Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Lair Of The Minotaur
• Album: The Ultimate Destroyer
• Label: Southern Lord
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: christopherdrew on 2007-02-16

Be warned: Lair of the Minotaur’s latest CD is titled The Ultimate Destroyer for a reason; if you’re not careful, this album will crush you like the tiny insect you are. One cannot help but imagine that when vocalist/guitarist Steven Rathbone grunts “I grip my sword!” on the opening track, ‘Juggernaut of Metal’, he’s speaking literally, not figuratively; this is music for bare-chested barbarians intent on decapitating each other on blizzard-ravaged mountaintops. Rathbone and bassist Donald James Barraca (both from the seminal Chicago monster, 7000 Dying Rats) play off each other seamlessly, bringing riffs that are equal parts Slayer, Celtic Frost and Cannibal Corpse, while drummer Larry Herweg (from Chicago’s current proto-prog earth-moving outfit, Pelican) provides percussion that hammers at one’s ears like a monkey on steroids. The production is clean enough to allow the band’s musicianship to show through, yet still maintains a solid wall of raw power that constantly builds in aggression, slackening only for a few moments, and even then just to back up and run you down a second time. This isn’t a metal album; this is a weapon, something to be used towards bludgeoning heads and breaking bones, but I suppose the band won’t mind if you just play it on your stereo.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums