Maniac Butcher "Masakr" Negative Existence (2010)

It's been a good past year for comeback albums by some of black metal's greats. We have had excellent releases by both Beherit and Profanatica. Now we have the return of Maniac Butcher!, a band that I feel has put out nothing but quality releases during their entire career. So needless to say when news of this album came my way, I rushed to order this album "Masakr" release in august 2010 by Negative Existence label, limited in 500 copies in Gatefold LP 

Masakr opens up with some quick atmospherics before the brutality commences. For those of you not in the know, Maniac Butcher play straight forward, no frills black metal in the tradition of second wave Norwegian bands. Traces of early Gorgoroth, Mayhem, and early Immortal can be found all over Masakr, there are no keyboards or female vocals at all on this, or any Maniac Butcher release. The line up in this record are 

Vlad Blasphemer (R.I.P. 2015): Guitars, Songwriting

Barbarud Hrom: Vocals, Lyrics

Infernal Vlad: Guitars

Lord Obst: Bass

Coroner: Drums in studio

Lets start with the production, it's very abyss studio sounding to me. I'm more accustomed to the complete raw degradation of albums like Invaze and Barbarians, so I find this clean more polished production very detrimental. The drums in particular sound way too punchy, and mechanical. I like how everything sounds the same on the drum kit. 

The track list in album is: 
Side A:
1. Desatero krutých zim přežitých v teple žhnoucí záře slávy minulé
2. Projížďka hvozdem hlubokým za oučelem sčítání stavůch vlkůch a vlkodlakůch
3. Rozhodnutí nezvratné všecken mír rozhodně rozvracející

Side B:
4. Bezbožné rouhání zpovědní před tažení vojnového započetím
5. Masakr krvavý pro plnění zájmůch vyšších i řezničení nadbytečné pro kojení pudůch nízkých
6. Zakončení ouděsné bezpočtům krutou jistotu slibující, však mne bezpočet slibných nejistot skýtající

The other down side to this album is the actual drumming of Coroner. It is very dull and sterile, to say the least. There are almost no drum fills at all and I just feel that his performance could have been stepped up significantly. The guitar tone is razor sharp, and sounds huge thanks in part to the clear production. The production also favors the bass tones too, there is a lot of bass presence on Masakr. 

Barbarud Hrom's vocals are excellent as usual, his angry overly aggressive tone is right upfront and in your face...as it should be. The songs also seem a little more varied on Masakr. Mixed in to the brutal black metal we are treated to thrash styled riffs that would not seem out of place on a Kreator or Sodom album. The effect is crushing and very dynamic in it's chaotic delivery. 

So how does Masakr stand up to older Maniac Butcher releases? Quite good actually, this is not their best work but is an excellent starting point for those who want to get into Maniac Butcher. It's not a perfect album but when your in need of a true black metal fix Masakr will definitely feed your appetite.

This is a few link of album´s song "Masakr". 

Anyway the last full-lenght album of Czech masters are amazing and brutal blasphemous because is a legacy of one member who past R.I.P. in 2015: master Vlad Blasphemer.