Band: Guillotine
Title: Blood Money
Label: Pulverised Records
Distribution: Sure Shot Worx
Release date: 31/10/2008
Review: CD

Some time in 1995, Nocturnal Rites members Fredrik Mannberg and Nils Eriksson decided to start another band to pay tribute to the Thrash bands they grew up with, the bands that inspired them to listen to and play Metal. This project was born as Holocaust, but shortly after, the moniker changed into Guillotine. Later in 1995, the Under The Guillotine-demo was recorded, and this tape was very well received in the underground scene. Early 1997, Guillotine release the debut album, which is called Under The Guillotine too, and pretty soon it got considered a ‘cult’ album. If that’s correct is up to you. I guess it’s a little exaggerated, but I do have to admit too that this album ‘got balls’. However, because of the busy schedule with their main band, Fredrik (v, g) and Nils (b) decide to focus on Nocturnal Rites again, and Guillotine was put on hold. Last year, the duo wanted to continue with Guillotine, and with the addition of two new members (Daniel Sundborn-g and Efraim Juntunen-d, from Persuader), they recorded the follow-up of Under The Guillotine, Blood Money. Blood Money lasts for forty one minutes and is comparable to the 1997-debut album (except for the better quality of some compositions and the sound and mix - the latter done by Mattias Eklund (Nocturnal Rites, Auberon, Naglfar, Amsvartner)). The band performs an old style-oriented form of melodic Thrash Metal with an international approach. The tempo is mostly fast and chopping and almost never throttles down (an exception is the short instrumental guitar-track Madness). This continuous monotonic tempo might bother some and I can understand why. The tracks are few complex but that’s not necessary when exhaling such an eighties / nineties-spirit. A name that comes to mind is Kreator, but I think Slayer, Exodus, Possessed, Dekapitator and Destruction may have been of influence too. Like Under The Guillotine, Blood Money, with ‘actual’ artwork by Ed Repka from Megadeth / Venom / Atheist / Death-fame, is highly advised to fans of the old school.

84/100

Ivan Tibos.