RSS Feed


BONEHUNTER
Children Of The Atom

Hells Headbangers (2018)
Rating: 8/10

Bonehunter – in spite of their peculiar cover art with previous outings Evil Triumphs Again and Sexual Panic Human Machine – is a band I’ve followed from the start, and have been blown away by the Finnish troop and their releases.

Children Of The Atom features better artwork and ups the ante when it comes to brandishing the weapons of “devil metal punk”! Yeah, yeah, the Bathory worship reigns supreme but when it comes to bullet belts, tight leather jackets and smearing fake blood on equally fake weapons, then Bonehunter are your go-to-guys.

This is still a band that needs to be recognised as a force to be reckoned with and not just masters of taking familiar styles, but with their continued crossover outbursts Bonehunter has found a niche for its ripping headaches to continue.

After a short intro (‘Initiate The Sequence’), the violent rush of ‘Demonic Nuclear Armament’ spits huge lumps of rust into the eyes; the hideous vocal snarls are right up the Quorthon street, but with sinewy solos and galloping drums one can’t help grab the main of the oil-soaked kelpie and be dragged into the pits of eternity.

Bonehunter supplies massive dollops of hellish speed although one does feel that as the album rolls on through the silt that the track titles are just plain silly; in fact all too self-indulgent examples of naivety and the eagerness to be clever. C’mon guys, but ‘Sex Messiah Android’, ‘Devil Signal Burst’ and ‘Cybernetic Vampirism’ sound like leftovers from a 90s Cathedral album. But overlook such waffling and just soak up the corroded delights of a rust-bucket like ‘Black Star Carcass’, which starts off as a sinister blizzard of speed before resorting to an infectious trudge.

The title track is equally fiendish; the slow-building atmosphere has oily 70s licks mixed with a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal kick as the simmering percussion and almost aching axe work provides decent yet simple melodious streaks. Yet you just know that at some point we’re going to be hurtling through a tunnel of barbed wire. But that’s what Bonehunter does best, and none come rougher than ‘Spider’s Grave’ with its mucky riff and filthy drum fever; Syphilitic Satanarchist’s vocals are grisly rasp of underworld worship backed with a treacherous bass vileness.

‘The Reek Of Reaper’s Scythe’ has a putrid punkiness about its structure as the bass bones get rattling before a sudden burst of seemingly uncontrollable speed clatters with cacophonous wonder and squalid misery. Meanwhile, of the dafter titles it is ‘Sex Messiah Android’ which appeal most, built upon the craft percussive threads of S. S. Penetrator.

But closer ‘Devil Signal Burst’ is just as wicked; a violent lashing of distorted bass and machine gun riffage straight from 1984. And for me, the trio saved the best track for last because this one just burps of Hell, whether in the form of the commanding vocal slurps or that hammering rhythm that takes the band in even blacker domains. With Bonehunter there still remains that element of oil-coated surprise, and I’d really love to hear the clan get down and dirty with a few more slower, measured tunes such as this one.

Children Of The Atom is another devilish slab of work from this talented bunch of Finns, and if you haven’t jumped on their satanic ship by now then you are not worthy.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share