Swordmaster
Postmortem Tales
Terror - drums
Night - guitar
Whiplasher - vocals
Thunder - bass
1. The Masters of Possession
2. Crush to Dust
3. Postmortem Tales
4. Past Redemption
5. Claws of Death
6. Blood Legacy
7. The Serpent Season
8. Metallic Devastation
9. Black Ace
Don't be fooled by their cheesy name, Swordmaster is a band worthy of attention. They are a second-generation speed metal band without the bitchy guitar or vocals. The riffing is a bit punkish, in a Metallica type of way. Some of the songs remind me of "Fight Fire With Fire" or "Metal Militia." The vocals are done black metal style. The drums are kind of punkish, no rolling double bass but pummeling nonetheless. I really like the leadwork on this album. It's melodic but not overwhelmingly dumb and pointless like many solos of eighties speed metal bands. These solos actually have feeling. The guitarist, Night, sure knows how to use those harmonics! He's got a great downtuned but not sloppy kind of sound, and he's got really tight rhythm. If you want aggressive speed metal that pummels your eardrums into submission, these guys are your shit.
Production rating 9/10
Songwriting 9/10
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