Even when it comes to the oldest and crustiest of dark-n-dirty oldschool black metal, the Czechs school most anyone else. Take Amon (formerly Amon Goeth) for an example. For two albums on Nazgul's Eyrie Productions they reveled in worship of that rude, nasty vein of black metal that drew as much from Motorhead as Venom while still being aware of the more brutal forms of black, death, and thrash. Well, just as Barbarian Wrath rose from the ashes of an earlier incarnation, so does Amon, and their return on Barbarian Wrath sounds much harsher and heavier, but is still identifiable. Though vocalist Dr. Fe basically only appears on bonus tracks, that sick, unique Czech black metal vocal style is handled capably by guitarist Larva and bassist Fana Medek. The guitar riffs are turbo-fueled old metal riffs just cranked to insane speed and intensity. Think of the way Motorhead approached 'rock and roll' and that's a good indication of the way Amon approaches 'old-school black metal'. Even with such old-school riffing the brutality matches most death metal bands. Dr. Fe does return for a few guest vocal appearances, as does Big Boss of Root. In addition to the 12 listed tracks there are six more unlisted bonus tracks from the original Call the Master demo, and combined with the listed extra tracks what you have is seven new songs and basically almost the entire first Amon Goeth album. A great bargain for your money and something definitely worth it for lovers of raw, crusty thrashing metal insanity.

© 2003 lord vic