Bestial Warlust: Satan's Fist (Demo 1996)

Australia is Terrifyingly Awesome

Review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

Have I mentioned that I love the Australian "war metal" scene? I am sure it's come up before at some point or another. Well Hell's Headbangers loves it too and the label has been one of my principal sources for finding releases by these bands. The ones that they have not released new have at least been reissued. That is the case with this one.

Bestial Warlust is one of the founding bands of the scene. They recorded two terrific albums in the mid 1990's that were nonetheless plagued by terrible production. But their sound on those albums was taken by a number of other Australian bands and improved upon. Without Bestial Warlust, we likely would not have had Deströyer 666, Gospel of the Horns, Abominator, or many of the other terrific bands to come out of the land down under with the same bestial apocalyptic sound.


This is the band's 1996 demo. The tracks were originally untitled and were not named until the demo was reissued by Hell's Headbangers this year. The sound quality is much improved from the quality on the band's two full-length releases. I would assume this was improved upon by Hell's Headbangers as well. I am guessing the original demo in 1996 did not sound that much better than the albums. This was one of the final recordings of Bestial Warlust other than a track on the Headbangers Against Disco split with Sabbat, Gehennah, and Inferno.

With the improved sound quality it becomes even more clear how much of an influence on the "war metal" scene Bestial Warlust had. These three tracks are excellent examples of blackened death metal with some thrash metal riff moments. The sound is raw and primal, with tremolo riffing and pounding drums, and the blackened roar of Joe Skullfucker (probably not his natural name). The best thing about the whole thing is that it can actually be heard.

THE VERDICT
I give this 4 out of 5 stars.



Hells Headbangers