ZERSTÖRER

The German destroyers of ZERSTÖRER got a few pats on the back a couple of years back for the release of debut album "Declaration of War". They stand to get a few more for "Panzerfaust Justice", a strong album of traditionally-based black metal with song structures that incorporate thrash and black 'n roll elements.

The organic sound is dark and raw, while the delivery is high energy (in a black metal sense) and the 35-minute duration offers opportunities galore to revel in black 'n roll groove, thrashing madness, and trad-BM blasts. Songs like short opener "Lost in the Trench", the tempo-shifting "The Punisher", and "War Campaign" (with its prototypically melodic black metal guitars work are representative of the traditional end. The black 'n roll rears up on "Sociopathic Killer", the DARKTHRONE-ish "Goatworship Kommando", and the title track, although in the two former cases you'll still hear multiple changeups into blackened blasting and thrash metal territories. Shades of GOSPEL OF THE HORNS are also heard at various points along the way. The thrashing about reaches fever pitch on "Of War, Hate, Eternal Death", which is also notable for its subtle intricacies in the riffs, and what is probably the album's most memorable track, ".01 kt Bringer of Pain", which to some degree comes off like a blacker version of TOXIC HOLOCAUST.

So your concerns about a potential purchase revolve around fact that ZERSTÖRER isn't a household name, eh? It would seem that underground German black metal may not be the best option for you anyway. Anyway, it is not that "Panzerfaust Justice" is any sort of genre-buster or critical year-end list contender. It is just a rugged, smartly constructed, and appealingly familiar album of dirty, black, thrashing, and rockin' black metal. The artwork falls well shy of shabby too.