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Review: Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Bolt Thrower
www.boltthrower.com
Realm of Chaos

Label: Metal Blade Records
Year released: 2005
Originally released in: 1989
Duration: 38:12
Tracks: 12
Genre: Death Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: January 25, 2009
Reviewed by: Hermer Arroyo
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 4.3/5 (85.96%) (47 Votes)
Review

When looking around at bands in Death Metal, they generally emphasize on speed and technicality. And fans for the most part get drawn to that. Many of those groups have made this a trademark of their sound, making it hard to stand out in the scene. While some bands go for this method, others try a different, slower approach.

That's were Bolt Thrower comes in, sacrificing fast tempo for unbelievable heaviness. Showing a good amount of songwriting talent for a young band, their second album Realm of Chaos, almost sounds kind of doomy. Don't get me wrong, there is some really fast stuff going on here, but this is slow compared with other bands in the genre.

This record is enhanced by heavy riffs, especially in the opener "Eternal War" and "World Eater". Both are marked by chaotic solos and crushing guitar playing, but also this can be heard in every song on the album. The vocals by Karl Willets are brutal but intelligible. The bass and the drums complement perfectly the sound that Bolt Thrower is trying to achieve. The production helps because everything is downtuned, sounding vicious like a war, which is the theme of the record. Speaking of which, this is what the band focus on in their lyrics. Seriously they sound like they went to Iraq and Vietnam and have the wounds to prove it.

The songs on Realm of Chaos sounds very similar, but in the case of this band this is a good thing. I would have liked a little more variety, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter that much if it sounds this good. This record may not be a classic but is a great album, a total influence in Death Metal.

More about Bolt Thrower...
Review: ...For Victory (reviewed by Dakuroth)
Review: Honour, Valor, Pride (reviewed by Dakuroth)
Review: Realm of Chaos (Vinyl reissue) (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Those Once Loyal (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: War Master (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Who Dares Wins (reviewed by Chaossphere)
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