It's about bloody time! It's only been three years since Chicago’s Lair of the Minotaur released their fourth album "Evil Power", but for fans like myself that seems like forever.
Unfortunately, “Godslayer” is just an EP featuring two songs, specially conceived for Record Store Day set to happen on April 20th, but damn, this still is another hammer to the face, delivered with even more venom and malice than the last time. Just over eight minutes of raw, ugly and brutal metal that rages with the ferocity of a ravenous beast, “Godslayer” finds Lair of the Minotaur at their rampaging best. The title track sees them going straight for the jugular with a mix of “Reign In Blood” imperious riffing and the straightforward, powerful drive of Motörhead. The crushing chainsaw riffs of Steven Rathbone slay absolutely everything in their path, while drummer Chris Wozniak beats the crap out of his drum kit like an out-of-control lunatic. The other track, "The Black Heart of the Stygian Drakonas", charges out of the gate in Motörhead-style with heavy, powerful riffs that are rawer than the flesh ripped from a still warm carcass by a vulture.
Now Mr. Rathbone, stop fooling around with these small teasers and put your hands to work on a new full-length effort, which is essentially what all your fans are eagerly waiting for. 

Band info: www.lairoftheminotaur.com
Label info: www.thegrind-houserecords.com

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There was a time somewhere between the late ’80s and early ’90s, where mythology and the ancient gods were the hippest lyrical topics within the metal community, a feature that got lost throughout the years and very often branded as nerdy. Not for Chicago based trio Lair of the Minotaur whose releases always revolved around mythology, more specifically the Greek one.
With a cover that looks like a drawing from Conan the Barbarian comics, their fourth and latest release ‘Evil Power’ not only revisits that specific era lyric-wise but sound-wise it also presents a crusty thrash attack that remounts back to Celtic Frost and early Entombed.
Lair of the Minotaur brings back to life the crusty and straightforward riffing of Tom G. Warrior, meld it with the vile and vicious impetus of old Swedish death-metal and then add a healthy dose of punk-rock fury. Tracks like ‘Let’s Kill These Motherfuckers’ and the title theme exude that sound signature with great and immediate results. Most of the songs are short and done in concise form, without ever succumbing to lengthy and often pointless noodling and over-done jamming. It’s pure, straight and good metal free of gimmickry, trends or fads. There is, however, a downside to that formula as some of the ideas and riffs get constantly repeated throughout the album and that drags ‘Evil Power’ into monotony on some occasions. But that’s merely a minor flaw ‘cause on the whole ‘Evil Power’ is a solid release elaborating on some pretty entertaining musical ideas. Plus how often can you shout along to a line like ‘let’s kill these motherfuckers’? (7/10)

David Alexandre

Band info: www.myspace.com/lairoftheminotaur
Label info: www.thegrind-houserecords.com

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