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BLADECRUSHER
Tempest EP

Big Bad Wolf / Headbangers (2022)
Rating: 5/10

It’s always cool to stumble across bands you know nothing about and Bladecrusher is one of them. This Dutch quintet has a thrashy aesthetic mixed with punky vibes and hardcore.

From the off this is an energetic and aggressive record, but it is one let down by the generic vocal outbursts which could belong to any modern day act of this ilk. Even so, tracks such as ‘Sacrificial Rites’ are delivered with vim and pace, although the drum sound has an irritating echo and click to it; a result of modern dynamics no doubt. However, the guitar sound is crisp, especially with the mid-tempo chugging where the band take on a traditional thrash stance.

‘Mercenaries’ follows suite, the band carving catchy, concise and extremely metallic heaps of modern thrash. If you can overlook the vocal rants of Stephan Leistra you’ll find a lot of melody to savour as the muscular clank of ‘No Mercy’ comes hammering in at hyper speed.

‘No Judgement (In The Pit)’ is equally speedy. However, this EP is riddled with macho cliché, a late 90s onwards mentality of bravado and chest puffing as ‘Reign Of Terror’ accompanies a wrestler to the ring as his theme tune. It has that sort of vibe, a record that musically succeeds with its metal nuances but fails with its seemingly false aggression and ego.

A majority of the tracks begin really well. ‘Tempestarii’ is simmering with its brooding chug, but ‘Behold The Deity’ is beyond cheese with its introductory narration, yet more so when the Leistra strips away all meaning with his rants.

There’s just too many formulaic thrash acts around at the moment and all too often Bladecrusher becomes one of them. It’s a shame that the entire EP is held up by the axe work – the chugging melodies and blazing solos from Thijs Bangma really do provide the cutting edge. But if I wanted formulaic macho rants then I scrape the barrel and resort to deathcore.

Tempest has some good moments, but get another vocalist and I might be convinced that this band has something to get excited about.

Neil Arnold

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