Review by Fernando on May 3, 2022.

While Portugal is a country not many people associate with black metal at first glance, it is a very prominent wellspring of black metal and Corpus Christii are one of the longest standing names of the Portuguese black metal scene. In 2022 they will unleash their ninth full length named The Bitter End Of Old, through Immortal Frost Productions.

Corpus Christii is, as mentioned, one of the long-standing black metal bands from Portugal, starting in 1998 and having a very prolific and active career. In the present they have their own style locked, which is on the melodic and orthodox brand of black metal people often associate with Sweden and modern German black metal bands. On this new record, Corpus Christii does mark some of the checkboxes, a high quality production, dynamic song structures that balance speed, groove and atmosphere, very melodic and somewhat progressive riffs and hooks, and vocals that are appropriately ghoulish with occasional bellowing. On those qualities alone, Corpus Christii do have a lot of strengths, albeit with not much innovation, since, as I’ve mentioned, this brand of black metal is the norm for many other bands and scenes, but that’s not to say Corpus Christii are devoid of an identity, as this album is a continuation of their ongoing journey, as this is the style they honed in long before scenes and bands started leaning into this particular style.

The biggest strength Corpus Christii has is of course the skills of the band’s founder Nocturnus Horrendus alongside member J. Goat. The duo since 2015 have been carefully refining their chemistry and on this album, I’d say they’ve achieved unity, in fact, one wouldn’t be able to tell the album was made by only two people, even with the excellent production. Nocturnus Horrendus and J. Goat have a unique skill of managing to make their music sound and feel somber but also vast and engrossing while at the same time, keeping you engaged from beginning to end, and also do it in a very tight package. At under 40 minutes the record is very well paced and engaging and it never feels stretched. While I can criticize how this style of black metal has been already proliferated by many bands in the past decade or so, not many of those artists have the skill Corpus Christii do, that is to be engaging and substantial without overstaying their welcome, so all in all the band continue to prove their long standing bearing as a major force of Portuguese black metal.

Overall, Corpus Christii continue to deliver their brand of wicked and epic black metal, and remain stalwart in their dedication to black metal and the darker side of mankind. It may be a tried and true path, but it's still a worthy path to embark.

Best tracks: 'The Predominance', 'Fragmented Chaos Disharmony', 'For I Am All', 'Heinous'

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 26, 2023.

Thankfully, the times are changing. Back in 1987, Neat Records did not want to print the real names of the members of Artillery on the back cover of their phenomenal second album "Terror Squad". The company thought seriously that these "unusual" Danish names could endanger the commercial success of the record. Only the initials of the Scandinavian thrash pioneers were printed. Bullshit. However, the ambitious thrashers of Battery can read their full names in the booklet. This is how things should be.

I did not know the band until I bought their debut. If you also do not know its music yet, let me assure you that they play extremely wild thrash metal and that "Armed with Rage" is a very suitable name for this album. Admittedly, "Sharp Riffs from Insane Danish Ruffians" or "Violent Lunacy Combined with Hellish Guitars" would have been less catchy titles for the record. But nevertheless, they would also have described its content in an appropriate manner. Battery is bursting with energy and their raging approach mirrors this fact impressively. High velocity thrash is their highest priority and blast beats appear occasionally in order to increase the dynamic of the songs. To verify this, just lend an ear to the fascinating opener "Narcotic Mirage". Every track is equipped with an overdose of high speed rhythms and that´s almost too much of a good thing. Generally spoken, I highly appreciate songs that are swift as an arrow. Nonetheless, one of my personal favourites on this album is "Vermin of Fukushima", not at least because of its creepy mid-tempo parts. It is the only piece where the powerful guitars gain the upper hand against the untameable yet highly competent drummer. The result is the most catchy song of "Armed with Rage". It is surely no coincidence that this tune is placed in the middle of the album in order to interrupt the constant high speed assault, albeit only for five minutes.

The band members wear shirts of Razor, Kreator ("Flag of Hate") and Morbid Angel so that everybody can imagine the level of Battery´s musical intensity. The old school rules. But its vehement songwriting approach is combined with a massive and very vigorous production. It has the strength to blow you away without jeopardizing the tradition-conscious flair of the music. Every instrument benefits from the mix. Even the pumping bass is well audible. And this is, as you all know, unfortunately not a matter of course. The hectic lead vocals impress, too. They add the necessary amount of hysteria without getting completely out of control.

With ferocious newcomers such as Battery, there is no need to be concerned about the future of thrash metal. The band has released a flawless debut. While walking the thin line between controlled attacks and pure chaos, each and every band member proves its technical skills as well as its credible attitude. Forget all these lukewarm neo thrash competitors and the ridiculous metalcore clowns. "Armed with Rage" is the real thing, although the cover artwork leaves room for improvement. If you want to know the highlights of the album, just read each and every song title.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10