MiL Records - 1989
8.5/10
Out of all the eastern bloc countries that tapped into the metal scene in the '80s, I always felt Poland churned out the most visceral bands, if KAT are anything to go by. Recently, one that tops even them in intensity was brought to my attention called Magnus, a band I've been sleeping on for entirely too long. Simply put, they captured the first-wave black metal movement as well as any South American counterpart. Scarlet Slaughterer was the first full length, a hodgepodge of different directions under this scope.
I say this because, despite the brevity and limitations of early black metal, the burning fury of this expresses itself in several forms. Across the board, you have degraded thrash riffing with varying degrees of tempo but equally mean in execution, thanks to a coarse coating on the surface. Tagging along is an extremely brash vocal style, caking on the raspy shouts pumped full of anger, meeting the occasional falsetto that makes no attempt to come off clean. To round that out, a predictable but welcomed helping of hellish lyrics surrounded by death and destruction give this a campy fascia that nonetheless is loaded with charm.
Sme albums may feel disjointed due to jarring differences in pace, but this general vibe boosts Scarlet Slaughterer rather than harms it. On one hand, you have the steadier bangers that amp up a bass presence for a wavier flow, like "Crosses Of War" and its almost catchy chops. Similarly, you can easily move to "Messenger Of Hell" and its doom-laced crawl. On the other, much of this consists of breakneck slashes that come through in "Pharisee," topped with exceptional solos and gut-punching blast beats. Some fall into hardcore aesthetic, such as the fast and obvious "Rabies" or "Man Condemned," and others feel like a direct nod to early Slayer. In fact, the title track itself sounds like a mangled iteration of "Hell Awaits," if only because of the progressions and delivery.
For its era, Magnus was nothing overly new or original, but I found it to be executed exceptionally. The chaos and corniness gives it lots of charm, the reckless delivery never feels like it lacks focus, and nasty rhythmic integrity is found just below the surface of basically every song. Perhaps the right mood is required for this, but I think any first-wave black metal enjoyer should seek this out.
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