WEAPÖNIZER - USA

WEAPÖNIZER - THE STEEL BEAST - ALE WÜLF TAPES  
If you want to get my back up, call your band's style or sound black-thrash ‘n’ roll or anything 'n' roll. Firstly, a FOAD to all rock and roll; boring mainstream pop music. Secondly, it is tiring that nearly every single stupid bio that lands in my inbox, which is something like 50 a week, refers to some non-black metal band as "black metal," "blackened" or, in this case, black 'n' roll. It is irritating that "black metal" is used as a substitute for harmony or melody - or anything - nowadays. No use asking these emailers either. They have no clue. They are just copying everybody else. The band's last release was on 20 Buck Spin. The Steel Beast is released on the band's own J.D. Kelly's Ale Wülf Tapes.
Having said that, the band and its bio make amends. The song Victory is "dedicated to those who fought fascism then" (referring to Operation Overlord and D-Day) "and a reminder that the fight never truly ends." That is not only worthwhile, but is in line with the metal spirit of fighting for what is right.
Yet, what is most important with any band and album is the music. The biography mentions that the recording encountered multiple headwinds and, having begun as early as 2021, continued through 2023 before being finally completed in 2025. So, without further ado, what is the verdict on The Steel Beast?
Opening track Witch Serpent is truly old-school and sounds as if Agent Steel collided with early Iron Maiden before being influenced by Destruction and Sodom. The sound is thin, the playing ferocious and the vocals are croaking and the whole thing has a take-no-prisoners approach that, while fully metallic, captures a punkish vibe. The production is somewhat odd, almost as much as the style is the band's own. Speed metal strumming crashes into late Kreator riffs and goes on to thrash the enemy with frenzied power. Offbeat notes and stray harmonies appear here, there and everywhere. This is never going to be an instant hit and the rest of the album proves it. The guitarist's right hand is constantly moving (heck so is the drummer's). Tempo changes and the band goes together like ammunition and a magazine. The bass makes itself known too. Victory is a Motörhead (almost) cover version gallop, solo and all. I mean, as far as I know. The bass has Motörhead written all over it too.. Engines is like a messy mix of Venom and Onslaught, complete with overdubs, in this case of the 1988 war film The Beast Of War. The Secutor begins with Judas Priest riffing from 1981! But those are not Rob Halford's vocals! The band is extreme, messy and underground, but the tracks still offer a modicum of variety despite their short lengths. Empire of Ash, The Living Wake, Beneath The Hammer and others are all less than three minutes in length. Beneath The Hammer a speed fest. The Masque begins like Celtic Frost and is a reminder that the Swiss are an influence too. The noise solo is out of 1985. Future Graves is where thrash comes alive again. The closing cut Night Eternal is a strong song and, as extreme and underground as it is, offers a ghoulish atmosphere. The vocals become more ominous.
The weak sound hurts the output. Overall, the verdict is that Weapönizer is locked-and-loaded bash metal, firing its songs forward with gusto. - Ali "The Metallian"