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Deströyer 666 > Cold Steel... for an Iron Age > Reviews
Deströyer 666 - Cold Steel... for an Iron Age

Meat-and-Potatoes Blackened Thrash - 70%

lonerider, December 30th, 2021
Written based on this version: 2011, CD, Season of Mist (Reissue)

Let's cut right to the chase, shall we? After their sophomore album Phoenix Rising turned out to be a surprisingly potent affair, Australian blackened thrashers Deströyer 666 unfortunately took a step back with 2002's Cold Steel… for an Iron Age. Where Phoenix Rising delivered that immensely satisfying blend of nasty, skull-fracturing black/thrash metal along with some truly majestic moments seemingly coming out of left field, Cold Steel… is a bit too content in simply going through the motions by delivering a rabid yet rather formulaic black/thrash ass whipping. Songwriting and memorability matter, even for a band—and genre—that generally values brutality more than musicality.

As can be expected from a rowdy demolition squad with Deströyer 666's infamous reputation, there is no shortage of breakneck speed and thrashing riffs on Cold Steel…, and you can't even say there aren't a number of nifty guitar solos and harmonies, but these are few and far between, never sustained for long and they don't really carry any of the songs. The result is a certain arbitrariness as well as a lack of structure, distinctiveness and atmosphere. It is therefore rather difficult to point out any particular highlights or truly memorable tracks. The band will definitely bludgeon you, but they won't necessarily captivate you for the album's entire duration.

Album opener "Black City – Black Fire," with its simplistic yet effective chorus, is nonetheless noteworthy, even if it somehow sounds like singer K.K. Warslut repeatedly belts out "Frodo, black Frodo" instead of "fire, black fire," providing some unintentional comic relief. Anyway, this track encapsulates what Cold Steel… is all about, establishing a suitably apocalyptic and chaotic mood thanks to some rapid-fire riffing, unrelenting blast beats and paramelodic guitar leads. A lack of all-out aggression and malicious intent certainly isn't an issue here. Then again, the slowed-down and more melodic section beginning around the one-and-a-half minute mark provides an aptly timed and welcome respite before the mayhem fully resumes for the song's finale.

This kind of compositional prowess is precisely what this album could have used some more of. What we get instead is a lot more of the same predictably basic formula, sometimes delivered in slightly less frantic fashion (as in "Clenched Fist") and sometimes even more recklessly (as in "Raped"), but mostly lacking a certain catchiness factor that would have gone a long way toward making this whole affair more enjoyable and memorable.

Other cuts making a more lasting impression are the adequately majestic—in a wicked sort of way, of course—title track "Cold Steel…" with that badass "rape the world" part, the presumably Matthew Hopkins-inspired "Witch Hunter" and the furious "Shadow," which is easily the most black metalish of the tracks and closes out the record on a rather high note. Sadly lacking on Cold Steel…, however, is a more epic, daring and monumental composition rivaling the amazing "I Am the Wargod," which graced the band's previous album Phoenix Rising. All but three of the nine regular tracks (the 2011 reissue comes with a bonus track) are only between three and four minutes long and Cold Steel… rushes by in a matter of only 35 minutes, not outstaying its welcome but leaving the listener feeling slightly underwhelmed and wanting for more.

The band's instrumental performance is more than capable and singer/guitarist K.K. Warslut can definitely cough up some pretty menacing growls and screams. Unfortunately, his lyrical prowess leaves something to be desired as his lyrics could hardly be described as literary masterpieces. Some of his outpour comes across as rather immature and puerile, with the slightly cringe-inducing "Raped" ("then they raped her … and she liked it") serving as exhibit A.

The production and mix on Cold Steel… is at least adequate but it fails to register as a true strength. While every instrument is sufficiently audible, the overall sound is, for lack of a better term, quite dry and neither clear and dynamic nor raw and gritty enough to endow it with a certain unmistakable identity.

All things considered, Deströyer 666's Cold Steel… for an Iron Age is the kind of solid yet unremarkable record you will spin occasionally without it having any sort of profound emotional impact on you—meat-and-potatoes blackened thrash, if you will. As far as blackened thrash goes, you can do worse but there are numerous better examples of that particular genre's wicked charm, some of them even among Deströyer 666's own back catalog.

Choicest cuts: Black City – Black Fire, Cold Steel…, Witch Hunter, Shadow

Rating: 7.0 out of 10 points

Shut up Keith - 5%

Forever Underground, August 17th, 2021

"Let me tell you a story deep drenched in shit
That unites all of metal’s sons
Let me tell you about the garbage in man
Before he was whipped by the chains of mediocrity"

Do people really like this album? Ok no, I'm being unfair, I can understand that someone might like this album as a piece of music in itself. But do fans of the first two Deströyer 666 albums really like this album? I sincerely doubt it, this album has very little of D666, it's incredibly generic and the few elements it contains that belong to the D666 style are totally forgettable.

Start with the main thing, where the hell is the epicness, where is the atmosphere, the melody? Deströyer 666 is an extreme metal band but if there is something they have been known for is their creativity in the most elaborate compositions, full in many occasions of melancholic arrangements and melodic passages. Well in this album there is hardly any of that, oh yes "Cold Steel" tries, although maybe saying it tries is giving it too much credit as it is so boring and feels with so little passion that it seems written in the last moment before recording. The rest of the songs are more simplistic and aggressive but even for that kind of song Deströyer 666 also has high standards, the choruses on this kind of song on previous works were always incredibly catchy and memorable, on this album, which I have listened to a few times now, I can't remember more than one song, and not precisely because of its complexity but because of its lack of personality.

The production in turn has somehow gotten worse, the poor melodic moments are buried by it and especially "Cold Steel" is a track totally butchered by the final vocal mix that turns a boring track into an audible nightmare. The guitars that should be the protagonists sound incredibly weak, and it's not because there is something over the top, the overall sound has no strength whatsoever and there comes a point where it all sounds absolutely the same to me, there was already this problem in previous works because of the homogenization of the sound, but this time it is overlapped by the rest of the problems and makes it feel incredibly long and tedious despite only lasting 35 minutes.

This album pisses me off on a number of levels, but for me what is the straw that breaks the lane is the song "Raped". I've said it several times before but I'll say it again, Keith's lyrics are, let's be honest, fucking huge pieces of shit that don't have a single shred of depth of message, of course there are exceptions like some lines in "Lone Wolf Winter" but generally they're shit. And without a doubt "Raped" has one of the worst lyrics I've ever had the misfortune to hear and read, it's not just that it glorifies the act of rape, because calling it a metaphor is insulting, it's not even capable of sweetening it a bit to make it not so literal and make it more elegant, I've seen more intelligent lyrics in 8 year olds, totally disgusting. And yes, I'm the first one to say that lyrics are the least important factor in a song, but that doesn't make it any less criticisable, and more so with this kind of lyrics, if the metal community feels so musically elitist with respect to commercial music, it should also be critical with the lyrics of the musicians we like because this is worse than any sexist lyrics of electro latino or Hollywood pop music.

The worst thing is that "Raped" is probably musically the best song on the album, but it's impossible for me to enjoy it. And that's what I always find with this album, there's always a "but" for every good thing it may have, whether it's the production, whether it's the lyrics, whether it's absolutely worse in every aspect compared to their two previous albums. In the end what I end up feeling for this work is indifference, because if this same work had the name of some other black/thrash band I would find it perfectly noteworthy, but the previous level of Deströyer 666 was very demanding, and it was seen that it was even too exigent for themselves. I'd give it a 10% mainly because of "The Calling", which despite being far inferior to any other song of similar style by the band, manages to stand out slightly among the rest of mediocrity. But I'd give it 0% for "Raped" and the rest of the songs, but mainly for the awfulness that is "Raped" so I'd give it 5%. Keith had already made his misogyny clear previously in many other lyrics but here he has simply managed to piss me off, so I can only hope that his misogyny materializes in a foot that kicks Keith in the mouth strong enough to keep him from opening his mouth ever again.


"And you like it"

NO I DID NOT




Black thrashing malevolence. - 91%

ConorFynes, March 12th, 2016

Deströyer 666 remained on the periphery for me for the longest time. For my negligence, I feel I should be apologizing to myself. I never took KK Warslut's earlier work with Bestial Warlust as seriously as some of the people around me at the time, who seemed to bring them up whenever the tenth beers were cracked. Ironically, what D666 songs I'd been shown by friends over the years I did enjoy, but I was usually too pissed at that point in the evening to give it real attention. I'm glad I mended this gap in my listening history relatively recently, and I have a masterpiece like Cold Steel... for an Iron Age to thank for firing up my excitement so quickly.

For me, Deströyer 666 are the answer to a long search of mine. Black-thrash in theory is the musical equivalent of a velociraptor-- vicious, fast and deceptively intelligent. There are a lot of bands that use elements of both fairly well, but up to the point of hearing D666, the only band I'd heard that wrung the best potential from both had been Absu. Cold Steel... for an Iron Age gives me the same sense of rushing annihilation that hooked me onto the best Absu records. The thing that makes Deströyer 666 so good is that, like Absu, they're able to combine mentalities that aren't often seen together in metal. There's a primal sense of malevolence, and hedonistic grease that KK Warslut carried on from his Bestial Warlust days. With Deströyer 666, that straightforward punch got mixed in with higher brow ambitions and sophistication.

A new listener might not think Cold Steel... is a complex album on first listening to it. That's part of the charm. The songs here would make for the best kind of headbang fodder, but the riffs and song structures make the music out to be so much more than that. In interviews I've read of his, KK Warslut's given shout-outs to forward-thinking black metal acts like The Ruins of Beverast, and I think you can hear that penchant for "intelligent extremity" in everything D666 have done to date. So often, it seems like everyone within the thrash sphere have idolized the 80s at the expense of everything that's come since. Cold Steel... for an Iron Age is arguably equal parts (if not more) thrash as black metal, and D666 are using the merits of thrash without being tied down to some of its predictable clichés.

When all is said, Cold Steel... isn't just great for the fact that its creators aren't afraid to give their aggression some thought. It excels in all of the ways I'd judge a regular thrash album by: among other things, the riffs and energy. A lot of the riffs on this album are immediately devastating, and it's an added bonus that they're able to write great hooks into such technical playing. There are so many tracks on this album that struck me immediately. "Black City - Black Fire", "Sons of Perdition", "Raped", "The Calling" and "Savage Pitch" blew me away within a couple of listens. In particular, the title track, "Cold Steel...", hooked me from the first time I listened to this album. The militant drums, amphetamine energy and ravenously nihilistic lyrics indicated to me at once I was listening to a truly great band. Even the songs I didn't mention are great. Cold Steel... is a relatively short listen, and it leaves absolutely no room for filler. With the sort of velocity Deströyer 666 are firing away at on this album, anything longer probably would have tested a listener's endurance.

From everything I've heard of them (and I've heard a great deal of it already) Deströyer 666's career has been remarkably consistent, and Cold Steel... for an Iron Age might be my favourite of the lot. All of the songs here are incendiary. There is so much potential in a black-thrash hybrid, and there's not a moment wasted on this album where that potential isn't put to good use.

Perfect Album: Intense and Amazing - 100%

Shadoeking, June 27th, 2009

Cold Steel is pretty much a perfect album. It is fast, intense, and aggressive and most of all, incredibly infectious. Destroyer 666 really outdid themselves on this album and they created an album that should go down as a classic in the heavy metal genre if there were any justice in the world. This album is amazing from beginning to end, but it does not get the respect it deserves because of the relative obscurity of this band. It’s a shame.

Destroyer 666 started out as a side project for K.K. Warslut of Bestial Warlust. It quickly evolved into its own entity, crushing everything in its path along the way. The band started as a relatively straightforward black metal band with occasional death metal influences. In other words, fairly similar to Warslut’s main band at the time and fellow Australian countrymen Abominator. As the band continued, more and more death metal influences began to show through, then even later strong thrash elements also presented themselves. Each D666 album is a little different from the previous one and this album is by far the band’s thrashiest, while still retaining some of their death and black metal influences.

This album features Destroyer 666 at their most stripped-down, aggressive, and razor-sharp. Everything about the album is tight and punchy and powerful. The band has discarded much of their grandiose, epic black metal in favor of a more simple thrash attack. Each of the individual elements are spectacular in their own way, but collectively, they add up to one extremely powerful listening experience.

Of course, the guitars are the most important aspect of the band. Shrapnel and Warslut play razor-sharp, jagged thrash metal riffs with the occasional tremolo line. The riffs come at the listener in a blinding fury. The blazing leads and solos coming out of nowhere are the true highlight of the album. The music will be very loud and workmanlike, when all of a sudden, a Slayer-esque solo will reach out and grab the listener’s attention. The leads on “Cold Steel” are particularly interesting, providing all of the melody, which is almost spine-tingling in the otherwise dark song. The riffs on “Raped” are very interesting, they have an unsettling feel, as if the composition of the riff is not quite right. It fits well with the song’s topic.

Warslut’s vocals mostly consist of a black metal rasp, although he has a couple of different pitches. He has a more high pitched rasp and a deeper, huskier growling rasp. The gang shouts that appear in some places further add to the dark and evil atmosphere of the music, while also making it seem a little more fun, particularly the spooky harmonic vocals on “The Calling”. The lyrics are fairly simple, standard Satanic, anti-Christian, and warfare themes. The band does not feature great lyrics, with a couple of exceptions: “The Calling” and “Savage Pitch”, but that’s not really the point of D666.

Mersus’s drumming is very prevalent in the mix. He is frequently pounding away, keeping the beat, but occasionally provides some nice fills when the riffs are repeating, especially on “Sons of Perdition”. The drums are most interesting on “Cold Steel” where they really drive the song, pounding away and providing the energetic backbone of the powerful track. Berserker’s bass is audible, but for the most part he is playing the same riffs as the guitarists.

Some of the songs stand out for varying reasons. “Black City-Black Fire” opens up the album with a bang and sets the intensity level for the rest of the album. The band’s energy level never really wavers from this. “Cold Steel” slows things down at first, but keeps the intensity high. “Sons of Perdition” immediately speeds things back up after the cold, dark atmosphere of the previous track. “Raped” is a little more of a straightforward thrash metal song, with very few, if any, black metal influences. “The Calling” is perhaps the best song on the album. It also starts out slowly, building into a frightening frenzy. Once it does, it features the best leads, drums and vocals on the album, as well as the best interplay between the elements. “Savage Pitch” once again picks the pace back up, and the band does not relent until the end of the album, pausing only to provide unsettling vocal samples to close out the song “Witch Hunter”. The band then works itself into a frenzy before fading out to end the album on “Shadow”.

As for the flaws: there really are not any, other than things that have little or nothing to do with what is present on the album. The cover art is not very good, but reportedly the band did not approve it before the record company put it out, so they had no say in it. The album is a little on the short side, clocking in at barely over 35 minutes, but this is perfect length for such an album. It should not be too long and it should not be too short, and this album is just about right.

I bought this album after having heard the band’s name thrown around quite a bit on the Encyclopedia Metallum forums as a band to check out. I found this album at a used music store for fairly cheap. Not having actually heard the band, I decided to check them out anyway. It ranks as one of my best all time buys. This album quickly became one of my absolute favorites and I have checked out virtually everything else by this band I can find. None of the rest of their albums have quite the same explosiveness and power as this album. This truly should be a classic, not just for the band, not just for the scene, but the metal genre as a whole.

Great blackened thrash - 94%

Hawks10Pec, March 11th, 2009

Now I'm going to be really honest here, thrash has never really been my thing. Bands like Anthrax, Megadeth, and Metallica really never caught my interest very much. While those bands are supposed to be some of the best thrash has to offer, I never thought much of any of them. One band has changed my mind on thrash completely though and that is this band, Destroyer 666. While they're not pure thrash (they mix thrash, black, and death metal), thrash is the main sound that this band goes for. Let me tell you something, Destroyer 666 is one of the most evil metal bands to ever walk this earth. I would also be willing to say that they're one of the heaviest metal bands around today. They just never let up on their black/thrash assault and every song will make your ears bleed. So if you're more into the mellow, softer side of metal with bands like Anathema or any of that post metal, you should stop reading right now.

Like I said earlier, Destroyer 666 is probably one of the heaviest bands in the metal scene today. Every single riff on this album is as fast as lightning. That's where the thrash side of the band really shines. The guitar on this album just never lets up and its just pure aggression for the whole duration of this album. So if you're someone who likes a nice little soft acoustic break in your metal, once again, stop reading and stay far away from this album. Not a lot of solos in this album, but when there is a solo let me tell you, it will melt your ***ing face off. Also, the riffs are pretty melodic, but not melodic in a melodic black metal, happy kind of way. Melodic and also brutal as hell at the same time. Bass on this album isn't really that noticeable because the guitars pretty much shine throughout this whole album. I'm sure the bassist is just as fast as the guitarists are because he has to keep up with them throughout the whole album.

Vocally, you couldn't ask for a better performance. K.K. Warslut is the vocalists name and he is also the one of the guitarists. This guy can pretty much do it all. He can do the thrash metal yell, the rasp that is heard in most black metal, and also a low death metal growl. This guy is one intense mother***er. Probably one of the most energetic frontmen you will see in the metal scene today. Like I said earlier, he is also one of the lightning fast guitarists so already you can tell that he's multi-talented. Most of you should know what to expect from the lyrics too. Old school style black/thrash metal usually have lyrics dealing with Satan, war, anti-christianity, and other *** like that. Well Destroyer 666 are no different. Brutal band, brutal lyrics.

Fans of old school German thrash such as Sodom or Destruction or the first wave of black metal bands such as early Bathory, Celtic Frost, or Mercyful Fate will all go crazy over this album. Even if you're not a fan of those bands you should still check this out. One of the best metal albums that I've heard in a while, no matter what the subgenre is. Only check this out if you like the heaviest, most intense and energetic side of metal though because if you want slow, melodic metal you're definitely not going to find it anywhere around here.

Affiliate your axe and annihilate your next! - 100%

Kopp, November 23rd, 2006

In this release Destroyer666 found a formula that mixes black and thrash metal in a way that is simply great. Fast, inspired, fierce, old school (German) thrash riffs, with various influences from Heavy, Black and Swedish Death musical solutions, create a mixture that nowadays is unique. The production is powerful, clean and very, very, heavy, so you could recognize this blasting sound between a million. Vocals are the furious, often supported by barbarian choirs, and fit perfectly into the lyrics: they give in fact the image of an horde that comes in your village and destroys everything it finds. However, as for the musical structure, lyrics are hate/war/devastation related but very well written and not foreseen. It is to say, Black metal themes but no Black metal cliques.


Not enough: Destroyer666 are a fury, but when they rarely want to slow down and give the listener a breath, they remain on the level of excellence. The most surprising thing is that the strength of this album is the variety because every song is memorable and different from the others.
Surely all are killer and for me is difficult to mention one as the best. This album is perfect from the first minute to the last and it never becomes boring. If you continue to bang your head with "Reign in Blood" after fifteen years you listen it, you know what I mean and, believe me, this stuff for you is a must .


Every time I put "Cold Steel" in my stereo I want to devastate everything around me. I recommend this album to everybody listens extreme metal and likes to break his neck, as I recommend people affected by killer instincts to stay away from it. Destroyer 666 may seem a childish moniker, but there is no better way to define the sound of this band. One of the best albums ever, 100 is not enough.