Band:	Panzerchrist
Album:	Regiment Ragnarok
Style:	Blackened death metal
Release date:	April 2011

01. Prevail
02. Panzer Regiment Jylland
03. Metal Tribes
04. Impact
05. For The Iron Cross
06. We March As One
07. The Armour Of Armageddon
08. Ode To A Cluster Bomb
09. King Tiger
10. Feuersturm
11. Time For The Elite
12. Trenches

Blackened death metal
Denmark
Listenable Records

Line-up on the CD:
Magnus Jørgensen - vocals
Lasse Bak - guitars
Rasmus Henriksen - guitars
Michael Enevoldsen - bass
Mads Lauridsen - drums


Danish blackened death metallers Panzerchrist have been kicking ass and taking names since their 2001 full-length, Soul Collector. The album begins the way it ends - loud, abrasive, and unrelenting - the way a blackened death metal album should be. There isn't anything worth writing home about in the originality department, but the level of badassery on this release is so high that even attempting to add in "progressive leads" or "genre-transcending ambience" (or whatever gimmick most modern bands are selling these days) would serve as a pointless gesture, as anything less than Chuck Norris added to the mix would be crushed under the tank that is the Regiment. Simply put: this is a fist in your face.

A bearded chin-fist, that is.

Regiment Ragnarok, ironically released via Listenable Records, features newcomer Magnus Jørgensen - responsible for manning the vocals. "Vocals", or, a rabid eagle's piercing scream as it hooks its jagged talons into the underflesh of a hopeless rodent before it rips its body apart into a glowing red haze.

In case you're wondering, you're the pathetic rodent being turned into cranberry sauce.

Of course, that's just the tone of the album. But what of the actual music? Think Goatwhore's A Haunting Curse with militaristic drumming and more punk-driven riffage. The sparse use of melodies makes for a very enjoyable break the few times they do enter the fray, and they're a bit more enduring than Sammy Duet's rhythmic creations. Comparisons will undoubtedly be made to warmongering Aussies Deströyer 666 for their high-octane form of black metal, but the foundation of each band (D36 being more about melodic hooks, Jesus Tanks being more about brutality) rests opposite each other on the black metal spectrum.

In spite of the album blending together when played on a repeated basis, there are song-defining moments that help the listener differentiate between tracks. Panzerchrist do a marvelous job at topping the aggression scale, but more focus next time around could be put into incorporating slightly more melodic moments or at least shortening the track lengths, as some songs tend to sound like an unfinished idea. When all is said and done this will more than please fans of the band as a new release, and should make its mark in a few black and/or death metal lists for 2011.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/Panzerchristofficial