Review by JD on August 11, 2013.

I thought I was seeing things and seeing an old Canadian metal act coming back after all these years – sadly that was not the case here, and oddly it was good as well. It was not my fellow countrymen, but a Power Metal act with metal legends filling the roster. The incomparable guitarists Ross the Boss and Stu Marshall, power voiced Sean Peck, earthquake timekeeper Rhino and Bass rumbler Mike Davis

To say that this is a supergroup is 100% correct for that assumption, but it is much more when you dive into it. What you have here is five of the best metal musicians that came together and put out a record together with so much experience and fire that a CD cannot hold. This alone should make the most jaded of metalheads among our global ranks drool and have the urge to mosh. With musicianship at an elite level, passion and a want of making people take note – these gods have succeeded.

The highlights were many, and choosing what to write about almost impossible, each song crafted to perfection – showcasing not just Power Metal, but so many influences from different metal sub genres to even strains of Crossover. Packaged up into one band, Death Dealer comes across as so good that many albums from other bands seem to pale in the comparison. How can you not this good – the line-up is like stacking the deck in poker, no one can compete. Listen to the song 'Never To Kneel'… you’ll see what I mean.

Supergroup or not… does not matter. Death Dealer is metal personified, and needs to be heard. Metal has their super team and they are here to fly the flag of metal high and fuckin' proud. All we have to do is to simply listen to it. Crack a cold one metal brothers and sisters - sit back, crank the stereo to ten with this album and enjoy. It can’t get any better than that.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by JD on August 11, 2013.

I thought I was seeing things and seeing an old Canadian metal act coming back after all these years – sadly that was not the case here, and oddly it was good as well. It was not my fellow countrymen, but a Power Metal act with metal legends filling the roster. The incomparable guitarists Ross the Boss and Stu Marshall, power voiced Sean Peck, earthquake timekeeper Rhino and Bass rumbler Mike Davis

To say that this is a supergroup is 100% correct for that assumption, but it is much more when you dive into it. What you have here is five of the best metal musicians that came together and put out a record together with so much experience and fire that a CD cannot hold. This alone should make the most jaded of metalheads among our global ranks drool and have the urge to mosh. With musicianship at an elite level, passion and a want of making people take note – these gods have succeeded.

The highlights were many, and choosing what to write about almost impossible, each song crafted to perfection – showcasing not just Power Metal, but so many influences from different metal sub genres to even strains of Crossover. Packaged up into one band, Death Dealer comes across as so good that many albums from other bands seem to pale in the comparison. How can you not this good – the line-up is like stacking the deck in poker, no one can compete. Listen to the song 'Never To Kneel'… you’ll see what I mean.

Supergroup or not… does not matter. Death Dealer is metal personified, and needs to be heard. Metal has their super team and they are here to fly the flag of metal high and fuckin' proud. All we have to do is to simply listen to it. Crack a cold one metal brothers and sisters - sit back, crank the stereo to ten with this album and enjoy. It can’t get any better than that.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by Dominik on May 12, 2025.

Poland. Land of pierogi, papal pride, and now apparently an unending conveyor belt of extreme metal outfits who sound like they record in cellars lined with rusted swords and communist-era vodka fumes. So, it doesn't come as a surprise that also the local label Godz ov War seems to be on a mission: unleash on mankind every blastbeat-drenched, black-thrash-infused abomination, or any other extreme metal demolition squad Poland has hidden in its basements. With Garota's sophomore effort Z Mieczem Na Gwiazdy ("With a Sword Against the Stars"), another one emerges from the shadows, with an album title that either screams cosmic ambition or is meant to be the soundtrack to a Slavic version of Conan the Barbarian.

The good news first: Garota is evolving. Slowly. Like a Warsaw pigeon learning to avoid trams. Their second full-length shows growth in several areas, most noticeably in the production. The guitars have more bite, there's even a whisper of melody hiding behind all the chaos, the bass occasionally remembers it exists, and the whole thing sounds less like it was recorded inside a rusted Polonez with broken windows.

Musically, the band sticks to its abrasive black-thrash blueprint—gritty, gutter-born, ruthless and pleasingly unpleasant. When this genre hits, it hits like a bar fight in Łódź. When it doesn't, it feels more like waiting in line at the post office during Lent. Thankfully, Garota stays more on the former side: most of the songs are solid, though the album is still lacking that one killer track that might catapult them into the next tier.

The album opens strong with "Z Mieczem Na Gwiazdy Cz.1" and "Posiądę Cię Jak Żywą" (roughly: "I shall possess you as if alive")—the two moments where Garota dares to stray from the safe zone. The opener leans heavily into pure black metal territory, with tremolo riffs and blastbeats aplenty. It's aggressive, well-structured, and almost confident. The vocals remain chained to the thrash end of the spectrum, which gives the track some character, though you might still wish for a bit more range in the vocal pitch. The second track is the polar opposite of the opener: raw, thrashy riffing, some punkish swagger mid-song, and a sense that Garota might be trying to make black thrash… fun? Imagine that. Sadly, that early boldness fades fast. The rest of the album slinks back into safer territory, as if the band caught a glimpse of their own creativity in the mirror and decided it was too risky. There's consistency, sure, but also a frustrating predictability. Especially towards the end the songs begin to blur like the fifth vodka shot at a wedding—you know you're still having a decent time, but you're no longer sure why.

"Matka" feels like a b-side from the debut, albeit one of the better ones. It mixes straightforward thrash rhythms with bursts of manic black energy. The central break is generic but mercifully short, and the song redeems itself in the final minute with a frantic whirl of guitar chaos. "Z Grzechu Obmyci" ("Cleansed of Sin") is in my book perhaps the closest thing to a standout, combining aggression with something resembling nuance. Beneath the noise, faint melodic threads and a pulsing bass hint at a band capable of more than sonic bludgeoning.

In the end, Z Mieczem Na Gwiazdy proves that Garota is on the right path—even if there's a nagging feeling throughout that they are holding themselves back, as if they're worried that deviating too far from the genre's cookbook will summon the ghost of Quorthon to revoke their leather jackets. The band shows potential, polish (no pun intended), and more focus than on their debut. What's missing is a moment of real danger, a song that sticks in your ribs, or a chorus you might accidentally yell at a priest during mass. But hey, Rome wasn't burned in a day. And in black thrash, it's often the stubborn bands that end up with cult status. Garota may yet get there. They just need to write something that will earn them a spot on someone's "best of" tape, dubbed lovingly onto a Maxell and forgotten in a glovebox for ten years.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10, because there is thunder in the sky, but no lightning strikes (yet).