TERRORHAMMER
TERRÖRHAMMER “Gateways to Hades”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Goddammit, I hate it when it I have to confront an album like this! My logical brain knows that Serbia’s TERRÖRHAMMER are basically ripoff artists stealing from the past. But logic goes out the window and into the landfill when you thrash your brains out to the likes of “The Interceptor” and “Transylvanian Whore”. These guys steal from the best and they give it every ounce of energy they have. The result is the true definition of a guilty pleasure.
They call it “necro speed metal” and that’s perfect because they rob the graves of VENOM, DESTRUCTION, SODOM and even NIFLEHEIM. But gee, it’s not like they are the only guys doing it. Nor are they the worst. I mean, listen to “Transylvanian Whore”...this is so “Black Metal” VENOM it hurts. Yet it’s great and I wish that modern day VENOM could do something like this. And let’s be honest, BATHORY were ripping off VENOM 35 years ago and everybody seems to love them. Then TERRÖRHAMMER slips into another gear with “Blizzard of Blood” and oh my God, the “Sentence of Death/”Infernal Overkill” vibes of DESTRUCTION are just overwhelming on this necksnapper. Again, it’s such a pure reconstruction of that era that you just can’t resist it.
The piece de resistance has got to be “The Interceptor”. This is true speed metal hell...a song that just blasts and riffs like all those ancient Euro-thrashers like SODOM, IRON ANGEL and even old RUNNING WILD did. This song was the breaking point for me and the line where I just said, fuck it, “Gateways to Hades” just rocks. So throw your brain in the trash and let these Serbian grave robbers dig your grave with killers like “Tronized Goat Master” and “At Dawn We Attack”. ARRRGHH!