Review by JD on December 29, 2014.

The movement back to thrash excites me. Many new artists are being influenced by not only the ‘Big Four’, but they are finding other bands that were really great yet were overshadowed by the big ones or overlooked all together. Desecrator from Down Under is one that was listening to all of it and more... and took note.

Sounding like a capsule of my teen aged years, they combine some of the influences that painted my life. Testament, Overkill, older Metallica mixed with all of the NWOBHM era stuff ends up being both a tip of the hat to the old guard while charging ahead with something that is so original as well. A feat only a few bands could attest to. Desecrator delivers a thrash attack, and brings it all up-to-date.

Four tracks were offered here. Four very amazing slabs of titanic six-string-mass-frenzied attack. It’s very intense, headbanging wild and so powerful that the whole EP ends up being instantly memorable. These crazy Aussies have truly captured the very essence of what thrash was and is while giving the music this way cool extra massive twist. That is all that culminated in the fact that it kicks some serious ass.

Simply put, this EP is a mosh pit waiting to happen. Just insert the disk in, turn the sucker loud and you have the soundtrack for a circling, sweat and blood fueled pit. I can’t believe these guys have been hiding in Australia all of this time because these dudes just might be the next cornerstone for a new Big Four. Get the damned EP and spread the word about Desecrator to everyone you know. Thrash is alive and wants to kill all poser metal.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on November 20, 2023.

Today I am going to go back to check out a new release from a band I once covered, that being the black/death metal band Morbid Sacrifice from Italy. In this review, I will be covering their second full-length album Ceremonial Blood Worship, due to be released on November 24th via Godz Ov War Productions.

From the very get-go, you will hear that good old bestial black/death metal which rips the living flesh with overly aggressive tremolo picking riffs, slow drumming and blast beats, amped up with harsh growling vocals, although this time it seems that the band has managed to up their game a bit since the last time. The songs are much more vile and wicked, giving a stronger edge to the immense riffing and drumming, even during slower sections like on third track 'Bloodsoaked Salvation'. The band certainly gave it all they got to make their best effort with both slow and fast sections in every song, for the purpose of conveying a blasphemous vibe with feelings of utter hate and misanthropy. In comparison to their previous album Communion Of The Unholy, Ceremonial Blood Worshipsounds and feels a lot darker and more menacing, especially with the kind of raw energy that the songs create. Aside from their original material, they also included a cover of one my favorite Sodom songs from "Persecution Mania", that being 'Conjuration'. I must say that they did a good job while covering 'Conjuration', and also added a bit of their own by having both WitchFucker and ThroatVomit sing during verses in their own vocal style, although personally I feel that WitchFucker's harsh shouting black metal vocals seem to fit the song better, especially during choruses. Nothing against ThroatVomit's vocals by any means, but they do at times tend to feel a bit silly during certain sections when the growling voice sounds as if he's trying to imitate Goldar from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, especially during tracks such as 'Serpent Of Abomination' and 'Bleed For The Horned King'. If you manage to look aside from this small issue, then you really have nothing to lose here. Another great thing worth mentioning is the fact that the band received an upgrade in form of a new logo by the great Christophe Szpajdel, which fits perfectly with their music and also with the front cover art Pietà from 1575/1576, one of the last paintings by the Italian master Tiziano Vecelli known as Titian. Productionwise, I must say that it's quite a raw and brutal sounding album, which I must compliment for its final output for not having a second of thin guitar sound.

Morbid Sacrifice certainly went ahead of themselves while working on Ceremonial Blood Worship, which easily surpasses all the efforts of its predecessor Communion Of The Unholy. It is indeed a very traditional bestial black/death metal album in terms of its overall execution, but it certainly ended up being an ambitious output that fought its way through from start to finish. Definitely give this one a go if you're looking for something that would please a fellow war metal fan and make you go ÖUGH!

Rating: 8.2 out of 10