World War One was, without a doubt, the most brutal war in Military History. In terms of lives lost and concerning the horror of trench warfare, was the battle of the Somme. It’s in those blood-soaked forests and fields that form the setting for Feuerwalze and those trenches where thousands lost their lives.

What better way to start an album than with sirens and the sounds of battle, the fury of “Cemetery Fields” catches fire in this way, with a volley of blast beats interspersed with German radio communications, I believe that if Bolt Thrower had played Black Metal, it might have sounded like this. Beautifully savage yet it’s on tracks like “Eternal Attrition” and “Nachtschreck” are where restraint is shown with an amazing solo in “Eternal Attrition” that gave me chills. I love the pacing of Feuerwalz, it follows the bloody course of a battle, from the opening salvo to the bleeding out of “Shrapnel Exsanguination” which features another killer as fuck solo that ends the track in flesh-shredding fashion.

Over the course of Feuerwalz I also get thoughts of Mayhem and their Grand Declaration of War album, probably from the martial drums and some rhythm changes that harkened to that album. “Labyrinthine Trench Sectors” is where the album finds its end, striding with purpose across the fields, taking out survivors along the push to the next battle, eight minutes and twenty-eight seconds of sneak attack and retaliation; at times slow with a lull in the fighting while quick shifting to quick blasts till all that’s left is just the sound of merciless artillery pounding the earth.

With Feuerwalz, Minenwerfer has taken what they achieved with Alpenpässe and brought the brutality of the Somme to crush your eardrums. It’s a tale that 1914, Kanonenfieber, and Bolt Thrower (yeah, they’re Death Metal but…), also Marduk, because war can’t be discussed without mentioning them, and admittedly there are times when Panzer Division Marduk comes to mind. When you get down to where the grenade hits the ground, this is a pretty snappy fucking album, pacing, and tempo keep it from being a simple Black Metal album to a furious, bestial whirlwind that grabs you by the throat; do you like those bands I mentioned? Minenwerfer should be in your collection if they aren’t already.

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments