Bludgeon – Crucify the Priest
I guess if you are going to play brutal mosh metal with thrash influences that would have sounded tired even back in the mid 90’s, then I guess it’s good to have friends in higher places. Bludgeon is the first band signed to Manowar’s new Magic Circle Music label and “Crucify the Priest” was even produced by Joey DeMaio. This album goes to show how the Manowar chaps are even out of touch with the metal underground. One can’t help but notice a similar cheesy “metal” attitude that Bludgeon shares with their outspoken Velveeta lords. There are examples of this observation in the brief paragraphs describing each band member in the insert, but I will spare you all the laughable details. To their credit, Bludgeon have a heavy sounding effort here (recording wise) and stick to their guns with mighty power chord dominant rhythms that do unlock some nice riff harmonies. Sadly, the overall musical attack is too crunch dominant and painfully predictable. Dimensionless growls offset a gruff shouted/speaking voice and not to mention really bad cover art… Bludgeon are lost in the trash/death transition of the late 80’s/early 90’s where the labels of that time would snatch up ANY band that resembled the Bay area thrash sound to try and bleed a few more dollars out of a loyal fan base that was beginning to tire from buying too many redundant and uninspired albums. “Crucify the Priest” is un-enjoyable filler right down to its metallic core – Marty
MAGIC CIRCLE MUSIC/METAL BLADE
Worm Gear 