PanzerBastard – Centurion CD
I have a riddle for all you metal mongerin’, speed smashin’, head bangin’ folks out there. What do you get when you mix one part crusty speed metal with one part devilishly fun black metal, and a pinch of thrash and hardcore? Well, if you guessed only the best rock n’ roll ever devised by man…you’d be absolutely right. And one band that plays this awesome blend of metal madness (besides Motorhead), is a local band from Boston called, PanzerBastard.
If you’re like me, and like your metal extra heavy and aggressive with absolutely no bullshit, then PanzerBastard is definitely the band for you. They are a fun filled kick in the teeth that even Lemmy would be proud of. PB is a 4 piece band from Boston consisting of KPanzer on bass and vocals, AndrewBastard on guitar and vocals, Hollywood Bobby on guitar, and Marcus on drums (you can find their band profile right here at TNB).
Last month, Slimedog and I had the privilege of attending one of PB’s fine performances at Great Scott. And even better, it was our great fortune to interview the fiery lads of PB right after they played (you can check out Slimedog’s interview with PB here). After the show, on the way out of GS, some guy in a black robe holding a sickle whipped a CD at my head, which I caught just before it smashed me in the face. When I looked down at the CD I was very excited to find that it was a 4 song PanzerBastard CD that I knew I was compelled to write about.
The CD starts out with a heavy lumbering monolithic masterpiece called ‘Centurion’. With long mournful gear-grinding chords, ‘Centurion’ elicits the imagery of ancient war-torn warriors colliding on the battle field complete with clashing swords and spurting blood. A great example of how an off tempo tune can be every bit as compelling as a mind shattering speed blast. You can check out ‘Centurion’ below:
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Centurion.mp3|titles=Centurion]The next two songs on the CD are covers of a great band from Switzerland called Celtic Frost (one of the founding fathers of the great genre of music known as Black Metal). It never ceases to amaze me how the Black Metal scene that sprung out of the early 80’s and 90’s has and still influences metal music to this day. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just check out that dissonant guitar style that just about every metal band plays these days. Ever wonder who pioneered that (check out bands like Bathory, Celtic Frost, Mayhem and Darkthrone, to name a few)? PB does two awesomely amazing renditions of the cool Celtic Frost tunes, ‘The Usurper’ and ‘I Wont Dance’ that makes them sound every bit as vital and current as the originals did. A true testiment to the fine talent of both Celtic Frost and PanzerBastard. You can check out ‘Usurper’ and ‘I Wont Dance’ below:
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Usurper.mp3,https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/I Wont Dance.mp3|titles=Usurper,I Wont Dance]The last tune is a straight ahead kick in the face called ‘Life Waster’. Just an all out frantic race to the finish line with a hellasiously exciting Motorhead-esque crusty speed metal vibe. The all out onslaught eventually blends into a melodic black death screeching guitar ditty that ties all the cool tunes featured on this great CD into a nice bow. Cool CD. Very cool band. I can’t wait for their next release.
Later,
(Andy Bang)
