With the slow-motion curl of a hydrogen cloud suffocating their lungs and a blast of white light searing all eyes shut the atomic breath of Vancouver, Canada musician Deathlord of Abomination and War Apocalypse (R. Förster) sprays nuclear death unto the jet stream of war metal’s seemingly indomitable past on Death Worship‘s second official release, the ‘End Times’ EP. Förster might’ve left Conqueror behind after joining Blasphemy around 1999 but there is still no mistaking his work two decades later. The hard-grinding fissure of his guitar work still draws influence from classic bestial thrashing madness (Sarcófago) and 80’s extreme metal (Terrorizer, Slayer) alike. “End Times” is clearly masterminded by Förster and his stamp is as vivid as a mortar blast upon an orphanage but, the performances within also include two fellow legends of bestial metal; Vocalist Nocturnal Grave Desecrator and Black Winds (Blasphemy, Blasphamagoatachrist) and prior Conqueror collaborator drummer J. Read (Revenge, ex-Axis of Advance) each bring considerable skill and typically violent performance to the fairly short 13+ minute EP.

Read comes in particularly impressive form as his drumming is unusually precise in attack, spraying hits as if in command of two well-oiled Barrett M82, at close range. I referenced Terrorizer earlier though you might hear that meth-fueled Nausea style hardcore resemblance just as clearly in early Blasphemy or on ‘I.N.R.I.’, it takes my mind to that pre-1990 era of extremity and the radiation poisoned guitar tone helps quite a bit. More recently groups like Pissgrave and Caveman Cult have hit upon a different strokes of the old ways and each should appear somewhat schooled between ‘End Times’ and last years ‘Black Metal Warfare’ from the comparable nuclear nihilists in Blasphamagoatachrist. Though it is not an extensive listen the quick spin holds value much like classic grindcore in terms of abrupt and chaotic violence defined by heavily detailed compositions that cram an albums worth of performative insanity into just four short pieces. No doubt it’d take the old masters to bring some form of fresh bloody hell to war metal among their countless imitators and in this sense Death Worship naturally stands above the pack by invoking the oldest, most righteous filth in a very succinct way on ‘End Times’. Highly recommended. For preview I’d say “The Poisoned Chalice” should have you buying this up immediately or just fucking right off.

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