VIOLENT HAMMER – riders of the wasteland – LP

Death Metal – 2020 version – Hells Headbangers

Aptly titled Riders of the Wasteland, VIOLENT HAMMER’s debut album encompasses their simple yet scintillating aesthetic – the full span of death metal and black metal from the ’80s through early ’90s, early thrash, and most significantly early grindcore and UK/Swedish hardcore and crust from the ’80s – and blasts it into oblivion with the aplomb of a nuclear fallout. Unremittingly hammering and remorselessly primitive, each of the nine barbaric slabs of song across the album’s satisfyingly swift 26 minutes gets in, gets out, and fucking DESTROYS. As such, Riders of the Wasteland is deceptively catchy, much like so much ’80s grindcore was, and retains a twisted sense of fun within its gnarled ‘n’ gnarling sonics. And although VIOLENT HAMMER here invoke many names – from early Blood, Profanatica, Bestial Summoning, and Naked Whipper to likewise early Doom (UK), Extreme Noise Terror, Mob 47, and even earliest/crustiest Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death – the manner in which they slice and dice all these influences bespeaks an identity wholly unique in today’s underground landscape.

Strap in with VIOLENT HAMMER’s Riders of the Wasteland or get smashed in the fucking face!