Panzerchrist - Regiment Ragnarok

For years the cold and harsh reality of war has been the elected subject matter for a wide number of metal bands, from Slayer to Bolt Thrower, from Megadeth to Marduk, they all opted to write about actual events that actually shed more blood than all the serial killers, demons, witches, vampires and other occult characters of this and the other world combined.

For Denmark’s veterans Panzerchrist, war is their raison d'être and on their sixth album “Regiment Ragnarok” they prove that they still possess enough firepower to provoke some serious aural wreckage.

The five-piece have created a raging new album that adheres to their classic death metal style, yet it also sees them incorporate some new features that lean towards the black-metal genre. Those features are clearly noticeable right on opening theme “Prevail”, which starts with the sound of a war tank marching into a battlefield, aim at the target and fire way as the band engages in some relentless death-metal attack with double-kick drums blasting at light speed. There’s a definite black-metal influence in the riffing of guitarists Rasmus Henriksen and Lasse Bak here, with some malevolent and slightly dissonant melodies intertwined with some thick and brutal riffs. Then there’s the dual vocal performance of Magnus Jørgensen, who moves from a deep sewer gurgle style to some raspy black-metal screaming throughout the whole record. “Prevail” sets the tone for the remaining 11 songs, an incessantly furious and commandingly brutal sound that crushes all opposition like a gigantic and terrifying panzer.

That said, “Regiment Ragnarok” will surely satisfy even the most voracious death metal appetite. (7/10)

David Alexandre

Band info: www.myspace.com/panzerchristofficial

Label info: www.listenable.net

For fans of: God Dethroned, Vomitory, Blood Red Throne