����� Got this ripping mini-LP back in stock, which came out a while back, a reissue of an equally limited tape release that came out back in 2010 and which, as of this writing, is still the only album that's surfaced from mysterious LA-area metalpunk heathens Axeman. And boy, this record is a goddamn riffbeast. Still one of the most ferocious things that I've heard come from out of the Black Twilight Circle, that shadowy group from Southern California who have taken at least a little of their steez from the infamous French collective Les L�gions Noires, made up of such offbeat and ferocious bands as Blue Hummingbird on the Left, The Haunting Presence, Arizmenda and Volahn, all of whom sound quite different from one another. That latter band is something of a spearhead for the Circle, and it's Volahn himself who's behind Axeman, shifting from the ferocious, folk-flecked black metal of his main project towards an insane, strangely psychedelic assault of freakazoid crossover that dominates Axeman's sound. This outfit is just as distinctive as the other Black Twilight outfits, a primitive, punk-fueled blast of hateful, acid-damaged ferocity that leaves me with a serious case of whiplash every time I spin this LP.

����� It's a simple enough recipe, drawing equally from the sound of savage 80's era death-thrash and classic UK crust, steeped in the sort of occult Aztec mythology that drives much of the Black Twilight Circle. With those twangy guitar chords and shimmering synths that start off "Metnal", the band creates an ominous atmosphere somewhere in between Amebix's apocalyptic crust and the sweeping darkness inherent in 80's thrash metal intros. But that moody intro soon gets ground up in the eruption of ferocious thrash that follows, as blazing motorcharged riffing and pummeling punk-fueled tempos take over, raging beneath a weirdly constant assault of screaming guitar solos. That ten minute opener goes through various shifts, blasting out one vicious metallic punk riff after another, with scathing, reptilian vocals snarling down in the fuzz-drenched mix. There's a brittle quality to the album, everything writhing violently beneath a sheen of weirdly processed distortion. An Venom-ous thrash orgasm beset by nearly non-stop guitar noodling, streaking over the galloping riffage like burning black comets, the vocals occasionally ripping into a wicked King Diamond-esque falsetto shriek. The other two tracks are slightly shorter, but display a similar lust for screaming thrash chaos. From the stampeding speed of "Kosmic Death" to the ultra-blown out frenzy of "Attestor Of Doom & Rebirth", Axeman keeps this pretty crazed, imbuing this with a psychotic energy. I could kill for an actual full-length from this band, this stuff is so addictive. Crazed and psychedelic low-fi blackthrash that feels like something dislodged from the underground metal continuum.

����� PLEASE NOTE: all of the copies that we received from the distributor arrived here with minor corner dings or slight corner creasing. It's not too bad, but if you are extremely particular about corner condition on your LPs, please take this into consideration before ordering.