Bestial Warlust - Blood & Valour [1995]

After releasing one of the best extreme metal albums in Australia’s history, Bestial Warlust didn’t waste anytime sulking in their relative underground success down under. Instead they hit the studio the next year to create a follow-up to the masterpiece that was “Vengeance War Till Death.” The result was the equally diabolical sophomore record “Blood & Valour,” a record that will not disappoint fans of the band’s previous work, but will offend just about everyone else. With the departure of axe master KK Warslut and bassist Corpsemolester, it’s incredible to see how well this album came out. Less than a year later with two new members in the fold, but that is just a testament to how good Bestial Warlust is. 

Riff-wise, the songs on this album aren’t much different from those on the predecessor. There’s a lot of tremolo picking throughout, with the most notable flurries of rapid-riffage being on “…Till the End” and the insane “I, the Warrior.” “Legion of Wrath” is one hell of a headbanger, due to the awesome midpaced riffs that give the listener a breath of fresh air from the constant tremolos. The incredible instrumental “Within the Storm” features some of Bestial Warlust’s best riffs, as well as some of the best songwriting skills from this Aussie horde. “Prelude: Descention Hells Blood” is the most evil track in this band’s arsenal, right up there with “Satanic” from the debut. The song starts with a haunting clean intro and some wind sound effects, only for the serenity to cease once those heavy power chords hit and the wicked tremolos return. 

While I don’t find this record to be better than the band’s debut, there is one significant upgrade on “Blood & Valour.” The production. This music is still undeniably old-school and the production is still pretty shit compared to modern standards (then again, who would want to listen to pure savagery like this with modern production?), but all of the instruments sound so much clearer than they did back in ‘94. The drumming doesn’t take over the music, as the riffs are clearly heard despite Hellcunt’s relentless performance behind the kit. And Bloodstorm’s vocals are still in top form as he brings a violent and barbaric edge to the already brutal music. Bestial Warlust is one of the reasons why Australia’s scene is beyond amazing, and their influence is irrefutable because of classics like “Vengeance War Till Death” and “Blood & Valour.” 

Highlights

“Death Rides Out”

“…Till the End”

“I, the Warrior”

Final Rating

Awesome [8.7/10]

Bestial Warlust - Vengeance War Till Death [1994]

Aside from a few bands, Norway's black metal scene was and is utter shite which is something that the guys up north in Canada knew. Of course I'm speaking of the guys in Blasphemy who created the bestial masterpiece "Fallen Angel of Doom" which would spawn a slew of great bands (and a whole lot of craptacular bands as well) that emulated the band's more relentless black metal sound. Arguably the best band to follow Blasphemy and their vile sound would come from down under (Who would've thunk it?) in the form of Bestial Warlust, with the cheesy and hilarious stage names and everything. After releasing some demos under the moniker of Corpse Molestation, it was time to set fire to the extreme metal underground with their debut record "Vengeance War Till Death" which is quite possibly the greatest metal export from Australia and has easily one of the best album covers ever. 

If you've heard "Fallen Angel of Doom" then you should know exactly what to expect on "Vengeance War Till Death," and the band wastes no time in letting the listener know what kind of filthy and spastic music is about to be unleashed as they open the album with the track "Bestial Warlust." A song that starts with some fast and random drumming accompanied by Bloodstorm's exclamation of "Bestial Warlust!" before erupting into an all-out assault upon the listener and their brain which is sure to be turned to mush once the record is over. The next song "Dweller of the Bottomless Pit" isn't much different than the first track and it almost reinforces that terrible stereotype that all war metal sounds exactly the same, but the next track "Satanic" is black metal in its finest form. This song is evil, heavy and entirely devastating as it starts off with some heavy powerchords accompanied by a tolling bell to further that dark and murky atmosphere. 

One of the most common complaints that I've encountered when seeing discussions of this album is the drumming, which I immediately laugh at. The drumming here isn't extremely precise or even varied much, but there is no denying that the intensity from the kit throughout these seven songs from hell is such a vital part to the music. The riffs only come in two different varieties for the most part, they're either bursts of tremolo riffing like on the song "Storming Vengeance" which seems to be nothing but fast tremolo picking or they come in the heavier, midpaced variety, though they're not too slow thanks to Hellcunt's insane drumming. "Vengeance War Till Death" is definitely one of those records where you'll either love it or hate it as most of the tracks are similar in sound and leave pretty much the same impression. Whether or not that impression is a positive or negative one, doesn't matter because at the end of the day Bestial Warlust and their answer to Blasphemy with this album will continue to be one that is coveted by the metal underground for years to come. 

Highlights

"Satanic"

"Heathens"

"Storming Vengeance"

Final Rating

Masterpiece [9.0/10]