Greetings duelists and welcome back to Flash of the Blade! It’s 2022! Everything is different and yet, the absolute fucking same. Those who are killing us and destroying the planet have names and addresses and the solution to their tyranny is simple. Don’t remember what this column is about? Luckily, it’s easy to remind you: this column is about short releases that go hard. Also, swearing. Which genres are included? Fuck genres. If it goes hard and if it goes fast and if it doesn’t waste any time doing either of that, it can end up here. OK? OK. Let’s fucking get to it.
Sword
Axis of Light – Axis of Light (25:02 of raw, lo-fi, black metal). OK, imagine a raw black metal album. Now make it rawer. No, rawer. And faster. And more pissed off. And sort of mysterious and an urban sort of way. OK, got it? Wrong, you’ve failed completely, nothing will prepare you for how this album will grab you by the fucking throat and squeeze, and squeeze, and fucking squeeze. Your black metal is weak. This is the strength.
Daggers
Sanhedrin – Lights On (41:10 of riff-tastic heavy metal). Riff after riff of tasty heavy metal covered with epic vocals and a sense for both the contemporary and the historical. Get on it already.
Clarent Blade – The Book Of All And One (9:24 of epic heavy metal). More fantastic music from Spectral Lore‘s Ayloss, this time in the form of powerful, true to the source heavy metal with the most unique vocals you’ll hear all week. Draw your steel, cowards!
Ultra-Violence – Operation Misdirection (random reminder of my favorite 49:18 minutes of thrash from the last few years). What it says on the tin. Thrash. Goes hard. Lots of bass. Do it.