The JAR is filled with Halloween Spirit, so this will be the first of 2 adequately themed metal bands and albums. First off, some German Blackened Speed Punk Metal and their self-titled debut full length album!

As the lead in says, we’ve got some music that hits some chords given the time of year it is! This is…an interesting mixture of genres, and not even really my forte. I’m more of a fan of classic Thrash/Speed metal like Megadeth, Anthrax, Exciter and Venom.  From what I can glean early, they will have riffs and musicianship that I appreciate, but Black Metal vocals don’t always work for me. This band should be more like Wraith, Kreator or Sodom; which I don’t hate, but it’s also not even close to a preference.

With Laz on guitars, Ferli Thielmann on drums, Vince Nihil on vocals and Gypsy Danger playing bass instead of fighting Kaiju, I guess we should get to the album.

• Artist: Knife
• Album: Knife (2021)
• Label: Dying Victim Productions
• Total Track Time: 36:37

Behold the Horse of War starts heavy, and when the screeching Black Metal vocals come in, the speed metal shifts the tempo up quite a bit. Instrumentally they have a great Punk/Metal fusion sound, it reminds me of Overkill and honestly, the vocals are mixed in well. Reminds me of Chuck Schuldiner’s delivery in Death. This is a great mosh pit song, and I think the line is something like “War will rage, when we ride” which isn’t profound, but given the vocal delivery it’s just cool and will get people hype. Inside the Electric Church starts with an evangelical soundbyte I think going over Genesis 8:20-9:1 about there being no altars in hell. In typical metal fashion this a song seemingly about the church itself being a prison and hell being the reward or something. Metal has a very good relationship making songs about Satan, so this checks that box. White Witch Black Death now this is great. Hersey, damnation, magic, with very nice Speed Punk elements. This feels like Death and Peace Sells era Megadeth had a magical baby.

Black Leather Hounds already sounds like what they will refer to their fans as, and has an 80s vibe based on the title. The vocal delivery has more personality than the last few, reminds me more of King Diamond when he’s not in falsetto telling the story of the song. Another straight forward thrasher with a solo that is surprisingly mid-tempo and harmonic, but the drum manages to tie it all back together, and it doesn’t sound out of place at all, just unique. K.N.I.F.E. the song named after the band, or the other way around. These are usually good, “swear allegiance to Metal, fire and steel” that line starts things off pretty cool, and the fact the chorus kicks off with “you obey the KNIFE”; this is all just classic metal concepts applied in a really brutal thrashy way. I Am the Priest tells a story of a shrouded priest of violence fueled by menace and fury. I’m not sure if they just watched the, honestly pretty good, movie Priest about the Priests who kill vampires and just decided to have fun. Yes I’m aware with all the other imagery it’s probably a Satanic priest, but hey, I like the movie and it’s Halloween time. But who cares, this song is more Punk than speed metal with how they transition into bridges and choruses, which gives this whole song a great swing.

Furnace keeps up the Satanic religious imagery as it depicts the flood coming down on preachers, but it’s a flood of fire. So people will burn in the furnace, and the chorus is a very simple “BURN BURN BURN – Burn in the furnace” so it’s easy to chant and get the live crowd hype. They throw in a great little dual guitar harmony that has a twinge of Iron Maiden or Helloween, but it stays attacking throughout. Sword Loser starts off with a nearly non-existent interlude and then a sword slicing sound before kicking into the actually song. This actually tells a kind of funny story with the lyrics. Basically there’s a war with hell, Goblin and Demons alike, but there’s a Sword Loser in a cave who can’t fight anymore. I mean, it’s so mocking and interesting lyrically you almost overlook the music, but it’s just a cool song. Demon Wind starts with really heavy bass, like Overkill bass in your face. This continues a demonic war, referring to tormenting the land coming back to life as a Demon Wind. The bridge into the solo is very sexy though, the rhythm guitar drops the tone by about a half step and then picks right back up. It’s a very noticeable and abrupt change, but it’s just cool. Given the demon wind aspect, it sounded darker and the very noticeable bass really gives this song a nice menacing atmosphere. Even a little more of a complimentary guttural vocal behind the screeches. A lot of fun elements in this song they haven’t used so far on the album.

The Hallowed Chamber of Storms covers a dark summoning, opening a portal evoking fear and the cold feeling that comes with fear. There’s a touch of Metallica’s Trapped Under Ice in this song, but again they do a wonderful job at mixing in some melodic elements into the solos and bridges while not losing the brutality. A very nice crescendo with the vocalist taking his screeching Black Metal vocals, but ending it with a gradual raise ending like a Judas Priest falsetto. Another nice element that wasn’t shown yet. 1989 okay this is like a 40 second instrumental the way that Megadeth likes to do it. There’s a soundbyte that’s a little hard to make out, but it’s safe to assume that it’s about the fall of the Berlin Wall given the fact they’re German and it’s called 1989. Cool little something, but not a lot of musical merit, more done to shed light on something. Possessed the title tells concept pretty clearly, being possessed….but possessed by THE KNIFE! I appreciate how they fit their gimmick into a few of the songs, its very 80s, very old school metal, and this is more of a straight forward heavy metal song, not super thrashy. For example, think like Seek and Destroy it’s not a thrash/speed metal song, but it doesn’t feel really out of place. It ends with some asylum sounding noise and screams and just chants of “We Are Possessed’. Now I’m just curious it the fans will be known more as ‘The Possessed’ or ‘Black Leather Hounds’.

So now, the vocals won’t be for everyone because Black Metal isn’t one of the more marketable genres of music. But if you like heavy metal, if you appreciate what some of the bands I compared these guys to have done, then give it a spin. It checks so many metal boxes, the band get to show off a little with elements that one wouldn’t think fit into Blackened Speed Punk, but they completely do.

Also, the cover art is so cliché metal insanity, how can you not give this a shot? Get possessed by the KNIFE!

Final Judgment: 8.85/10