Maniac Butcher: Lučan-antikrist (1996)

Here we have yet another album by the Czech black metal band Maniac Butcher, with yet another almost embarrassingly amateurish album cover.  I have been on a bit of a Maniac Butcher kick lately and have picked up a number of their albums.  This coincides with my black metal kick.  As I have previously mentioned, Maniac Butcher is pretty much a perfect example of black metal, particularly the second wave black metal.

This is Maniac Butcher's second album and it does differ rather considerably from other albums from the band I have heard.  For one thing, there is the intro track which features a sample of a male choir.  That is a little different than the band's later stubborn refusal to include anything other than the typical metal instruments.  The other difference is that this is a much more melodic and accessible album than some of the other ones.  Rather than focus on pure unadulterated chaos, the band's sound is driven by tremolo riffing and blast-beat drumming.  Some of the riffs are even fairly musical, very odd for this band.  The vocals are raw and powerful, delivered in much more of a primal roar than the typical black metal shrieking.  That is one thing that did not change over time. 

This is not really a classic album, whether in the context of black metal as a whole or Maniac Butcher's discography.  There are better albums by the band out there.  But there is something to be said for picking up a black metal album and getting well-crafted true black metal.  And that is what we have here.