HELLBUTCHER
HELLBUTCHER “Hellbutcher”
By Dr. Abner Mality
NIFLEHEIM called in a day in 2022, but their main man Hellbutcher wasn’t ready to cease praising Satan with raging speed metal. Hence, we now have the cleverly titled HELLBUTCHER, which shall carry on with the blasphemy NIFLEHEIM fans have come to love and expect.
HELLBUTCHER is pretty much NIFLEHEIM with different personnel. If there’s any difference, I sure wasn’t able to detect it. That will please fans of the defunct band, but I was hoping Mr. Butcher might try something just a wee bit different...just a tiny iota of something new. Within five seconds of “The Sword of Wrath”, I knew we weren’t getting it. And that’s OK. You know what you are getting with HELLBUTCHER.
The man’s screams are as manic as ever here and his new crew is more than up to the task. It’s all rooted in the tradition of evil German thrash….”Sentence of Death” DESTRUCTION, “Endless Pain” KREATOR, DARKNESS, VECTOM, NECRONOMICON. Add a dash of Swedish black metal and there you have it. It’s fast and entertaining, but the PR makes HELLBUTCHER sound like something beyond NIFLEHEIM and it really isn’t. There’s a touch of rawk and roll to “Death’s Rider” and even melody to “Possessed By the Devil’s Flame” but cuts like “Satan’s Power” and “Violent Destruction” are pure NIFLEHEIM.
The lyrics are also in praise of the Goat, as you would expect, and the band sports more spikes, chains and leather than the annual dominatrix convention. If you seek the Devil’s speed metal, HELLBUTCHER have got your back and more! Tried and true…