Todesstrafe/Battlefield Destroyer (2017-2021)/We Are At War Records/2022 Compilation Album Review

 

  Italy's  duo  Todesstrafe  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the national  socialist  style  of  black  metal  from  their  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  compilation  album  "Battlefield  Destroyer  (2017-2021)  which  was  released  by  We  Are  At  War  Records  and  consists  of  songs  that  where  recorded  over  a  4  year  time span.

  WWII  era  military  music  samples  start  off  the  compilation  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  old  school  influences.

  Throughout  the  compilation  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  good  amount  of  war  samples.  Influences  of  RAC  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  as  well as  having  their  raw  and  chaotic  moments.  

  All  of  the  riffing  is  done  on  power  chords,  as  the  compilation  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  vocals  are  also  utilized  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  compilation  closing  with  an  acoustic  track.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  Europe  and  national  socialism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collection  from  Todesstrafe  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  national  socialist  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Flame  Still  Burning"  "A  Distant  Thunder"  "A  Deadly  Ritual"  and  "Survival  Instinct".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.bitchute.com/video/v46vgzsPSvcg/

  

  

Wolfkrieg/Todesstrafe/We Are At War Records/2020 Split EP Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Russia's  Wolfkrieg  and  Italy's  Todesstrafe  which  was  released  by  We  Are  At  War  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Wolfkrieg  who  return  with  their  national  socialist  style  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  drum  beats  and  heavy  riffing  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal screams  a  few  seconds  later.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  songs  also  giving  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  when  they  are  utilized.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  National  Socialism  and  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Wolfkrieg  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  national  socialist  black  metal  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Sons  Of  Hyperborea".

  Next up  is  Todesstrafe  who  return  with  their  national  socialist  style  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts out  with  World  War  II  era  German  military  music  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  and  the  music  sticks  mostly  to  a  mid  tempo  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  War,  Europe  and  National  Socialism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Todesstrafe  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  national  socialist  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the split.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  national  socialist  black  metal.  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Wolfkrieg/3540358636

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Todesstrafe/3540424916  

      

Todesstrafe/Under The Sign Of The Storm/We Are At War Records/2020 CD Review

  Todesstrafe  are  a  duo  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  national  socialist  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Under  the  Sign  Of  The  Storm"  which  was  released  by  We  Are  At  War  Records.

  WWII  era  music  samples  which  also  return  on  some  of t he  later  tracks  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams.  RAC  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the r recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  The  songs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  90's  era  second  wave  influences  while  one  track  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  marching  sounds.  When  guitars  solos  and  leads  are  utilized they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  old  school  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  most  of  the  music  is  very  power  chord  driven,  the  closing  track  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  War,  Europe  and  National  Socialism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Todesstrsafe  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  national  socialist  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Shining  Banner"  Ceremonial  Flames"  and  "Fortress  Europe".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Todesstrafe/3540424916 .

    

Todesstrafe Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
To be honest, there's not that much to say about this band. Todesstrafe is our first serious band, a musical project that has been on our mind for a while and that we finally had the time to work on. We both come from a black metal underground, so it was kind of natural to develop in that direction, we just needed to find the right timing and the proper ideas. We started working on a demo of 4 songs, but then the ideas started flowing more fluently and we decided to go on for a full length. This is how “The Northern Hammer Returns” was born.

2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Well, I would say Todesstrafe it's simply primitive raw black metal with Hardcore/RAC elements. We mostly focused on feelings instead of technical playing, we wanted the core of the album to be straight to the point, a fist in the face. Many Black Metal bands sometimes lost themselves in million small details, we wanted to create something in the opposite direction, so what you can find is straight to the core music, the old way

3.Your lyrics deal a lot with War, Europe and National Socialism, can tell us a little bit more about what these mean to you?
I won't waste your time and mine saying the usual extreme things that lot of NSBM bands repeat to the infinite to impress their “musical target”, we don't care about being extreme on interviews because we are much more into the spiritual thing of this music and we mostly think music should speak itself. We are fascinated by war and what Third Reich represented to the story of humankind. War, discipline, courage, loyalty and what it is meant to be really extreme. Extreme in decisions, actions and the iron will of certain ideals, what is completely lost nowadays, like a primitive instinct of survival.

4.I known that the bands name means 'death penalty' in German, how does this name fit in with the
musical style that you play?
We chose “death penalty” as a band name because it represents a strong and drastic statement against traitors and spineless people infecting the world with their politically correctness. We are totally fed up of any kind of “correctness”. The world is not meant to be like this.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding your line up in the future, or do you prefer to remain a duo?
We prefer to remain a duo, due to technical reasons. But also because Todesstrafe is a very personal thing we share, and personally I would like to keep it this way.

6.The album was released on 'We Are At War Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
When we recorded the album and we started to send out promos, it was Werewolf Promotion from Poland that suggested us “We Are At War Records”. Our album is their official first release, so no much to say. We as a band at our first release had not great expectations, but we liked the idea to start this “adventure” with someone that was starting too. “We Are At War Records” released our album in an elegant digipack edition with a special card, sticker and a paper with lyrics (in the limited edition only). The final result is outstanding and much more than what we expected, so we could not be happier than this. Hopefully we'll work together again in the future.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of national socialist black metal?
So far, so good. The album is out since about one month but we already got few orders and who got the cd, loved it. Our personal and strict friends too.

8.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We already started to work on a new album and the style is pretty much the same, I'm quiet sure the new stuff will sound exactly as our debut album. We like the music we made so far, so we'd like to keep it like “our style”. For sure we know we never invented something new, but we try anyway not to sound like a copycat band.

9.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We have to pay homage to bands such as Ad Hominem, Capricornus, Der Sturmer and Aryan Terrorism. About musical styles, obviously Black Metal, some Death Metal and Hardcore. Our current playlist lately is ruled by “The Crowning Horror” from Pest, absolutely a masterpiece!

10.Does Paganism play any role in your music?
Surely we are not Christians or followers of some desert religions, we pay respect to the ancient cults which defined the identity of European folks. We totally respect our roots and our heritage.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
As a major passion, I would define myself as a greedy reader. Then, we both enjoy to travel and visit new places properly, finding out about the local traditions, cultural roots and food. There is so much to see and to learn from travelling, it is a never-ending journey.

12,Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
If you are a fan of primitive “fist in the face” Black Metal, give Todesstrafe a chance. Don't waste your time on soulless Black Metal bands that have nothing interesting to say, support only activists, politically incorrect and sincere acts musical style that you play?
We chose “death penalty” as a band name because it represents a strong and drastic statement against traitors and spineless people infecting the world with their politically correctness. We are totally fed up of any kind of “correctness”. The world is not meant to be like this.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Todesstrafe/3540424916

Todesstrafe/The Northern Hammer Returns/We Are At War Records/2017 CD Review

  Todesstrafe  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  national  socialist  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Northern  Hammer  Returns"  which  was  released  by  We  Are  At  War  Records.

  Air  raid  sirens  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  deep  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  tradition.

  Touches  of  RAC  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  sounds  of  war  are  also  added  onto  some  of  the  later  tracks  along  with  some  samples  of  world  war  II  era  music  and  there  is  only  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  melodic  riffs  while  the  music  is  mostly  dominated  by  power  chords  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Todesstrafe  plays  a  style  of  national  socialist  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  power  chord  driven  while  also  mixing  in  a  decent  amount  of  WWII  era  samples,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  Europe,  and  National  Socialism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Todesstrafe  are  a  very  great  sounding  national  socialist  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Wolfkrieg"  "Sons  Of  The  Black  Sun"  and  "Song  Of  War".  8  out  of  10. 

https://youtu.be/bbFogp_piUA