LUCIFUGE

Infernal Power DYING VICTIMS

German barbarians get their black/ thrash punk credentials in order

The problem with the short-lived black/thrash movement of the 90s was its inability to go beyond their original urge to merely play early Bathory and Pleasure To Kill covers in disguise. Bremen’s Lucifuge avoid that pitfall by tapping directly into the original source, and they genuinely sound like punks playing metal and not the other way around. Actually, their fourth album’s sole missteps are when they fall back in line and forego their mohawks to switch into full-on black metal mode; they’re at their best when they sound like a lost Neat Records artefact from 1981 fronted by an extremely pissed-off version of Cronos. Behind the brilliantly barbaric Paolo Girardi artwork you can almost smell the vintage Gibson SG fumes on Black Batallions and its very Maiden-esque dual harmonies. So Midnight, watch your back! ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Midnight, Warfare, Aura Noir

OLIVIER BADIN