Černá krev

I suppose that the thing I enjoy the most about this band is just the fact that they are so overtly, unapologetically underground. This tape, which has the moss, growth, and blurred memories glazed over its surface, is a very good example both of Maniac Butcher's (Sileny Reznik?) sound, as it has developed over the years and reached a sort of final monument status as a melancholy, raw black metal, and their entire approach to the world scene. To be blunt, for a second: this band just does not give a damn about anything at all - trends, stylistic 'evolution', what any other bands is doing at the same time, etc. This is so refreshing to hear. Combining some of the rawest and most insane vocals in the entire black canon (think Veles or Rob Darken, perhaps, crossed with Hat from the first prototypical Gorgoroth recordings), high-speed snare and cymbal-concentrating hammer work, and cold, trebly guitars descending in a direct line from Darkthrone's earliest albums, these musicians have found their sound, honed it to a razor sharpness, and proceed to lay waste to song after song, through album after album. The Maniac Butcher back catalog is legion - from the discography on this tape alone (which has the insert for 'Invaze' (English translation: simply, 'Invasion') I count an even ten releases, either tapes, CDs, split releases, live recordings, or full albums. So where have they been, you ask? Simple: hiding from the light, far away from you.

As far as I can tell, there are only two influences for Maniac Butcher, or only two bands that I really hear in their music: Darkthrone, as mentioned above, and Gorgoroth, although I'm sure Mayhem also played a part. I do hear certain affinities with or straight similarities to other bands - for example, Judas Iscariot - but I think that may just be coincidence. I don't know that much about the link between Iscariot and Butcher other than members of both these bands have shared a stage at a certain point. When it comes down to it, in the final summation, there really isn't much more one would want to say about this album, or anything else this band has put out, other than to trace a few influences, leave a couple of descriptive signs, and move on. Discovering this band should be an independent thing, I think, as it will not agree to all tastes. It's abyssic, violent, pathologically disturbed, morose, down-looking black metal from the crypts, always full of a grim despair, and it's all just excellent - or at least, everything I've heard is. You see: Maniac Butcher would never claim that they are 'original' or that they are trying anything new in their music... I'm sure they don't see the point. At some time in their evolution as musicians and members of the black scene, they just decided they liked to create certain moods or atmospheres with their music, and have stuck with that, over time. There was a time when I didn't really agree with that viewpoint, thinking one should always be involved in some sort of progressive search if one was a musician, but bands like this have influenced me towards accepting the opposite path as equally valid. However, I'm not saying that Maniac Butcher have stagnated... there is a definite range at work here, a sense of dynamics, songwriting skills that have been sharpened, as I said above, over a number of years... but ultimately there isn't anything here that is so far out of their own style that it would offend their fans or their own sensibilities. Conservative? Maybe... but it still sounds good.

Whatever else you may think about this band or how 'true' they are (as Yury Arkadin said in an earlier review of 'Epitaph', if there was a contest for the most 'true' band, Maniac Butcher would win easily), this, as I see it, is just a collection of extremely dedicated individuals, rapturously in love with the entire ethic and history of underground black metal, and passionately sworn to creating even more of what they have always sought out in other bands, other scenes... and they have also been doing this for song long (since 1990?) that it would be criminally ridiculous to ignore the impact they have had.

Vicious, storming, war-torn, freezing, Czech black metal... filled with malice, hatred, and a rabid disgust for the light. It's difficult to find anything so satisfying as this right now, as most of the bands who used to play in this style (including Darkthrone and Gorgoroth) have moved on to sunnier pastures, but here, as elsewhere in the shadowy depths of Europe, lurking in the underground, there is a grand tradition of passionate metal still being played, still being blasted forth... rest in peace, Maniac Butcher.

UA

Erebus Magazine
http://erebuszine.blogspot.com

When I first heard of Maniac Butcher, I thought they looked ridiculously funny. If you’ve seen the cover for Lucan-Antikrist, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I was interested to hear them. Lately, I’ve been getting bored of black metal in general. Everything is starting to sound the same to me. I managed to find this CD for $4. I expected something average, or just below.
I didn’t expect to hear what came out of my stereo. It was fast, it was powerful, and it was angry. It isn’t anything near “cleaned up”. It’s very raw. It starts by fading in with a demented moan with a cloud of drums behind it. It then carries on into endless blast beats and shrieks. Every song blends into each other so perfectly. Intermezzo, my favorite track on the album, is the only song that has a noticeably different pace. It’s one of those songs that you can relax to, but still be entertained. The guitar work on this album is very good. It’s simple, but it works well. It’s fast and somewhat technical in areas. The tone of it is high pitched and very shallow. As for bass, I can’t hear it. I doubt the albums sound would change at all if the bass tracks were taken out. The vocals are the best thing about this album. They’re full of pain. It’s as if they’re coming from a tortured soul. Cerna Krev ends the same way it began, which makes me – the listener – feel like this terror is going to carry on for eternity...

They do mean it when they say “No keyboards, No female vocals”. This album is pure hatred at its source.

If you’re interested in checking out this band, I recommend starting with this release. It is their best. It’s also by far one of my favorite albums in black metal.

Now im not usually a big fan of Black Metal. But as of late i've been buying cds i find at shops that looks rare. I found this gem. What an album. It says on the booklet, "support no keyboards, no female vocals campaign" so you can already tell what kind of black metal this is going to be. Pure or "kvlt" black metal. At first i was sceptical on the quality of this release, but after listening to this album, i deem this album AWESOME. The song names are long and in czech language (whatever that is called) so im not going to name them.
The album starter is pure black metal. Evil, raw and amazing. The vocals are tortured, pain-filled, and show a lot of hate. The guitars are so icy your bones will freeze. And the drumming is full of drum rolls and blastbeats. Most of the songs speed along with this formula, but never get boring or old. When you really listen to it the hate fills you, and the evil engulfs your soul. By song four, you've already burnt down a few churches from this music, but this song is the calm in the hurricane of hatred. A spooky instrumental that makes you shiver. As i listen, i see sad landscapes in my mind, something that usually only norwegian bands can do to me.
After the 'intermezzo' the album picks up again into hate filled blast beat action. The kind of music you head band to while you sacrifice to satan. Without the lyrics i can just imagine to types of things the band think about while writing these songs.
Something i have forgotten to mention through this review is the bass. The bass is not the most prominent instrument so i will not comment on it.
Well after that shocking review, i would like to point out one thing. This is in my opinion a great peak in kvlt (maybe a bit melodic in parts) black metal. A great album to pose in your corpsepaint, burn down churches, harass priests or have battles with things to. A must have for any fan of real black metal. Its a real shame this band no longer play together because i would have loved to see them live.

Production - 8/10 : I think it sounds excellent for this kind of black metal.
Guitars - 9/10 : Icy and headbangeriffic (i doubt theres such a word though).
Bass - ?/10 : Im not the best at picking up bass lines, so i would rather not comment on it.
Drums - 9/10 : A great part of this album, its normal black metal drums, full of blastbeats and drum rolls, but not boring like a lot of BM drums.
Vocals - 10/10: I really like the vocals in this. The vocalist shows a real hate through his voice and it suits the music.
Lyrics - 9/10: Now i dont usually read the lyrics, but i thought the lyrics, while short and simple, were great, they showed hatred and a wish for the death of humanity, and has cool battle references.

Overall - 9.5/10 : I really love this album, one of the greats of black metal, and i hope the legend of maniac butcher lives on. One of the best bands to ever come out of the Czech Republic in my opinion.