ragnarok is the sort of album that just refuses to grow stale, and instead reveals itself even more in-depth after every repeated spin. Seldom do I come across an album this brutal that manages to achieve such a feat - and that just spells "quality" on the band's behalf.

One of the most attractive features about Panzerchrist is undoubtedly the top-notch musicianship. These guys are tight, professional, and technically gifted musicians. Regiment Ragnarok contains quite a few difficult riffs and solos, as well as near-impossible drum patterns. Mads Lauridsen's insane drumming blows me away every time I give this album a spin. New vocalist Magnus Jørgensen is also fantastic and one of the most enjoyable death metal vocalists I can think of - he masters many extreme vocal styles and sounds like he ate a plate of nails before every recording session. There's certainly not much more I could ask from a death metal vocalist! The production is equally professional and enjoyable, finding the perfect balance between sounding polished yet not too sterile.

Regiment Ragnarok really blew me away in almost every regard, and currently stands as one of the finest death metal releases of 2011. Fans and newcomers to Panzerchrist will definitely want to give this one a spin, provided that you enjoy your death metal to be on the faster, more-extreme side. Regiment Ragnarok finds the perfect balance between brutality and memorability, and I will applaud Panzerchrist all day long for managing to achieve this essential point that so many bands forget about. Add in the terrific musicianship and production, and it looks like we have an essential album on our hands. 4 stars are well-deserved in this case.