The Batallion - Stronghold of Men
Dark Essence Records
Blackened Thrash Metal
11 songs (36:31)
Release year: 2008
The Batallion, Dark Essence Records
Reviewed by Thomas
Surprise of the month

Ah, how I love the feeling of intense tickling in my neck. Blackened, thrashing madness, tortured and evil rasps, haunting riffs, and blasting rhythms. Can you ask for more? This band contains members from Taake, Borknagar, Grimfist etc, and I really expected a Black Metal supergroup. Instead you get more of the above. When I first listened to this, I found myself jumping around in the livingroom, throwing up the horns, banging my head and air-instrumenting. Unfortunately I live with my parents, who got seriously worried.

The manliest band in the world. You don't claim that nickname without a reason. This is pumped with testosterone, agression and speed. The raw and sometimes odd riffs, makes me want to keep turning my volume dot. This music should be played loud! This is straightforward with nothing in between. Nothing atmospheric, no moody keys, synth layers, interludes, or overpolished production. The sound is dirty but clear, and it fits damn good.

The album is not very diverse, but old school thrash never were. In other words, this is nothing original. You have probably heard this 100 times before, including bands such as Slayer, Kreator, Sodom. On the other hand, there is a lack of quality Norwegian thrash acts nowadays. Black and Progressive Metal dominates the Norwegian scene completely nowadays and The Batallion may be starting a new trend here, which I personally have nothing against. The sheer intensity and the quality of the riffs are the difference between good and bad here. Everything is melted together in a great way, and everybody has their own place in the musical picture. Every member adds a certain ammount of rawness, passion and attitude, looking to slam you into the nearest wall.

Memories of pubs filled with cigarette smoke, black leather and bullet-belts as far as the eye can see and the lovely smell of alcohol comes to mind when I'm listening to this. Even though I probably wasn't even thought off at the time, I can imagine how it was to hang out at the local rock/metal bars, with fellow metalheads listening to Sodom while having a beer or fourteen. As I said, this is nothing original, and tends to get a little alike once in a while. However, this is still a quality release from experienced musicians, and I can't wait to hear what they'll do next. Highly Recommended.

Myspace
Killing Songs :
All!
Thomas quoted 87 / 100
Other albums by The Batallion that we have reviewed:
The Batallion - Head Up High reviewed by Kyle and quoted 76 / 100
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