BMG Vinilo y CD

Review: Originally released in 1992, the fifth full-length from the German thrash metal pioneers marked a notable embracing of more modern metallic composition, pulling from the burgeoning death metal sound to help sharpen their sonic assault. What resulted was a band who originally formed in 1981 proving they could still go riff for riff with any of their more youthful contemporaries with a barrage of their most frenetic, fast-paced speed-thrash up to that point in their career. Their final effort with founding drummer Chris Witchhunter, the LP also marked the debut of guitarist Andy Brings and now comes home newly remastered and spread out across a lush red vinyl 2xLP.

Review: While the Cavalera brothers would become renowned for their work with Sepultura, many will admit to having little reservations about jumping ship to Soulfly when the time came. With frontman Max Cavalera's penchant for ferocious thrash riffage, husking growls and tribal infusions, this later project would bolster some of the most vicious thrash-punk both sides of the millennium. 'The Soul Remains Insane' compiles all four studio albums, released between 1998 to 2004, along with a bonus LP of b-sides, rarities and unreleased tracks. A book with rare interviews offering insight into each record is also included, making this 4 album/1 compilation, 5xLP collection a true spectacle of fan service to behold.

Review: The follow up to Newcastle metal icons' stellar debut, Welcome To Hell, is often regarded as one of the quintessential extreme metal contributions, even to this day. Venom would meticulously craft their sophomore effort, with vocalist/bassist Conrad Lent working overtime to mix the tracks, utilising his engineering experience in an attempt to keep costs low while also maintaining full creative control. The end result was Black Metal, a ferocious onslaught of unprecedented technicality, satanic imagery and malevolent atmosphere. It's no small secret that the project is all but directly linked, cited and blamed for the resulting Norwegian black metal genre that would slowly take decrepit shape in the late eighties before plaguing the nineties with as many controversial news articles as it did seminal albums. Even the infamous artwork has become synonymous with the genre as an entity, while the hyper-aggressive, unsettling form of speed-thrash the tracks exude, still stands tall and bold as the intrinsic signifier of the metal scene as a whole, on a deathmarch into uncharted, undiscovered realms of extremity in 1982. Four decades on, this anniversary edition serves as credence to the birth of all modern forms of extreme metal.