The English extreme Metal scene in the late 1980s was amongst the heaviest in the entire world. In 1998 alone, there were three pinnacle English Grind releases that helped forge the national identity and sound. CARCASS had “Reek Of Putrefaction”, NAPALM DEATH had “From Enslavement To Obliteration” and BOLT THROWER dropped the heaviest of them all with the pulverizing “In Battle There Is No Law”. These three releases not only solidified the careers of the bands involved, but they helped mainline the genre into the music world, whether it was wanted or not. English Grind was aggressive, it was noisy and it was abrasive back then. There was little solace given, practically no sense of production, and typical songwriting conventions were launched right out the window. It was a time of controlled chaos and near perfect recordings that harnessed the wild energy. Darkness Shall Rise Productions, who have an almost otherworldly knack for reissuing some of the forgotten classics of the extreme Metal world, have recently reintroduced the legendary BOLT THROWER debut to the public once again on CD, cassette and three vinyl variants. Packing nine songs in a half hour of guttural fury, BOLT THROWER crushed and ripped in ways that few bands could at the time. This was pushing the bar of sonic power into new territory, even when compared to some of the other prominent extreme Metal releases of 1988, such as “Leprosy” by DEATH and “South Of Heaven” by SLAYER. There was a visceral, feral energy to “In Battle There Is No Law” that simply was a product of its time, never to be repeated or replicated. Where others sang about war, BOLT THROWER embodied it. It moved in a crashing wall of sound that felt like armored tanks in formation, heading into battle and crushing everything foolish enough to find itself in line with its treads. From the onset of the title track which opens the album, the listener is indoctrinated into the ritual of combat. The record begins with the line “In the fight for existence and life / there is no law”. It then descends into grinding madness. War drums lead the song into its first riff phrase, highlighting the simplistic, often single-note, approach to which the band utilized throughout their later albums. Palm-muted cyclical riffing feels almost tribal in nature, transitioning into a flurry of wailing guitar leads and rapid-fire erratic drumming. Karl Willets’ vocal approach wasn’t purely guttural or frontal, but more of an aggressive grunt from the deepest part of the chest. ‘Challenge For Power’ showed off the percussive artillery of Andrew Whale, while not as precise as some other drummers from the late ’80s, he certainly conveyed a sense of ‘heaviness’ rather unheard of from drummers. His execution, meter and rhythmic movements were vicious, trumpeting, maniacally aggressive. His drumming deserves just as much mention as that of Pete Sandoval, Dave Lombardo or Gene Hoglan. ‘Concession Of Pain’ remains one of the heaviest songs of the era. Opening with a monstrous solo featuring some screaming sustained high notes, the rhythm guitar paces in palm-muted chugs in rapid manner, possessing violently surgical delivery, as machine-gun double bass helps round out the wall of sound and utterly violent execution. Breakneck transitions and rhythm intensive riff crafting shove the song into different stages of barbarism, creating an unbreakable state of tension that features almost no resolution whatsoever. Songs such as ‘Psychological Warfare’ and ‘Nuclear Annihilation’ were feasts of riff work, keeping the record interesting deep into its lifespan, allowing, almost encouraging, repeat listens. For those of you who may have never heard the name BOLT THROWER before, this is absolutely the best jumping off point for the band’s discography. Nothing in their career ever sounded quite like their debut did. Those already familiar with the name have a reason to reacclimate themselves with this short and ugly display of human-on-human violence. For more information on BOLT THROWER, see www.boltthrower.com and for more information on Darkness Shall Rise Productions, check out www.facebook.com/darknessshallriseproductions.