Panzerchrist
Regiment Ragnarok

July 2011
Released: 2011, Listenable Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Demonator

With echoes of rolling armour and gunfire signalling the opening strains of REGIMENT RAGNAROK, there's little doubt that subtlety was never going to be the calling card of Danish extremists, Panzerchrist. But then, anyone who paid attention to the likes of 2003's ROOM SERVICE might have told you that. Still, I'm fairly certain that even the most ardent Panzerchrist acolytes could well be taken by surprise here.



To describe REGIMENT RAGNAROK as brutal may well be the understatement of the year. For their sixth full length, Panzerchrist have taken their black and death metal hybrid and injected it with levels of aggression that makes some of their earlier work sound positively timid by comparison. At the forefront is vocalist, Magnus Jørgensen's blood curdling snarl which oscillates effortlessly between high pitched screams and a ballsy, deep growl. Drummer Mads Lauridsen deserves special mention too - there was something slightly workmanlike about his performances in the past, but here he proves that he has graduated into a full-blown battering ram - as comfortable at delivering speed ("???") as he is at deliberate neck-snapping stomps ("Metal Tribes").



While there's little by way of surprise across the album's twelve tracks, REGIMENT RAGNAROK is consistently dynamic and heavy enough that you won't care. Just make sure you clear the room of sensitive listeners beforehand - these boys don't fuck about.