CoC : Swordmaster - Postmortem Tales : Review

Swordmaster - _Postmortem Tales_
(Osmose Records, 1997)
by: Adam Wasylyk (7 out of 10)

Another retro band to find itself onto Europe's biggest black metal label, Swordmaster are the sort of retro band that I like: brash, hard and uncompromising! Unlike labelmates Inferno or Bewitched who cater to a more traditional heavy metal sound, Swordmaster's thrash/speed metal conjure up moments of classic thrash bands long forgotten. Tearing through songs like "Crush to Death", "Clans of Death", and the title track, the production is impeccable due to the skills of King Diamond's Andy La Rocque at the soundboard. What I especially liked is that the music isn't totally retro, that there's a very strong 90s presence intertwined with the more dated material. A retro album worth looking for.

(article published 12/8/1997)

ALBUMS
15/1/2000	P Schwarz	7.5	Swordmaster - Moribund Transgoria
14/3/1999	A Wee	8.5	Swordmaster - Deathraider

GIGS
5/2/1997	P Schwarz	Dark Tranquillity / Enslaved / Bewitched / Swordmaster / Demoniac / Dellamorte	We Must Dominate, We Will Dominate