CoC : Flagellator - Channeling the Acheron : Review

Flagellator - _Channeling the Acheron_
(No Colours Records, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll (5.5 out of 10)

Featuring the usual black and white artwork with gothic letters, _Channeling the Acheron_ is one of the more recent No Colours releases. While Flagellator do not separate themselves from the black metal pack via their artwork they do so with their music and play a vicious brand of not overly fast to mid-tempo '80s style thrash with an underground attitude and gruff vocals. I can hear some Destruction among the riffing which usually is in the style of the early German scene. Only the raw approach and the very genuine underground feeling they manage to convey marginally sets them apart from the majority of retro acts. There are a couple of killer moments on this album but generally the songwriting is on the weak side, the music sounds a bit too restrained instead of going for all-out violence and destruction and the production is too dry for its own good. This can be fun to listen to if you are in the mood for uncommercial, unpolished, no-frills music. The impact of _Channelling the Archeron_ might radically improve with a higher dose of alcohol in your blood, but sadly the overall value of this release is only average. I bet Flagellator will probably go as much unnoticed in 2003 as it would have rightfully been ignored fifteen years ago.

(article published 10/8/2003)