Review by Felix on May 10, 2022.

Since its release "Violence & Force" always stood in the shadow of its legendary predecessor "Heavy Metal Maniac". Of course, we need to be aware of the early timing of the debut's release. In 1983, speed metal was still in its infancy. Inter alia due to this fact the debut left a huge impact. But irrespective of this favourable basis, "Heavy Metal Maniac" was legendary indeed. Nevertheless, from my point of view "Violence & Force" is not any less fascinating than the debut. To make this explicit I like to start with the description of the three highlights.

Driven by a mighty riff, the title track explodes rapidly after the noisy intro. It is crowned by a catchy chorus and Dan Beehler's shrill shrieks, but I must not neglect the double-bass based bridge, too. No doubt that Exciter still showed great energy and enthusiasm. Perhaps this may seem like a cliché, but they were young and reckless and did not look right and left in order to see what the others were doing. It quickly became clear that the compositions pointed in the same direction as those on the debut. I interpreted this as a sign of honesty and self-confidence - and I liked it. "Saxons of the Fire", opened by a razor-sharp riff, ran in the same vein as the title track. This applied equally to the energy released and the compositional quality. "Swords of Darkness" hit the mark, too. It sounded a bit less furious, yet it convinced with great melodies.

Exciter focused alternately on heaviness and speed. They handled both in an excellent way. This applied even considering the fact, that the majority of the tunes were strong, but not outstanding. Just take "Pounding Metal" for example, its name is simultaneously the perfect description for this piece. Or listen to "Scream in the Night", everything fits. To mention another example, enjoy the leads of "Destructor", the first tune on the B-Side. It starts with a drum solo performance so that it reminded me of "Heavy Metal Maniac" because its B-Side, in particular "Under Attack", began with Beehler´s drumming, too. Coincidence or calculation? I am stumped for an answer. But I know for a fact that I still like the whole album, every song as well as the clean and vigorous production.

And what about the cover? From a present-day perspective one may choose to call it "racially motivated" or "glorifying violence". But even if it were, there is no evidence of this crap in their lyrics. Therefore I just celebrate the 30th birthday of an album I still can recommend with a safe conscience.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Szymon on August 11, 2018.

Six years after returning to the stage, Betrayer presents the new album Scaregod. An album better than its predecessor in every aspect.

Released in 2015, Infernum in Terra did not fully confirm the sense of resurrection of Betrayer after 17 years of non-existence. The cult status of the debut album Calamity from 1994 did not give a sufficiently large advantage in pushing through the crowd of bands, which have since tried to plow albeit fertile, but exceptionally mono-cultural death metal plot. Not much help particularly came also from lacking spark and quite average Infernum in Terra, which definitely required refinement in terms of composition and sound. Its successor, Scaregod, is a slightly a different story. The disc is stronger, more massive, definitely sounds better and draws from the classics of the genre in a successful way.

The latter is not however any objection in style, in which creative cannibalism has dominated for years, and the crushing majority of albums vary only in details. In the stylistics, which is still doing well nonetheless, because you do not have to reinvent the wheel to propose something really decent and worth knowing. This is known to both giants and veterans of the genre, many of whom work very well clinging to the tried patents, as well as lesser-known bands slowly working on their brand. That's the case with Scaregod. The disc does not claim to revolutionize the death metal scene, and Betrayer does what they do best – they’re pounding it in nicely and more interesting than the previous time.

Already promoting the album, opening the material "We Are Rebels" beyond the band's specific statement ("We are rebels, in the rise against the light") announces almost everything that can be expected from the latest incarnation of the band. Accelerations (but without crazy tempos), massive slowdowns, where producers input of Malta is best heard, some technical licks (but no exaggeration, Betrayer is closer to Deicide than to Gorguts) and swinging  groove, perfectly embedded in compositions, unforced solos, emphasized here and there and well-working rhythm section, finally the first league growling of Berial. Assemble these blocks together and you will get a solid structure under the banner of Scaregod. The fact that you had to deal with such blocks many times before should hardly spoil the joy of fun.

The disc is not overly aggressive and definitely does not wear you out with the intensity or density of the pieces. The Koszalin trio has not forgotten about space in compositions and prefers to simplify patterns rather than to wander into an excessive jumble of sounds. In this case, it came out for good. Personally, I miss a bit of old school variations, such as in "Ashes of the Vatican" (distant echoes of "Chapel of Ghouls" by Morbid Angel), which perfectly adapts into the concept of the band. What if Betrayer were a bit bolder reaching after similar solutions? Anyway, Scaregod is a good material and it's worth giving it a chance.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 10, 2022.

Since its release "Violence & Force" always stood in the shadow of its legendary predecessor "Heavy Metal Maniac". Of course, we need to be aware of the early timing of the debut's release. In 1983, speed metal was still in its infancy. Inter alia due to this fact the debut left a huge impact. But irrespective of this favourable basis, "Heavy Metal Maniac" was legendary indeed. Nevertheless, from my point of view "Violence & Force" is not any less fascinating than the debut. To make this explicit I like to start with the description of the three highlights.

Driven by a mighty riff, the title track explodes rapidly after the noisy intro. It is crowned by a catchy chorus and Dan Beehler's shrill shrieks, but I must not neglect the double-bass based bridge, too. No doubt that Exciter still showed great energy and enthusiasm. Perhaps this may seem like a cliché, but they were young and reckless and did not look right and left in order to see what the others were doing. It quickly became clear that the compositions pointed in the same direction as those on the debut. I interpreted this as a sign of honesty and self-confidence - and I liked it. "Saxons of the Fire", opened by a razor-sharp riff, ran in the same vein as the title track. This applied equally to the energy released and the compositional quality. "Swords of Darkness" hit the mark, too. It sounded a bit less furious, yet it convinced with great melodies.

Exciter focused alternately on heaviness and speed. They handled both in an excellent way. This applied even considering the fact, that the majority of the tunes were strong, but not outstanding. Just take "Pounding Metal" for example, its name is simultaneously the perfect description for this piece. Or listen to "Scream in the Night", everything fits. To mention another example, enjoy the leads of "Destructor", the first tune on the B-Side. It starts with a drum solo performance so that it reminded me of "Heavy Metal Maniac" because its B-Side, in particular "Under Attack", began with Beehler´s drumming, too. Coincidence or calculation? I am stumped for an answer. But I know for a fact that I still like the whole album, every song as well as the clean and vigorous production.

And what about the cover? From a present-day perspective one may choose to call it "racially motivated" or "glorifying violence". But even if it were, there is no evidence of this crap in their lyrics. Therefore I just celebrate the 30th birthday of an album I still can recommend with a safe conscience.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Mladen on August 20, 2023.

Normal rules do not apply to CDs like Ekpyrosis’ Mensch Aus Gold. See, I knew I was going to like it even before I've actually heard it. I saw the stunning cover somewhere on the internet and immediately started asking questions. Who is Ekpyrosis? Where are they from? What do they sound like? and who the hell, how and why, made this artwork?

The CD is here now, and looks even better in real life. But some questions will remain questions, and it's better like this. I don't want to know. Black metal needs mystery. After hearing about three different versions, I decided to stop asking about the band. It's (maybe) possible that there are two band members, but there might be more, or less. It's not even the only band with this name, but who cares? They can't be as good as this Ekpyrosis, the German one. Yes, I'm definitely, absolutely, positively sure Ekpyrosis is German. The lyrics are in German, and, strangely for a black metal band, spoken. It's not even a pretentious voice, it's a perfectly natural voice just describing what he sees, thinks, feels, with just enough passion to make it real. It will surprise you, but it won't feel out of place at all. But that's only the beginning of surprises, and I'm not going to go through Mensch Aus Gold and describe all that it contains second by second.

The music. This should be short. After all, there's only one song, just a bit above half an hour long. Now, try to think about your life, all the events that meant something, realize that they won't return — and it will seem that all your years have passed in a moment. Into nothing. Stand, look around you. And ask yourself: "Where am I now?" Now, apply that to music and you get Mensch Aus Gold. The end.

Okay, obviously you need to know more. But the words feel stupid. You've heard expressions such as awesome, breathtaking, emotional, overwhelming, shocking and beautiful before, and using them again would be futile. Just take a few dozen words like those and shuffle them, arrange them tastefully and try to imagine music coming at you, word by word, sound by sound, for the whole duration of one disc, and each single moment fitting the description. Or more descriptions. There's the wall of guitars, and each sequence brings something new, not just the notes, but the feeling, from light and dark all the way to warm and freezing, windy and damp, even high and low. The drums range from furious blastbeats to introspection, and the bass is just... precious. Every instrument, including some extra sounds and choirs, can become the leading one, the secondary one or the background — but even in the background it can tremendously influence the overall picture just by moving a little to the side. All the individual details are simple enough, but I've never ever heard them work in unison like this. There are a few quiet parts too, but the tension doesn't stop. If you suddenly realize you're listening to a scary, low, beating sound, it's your heart.

What's Mensch Aus Gold about, actually? Let's put it this way: either you know from the first time you SEE it, or you're a hopeless digitalized concrete dweller case. Do yourself a favor and read the lyrics — yes, it's hard to reach them, unfolding the insert feels even more like walking through a forest, but the English translation is also there. I realize I've given you the answer in the previous sentence, but that's nothing. Read the poem. It will be the best thing you've read in ages. And Ekpyrosis will complete the experience. No part of Mensch Aus Gold is to be taken for granted, everything has a purpose, and you are advised to look for the answers yourself. You might discover what you lost a long time ago.

Honestly, I can't give the album that reveals the meaning of life less than a 10/10. The revelation is at 26:48. THIS is the moment you'll know what's it all about.

Rating: 10 out of 10