✝ BANG 'EM 'TIL THEY BLEED ✝ - A MIX BY ANNA HALLSTROM

 

Here is a fantastic guest mix, curated by long-time Maniac Anna Hallstrom, back in 2013. 

It was fully restored when rebuilding the music hard-drive earlier this year and felt it is far too good to be sat there, so it is time you all got a blast of this one.

I found some now-all-time favorurites from this (Black Rose's "Sucker for Your Love", being one) and who knows, it may even end up being your spring/summer 2025 mix...

OBITUARY:
1. PERSIAN RISK - DON'T TURN AROUND
2. NIGHTMARE - WAITING FOR THE TWILIGHT
3. ALIEN FORCE- TO YOU
4. BLACK ROSE - SUCKER FOR YOUR LOVE
5. OBSESSION - BANG 'EM TIL THEY BLEED
6. HERETIC - ENEMY WITHIN
7. QUEENSRŸCHE - DELIVERANCE
8. LIZZY BORDEN - GODIVA
9. ARMORED SAINT CAN U DELIVER
10. ACCEPT - CHINA LADY
11. PICTURE - UNEMPLOYED
12. KILLER - READY FOR HELL
13. SEDUCER - BLIZZARD
14. DEATH DEALER - SHERRY
15. ZONE ZERO - WIN OR DIE

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OR STREAM FOR FREE VIA PATREON

A Fist in the Face of God presents... Full Speed Ahead Vol IV - A Mix by Hades & Sergeant Salsten

  So a full five years and some change (LOTS of that) have passed since I last posted a mix from the Full Speed Ahead series and, looking back at the intro I wrote for that in 2016, it couldn't ring truer now:
"You know, with every year that passes, the 80s get further away. Luckily for me, missing the 20th century is almost a worldwide hobby these days, and what better way to roll back some musical years than by blasting your ears with the shrieking sounds of 1980s speed metal."
Ah, how we all now wish for those simpler times, but rejoice we shall with this latest offering from Hades of Incinerator/Omega, alongside past mix-master himself, Sergeant Salsten of Norwegian thrash metal kings, Deathhammer. I will let the lads and the mix itself do the rest of the talking. Enjoy.

Hades Omega: And here we are again, bleeding your ears and giving you a tachycardia with a lethal dose of speed fuckin' metal!
This time I gathered forces with the one and only Sergeant Salsten. I've known this nefarious character for almost a decade now and I consider him a HUGE speed metal devotee, so I invited him to join me and select a few killer tunes for the new Full Speed Ahead compilation.
We chose mostly old and hidden diamonds, but also a few newer bands which totally deserve people's attention and support.
Now crack a cold one open and play the mix on a volume loud enough so that your neighbours can also enjoy it!

Sergeant Salsten: Bon appetite. Here are some nasty speedballs for all the hectic ones! Speed metal takes no prisoners and is all about raw energy.
There's a couple of German ones here, of course, since they are total Speedlandia.
Lots of gems there, but there's speed in heaps of cracks. MAUSOLEUM RECORDS FOREVER.
Slash your ears!

OBITUARY:
1. ATLAIN - SPHINX
2. GOTHAM CITY - SEE HOW IT FLYES
3. V8 - DESTRUCCIÓN
4. DEEF - ZACZYNA SIĘ
5. BLACK VIPER - HELLIONS OF FIRE
6. X JAPAN - X
7. LETHAL STEEL - WARRIOR
8. ORIGINAL SIN - BITCHES FROM HELL
9. RUNNING WILD - DIABOLIC FORCE
10. SPOTLIGHT - SPEEDWAY
11. THRUSTER - THE CONFLICT
12. LIVING DEATH - SHADOW OF THE DAWN
13. MYSTIK - NIGHTMARES
14. VULTURE - VULTURE
15. SUBWAY FORCE - RAINBOW FIRE 

A Fist In The Face Of God presents... 1-800-666-1986

ALRIGHTTT. Just a little New Year gift to all my loyal maniacs. Yes, I know, it's a repost of a mix I did last year, but I have removed my talking in favour of an extra track and it is now available for both download and to stream on its own. And I also made the pretty killer new artwork above. Shouts again to the Satan Made Me Do It guys for playing this out previously and for all their hard work spreading the forgotten language of HEAVY METAL across the data airwaves. Soon!

Just demo tracks from 1986. Not an essential list or best of, etc, as I've played out a bunch of the really killer stuff on my show or on featured mixes, so just what I felt like playing at the time and what I haven't gotten round to playing out so far. As all came from MP3s with varying quality, sound may fluctuate from good to, well, kinda shit, but hey, they are ALL killer tracks. Shouts again to the guys Satan Made Me Do It Guys again for being patient, appreciative and all-round good people, makes it all the more worthwhile. This one's for you, Satan!

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Too Fast to Die!!!—Sgt. Salsten's Raging Metal Mix!

Since Sergeant Salsten moved to Tasmania, his band workload has gone down, understandably (even though he is working on a speed metal project down there called Torpedo, shhh), and his time for making insanely cool mixes has increased. I've posted a lot of killer compilations on here over the years, and many have surprised with me with their selections, but Daniel's are something else.

First of all, he draws his own covers, and secondly, he usually sends what most people would consider two, maybe even three mixtape's worth of tracks, this one being no exception. I can't praise this one enough, but at over two hours running time it really shall separate the die-hards from the dabblers. I'll leave the the rest in his more than capable hands...

So Dylan asked me to do another mix and I thought this time I'll make one with only violent death and thrash metal. Some of the bands actually lean more towards speed or black metal, but most importantly it's all fast and ripping, no wimpy shit guaranteed! So grab a six-pack or two and break your neck with these intense tunes for a couple of hours if ya got the balls. This mix is way long so only for sick maniacs, thrash to the death cuz there is no tomorrow!

TRACKLIST:
1. Aggression (Canada) - "Blaspheming at the Altar" [1985]
2. Savage Death (USA) - "Legions of Doom" [1985]
3. Slaughter Lord (Australia) - "Die by Power" [1986]
4. Vellocet (Germany) - "Assassin on Attack" [1986]
5. Vomit (Norway) - "Armies of Hell" [1987]
6. Terminal Death (USA) - "Judge Death" [1985]
7. Kruiz (Russia) - "Poslednij Rassvet" [1987]
8. Invocator (Denmark) - "Dismal Serfage" [1988]
9. Debustrol (Czech Republic) - "Antikrist" [1990]
10. Mein Kampf (Japan) - "Speeder" [1985]
11. Disaster (Chile) - "Desquiciado" [2004]
12. Kreator (Germany) - "After the Attack" [1988]
13. Bombarder (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - "Speed Metal Manijak" [1991]
14. Spectral Birth (Australia) - "Frog of Fear" [1990]
15. Witchhammer (Norway) - "Curiosity About Death" [1990]
16. Leviathan (USA) - "Destructive Aggressor" [1987]
17. Korrozia Metalla (Russia) - "Чёрный террор" [1988]
18. Backwater (Germay) - "Rock Hard" [1984]
19. Vader (Poland) - "The Final Massacre" [1989]
20. Dorsal Atlântica (Brazil) - "Depressão Suicida" [1986]
21. Second Hell (Holland) - "Homicide" [1986]
22. Devastation (USA) - "Apocalyptic Warrior" [1986]
23. Xandril (Germany) - "Nearly Dead" [1988]
24. Evil Blood (Croatia) - "Kill with Napalm" [1986]
25. The Beast (USA) - "Pitbull Terror" [1986]
26. Metal Storm (Germany) - "Suicide Commando" [1987]
27. Pyöveli (Finland) - "Metal Forces" [2003]
28. VooDoo (Poland) - "Da Czadu VooDoo" [1987]
29. Casbah (Japan) - "Death Metal" [1986]
30. Dismember (Sweden) - "Substantually Dead" [1988]
31. Atomic Aggressor (Chile) - "Bloody Ceremonial" [1989]
32. Outrage (Germany) - "Into the Abyss of Belial" [1985]
33. Mutilator (Brazil) - "Evil Conspiracy" [1986]
34. Sodom (Germany) - "Live from Hell" [1984]
35. Acheron (USA) - "The Enochian Key" [1992]

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Trapped Under Vice

It has been almost five years to the day since the last in the so-far-five-part mix series, Trapped Under Vice, was posted on this very blog. The original links for these mixes got lost to DMCA complaints etc. so I have finally re-uploaded all five volumes for your downloading and listening pleasure.
The series spanned a 14-month spell from July 2009 to September 2010 in which the prolific mixmaker, now simply titled DJ Fenriz, supplied me with five killer mixes, each one an almost entirely different genre to the last, which undeniably had its influence on my radio show. Of course, he went on to do more sweet mixes for this blog and others, before finally starting his own radio show earlier this year.
So here, once again, for all those who weren't around then or didn't know/care, are the mixes. I had to "remaster" some of the artworks due to the odd mistake and bad typeface, but if you want more info on the mixes such as tracklistings and wise words from the man himself about each compilation, click through the title to get to the original post for each respective mix. Cry out!

VOLUME I

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VOLUME II

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VOLUME III

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VOLUME IV feat. SINDRE SOLEM

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VOLUME V

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I will be (slowly) re-uploading all the missing links for all the AFITFOG mixes in time. 'til then, keep it locked to Radio Fenriz (especially the CULT METAL shows), for similar listening. Thanks again to Fenriz for keeping the flame lit and to all heavy metal maniacs worldwide. Hell awaits!

A Fist in the Face of God presents... DVP: Shredding The Iron Curtain - A Mix by Florian Grill

The summer may have ended somewhat prematurely, but the mixtape mania has not. This month I welcome a new name to my illustrious team of compilers, one Florian Grill, head of the excellent Dying Victims Productions label and author of the biblically-sized annual zine, Thrash Attack.
We've been corresponding rather sporadically since meeting a few years back, but I always keep an eye on the stuff his label puts out, as he's always championing two things I love: forgotten 80s bands and new bands that raise the spirits of the ancient metal gods. So I asked him to compile some of his best stuff from this year and some forgotten gems, and fail he did not, by showing me some bands I hadn't even heard of. On with the battery!

Over to Florian:

Having played some of my material previously on the Midnite Madness radio show, Dylan suggested I should put together a small mixtape with some material from Dying Victims Productions. I chose the more recent releases, which came out in the last three to four months, but I also included a second lot of tracks. Basically, it's a mixture of killer bands from East Germany who have released or are on the edge releasing their debut albums, with the other half being American bands that never made it over the demo stage in the 80s—except for Hirax obviously, but they sound totally different on this demo— but easily tear apart many properly recorded albums. Enjoy! [This tracklist is a little different to the one posted on VICE as it contains five extra tracks adding 28 minutes to the mix.]

TRACKLIST:

Recent releases on DVP:

1. Deathstorm (Austria) - "Massgrave" [shredding death thrash]
2. Bastardizer (Australia) - "Demons Unleashed" [Whipstriker is known to your followers, that’s why only the 2nd band from the split is represented here]
3. Poseidon (Germany) - "Beyond the Seven Gates of Hell" [forgotten thrash from the late ‘80s]
4. Dresden (Germany) - "Sound of Silence" [‘86 thrash covering Simon and Garfunkel!] 
5. Vigilance (Slovenia) - "Tower of Black Sorcery" [raw black speed]
6. Throaat (USA) - "Evil Dead" [New York’s filthy death/thrash/heavy brigade]
7. Iron Kobra (Germany) – "Cult of the Snake" [amazing track by the heavy/speed metal warriors]
8. Sanctifying Ritual (Germany) - "Carved in Rotten Remains" [dirty underground death metal]
9. Satan's Cross (Mexico) - "Sumerian Night" [cool death/thrash/doom mix]
10. Witch Blade (Sweden) - "Ljusets Apostel" [traditional heavy metal]
11. Mion's Hill (Norway) - "Eaten Alive" [putrid black/death metal]
Other killer bands (New bands from East Germany and old overlooked demo stuff from the USA):
12. Nocturnal Witch (Germany) – H.M.S.S. [blackened thrash]
13. Fatal Violence (USA) - "Violence Is Golden" [power/speed metal, ’85]
14. Serpent (Germany) – Possessed by Night [Nwobhm inspired heavy/speed metal]
15. Blood Spill (USA) – Phantasm [totally possessed death/thrash, ’86]
16. Have Mercy (USA) - "Show Me Your Rage" [great power/speed metal, ‘84]
17. Schafott (Germany) - "Total Cleansing" [some more blackened thrash]
18. Gargoyle (USA) - "Burning Marrow" [raging thrash metal, ’86]
19. Hellhound (USA) - "Killing Spree" [killer speed metal band with long songs that never sucked, ‘85]
20. Division Speed (Germany) - "Blazing Heat" [war speed metal]
21. Savage Death (USA) - "Evil Dead" [insane early death metal,’85]
22. Hirax (USA) – Believe in the King [obviously known, but the demo is totally different but rips, ‘84]
23. Chörnyj Woron (Germany) - "V2 Over London" [2008 speed metal cult]

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You can stream the 18-track version below also.

A Fist In The Face Of God presents... The Initiation—Carefully Compiled By Janny Ratten

Image by Jan Utecht

Jan from Occvlta is one those multi-talented people who, no matter what he seems to try his hand at (his artwork for a recent mix still kills me every time I see it), is perpetually great. I first heard his band, Occvlta, in the lead up to the very first Live Festival back in 2009, where legend has it he basically told the former organiser that they were playing the festival, no questions asked. I was helping out with interviews for the zine to accompany the festival, but finding them was tough, as, back then they weren't even listed on Encyclopaedia Metallum (Wikipedia for metal-nerds, basically), such was their relative newness.
So we got to the interview eventually, and Jan was the ideal interviewee. His confidence in getting a place at the festival (their first show, if I'm not mistaken, and first-up on the bill of what would be a legendary festival) wasn't unfounded. They fucking slayed.
Then, when VICE's music site Noisey was launched, I travelled to an Occvlta show in -16° Berlin, in December of 2010, to see them desecrate White Trash alongside infernal death-bangers, Deathhammer, and 80s Italian speed metallers, Fingernails. This performance was captured and features in their Noisey show. Jan had just had his first-born around he that time (hey, Grimur!), but as his lady and offspring were out of town for a few days, he put me and few other beer/weed/sweat-stinking metalheads up in his ludicrously cheap Kreuzberg apartment for a few nights, and the allegiance formed.

Jan (middle) in Berlin, 2010

Anyways, recent-ish-ly he did a mix for the prestigious Lodown Magazine, which is mostly made up of just weird stuff and no metal, and it reminded me, 'Hey, wasn't he supposed to do me a mix?' So here it is, all ready to be devoured, below a few words from Jan himself.

Well, this mix. What to say about it. In a way, it's a mirror of the metal I listen to and how I feel at the moment. Which is mostly black and heavy, haha. You'll find obscure stuff and songs you've probably known for ages, but I think that makes the MIX. Actually, I don't listen to "Life Eternal" that often, but it really is one of my absolute favourites. And then there is Winterhawk. Also a true masterpiece. I thought it sucks, when hearing it for the first time. Too much guitar. But I let time decide what I like, if I don't feel in the mood for something new, well, if the gods want, we are gonna meet again. There is so many great bands it took years for me to like/understand, and it feels so good to know that there is no hurry and a lot more. So who cares. A lot of the songs I was introduced to by friends or my brother. Hanging out with cool people listening to cool music ... on facebook, haha.

"Devil Eyes" and "Princess of the Night" I owe to my brother, Torm [Occvlta drummer]; Sapphire I owe to Tooth [drummer of New York band Natur], "Lady of Mars" to Marcelo [Evil Spirits], and Winterhawk I think was originally introduced to me by Henry [Yuan of Electric Assault Records], but it took a few years until Torben played it and then BOOM. There you go.

TRACKLIST:

1. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind (USA) - "Main Title 'The Shining'" [1980]
2. Aura Noir (Norway) - "Towers of Limbs and Fevers (Original Version)" [1994]
3. Mighty Sphincter (USA) - "Ghost Walking" [1985]
4. Isengard (Norway) - "Our Lord Will Come" [1991]
5. Darkthrone (Norway) - "As Flittermice as Satans Spys" [1994]
6. Kringa (Austria) - "Pearly Gates, Abhorrent Ascent (Unreleased)" [2015]
7. Mayhem (Norway) - "Life Eternal" [1994]
8. Mercyful Fate (Denmark) - "Devil Eyes" [1982]
9. Sapphire (England) - "Encounter" [1982]
10. Dark Star (England) - "Lady of Mars" [1981]
11. Saxon (England) - "Princess of the Night" [1981]
12. Winterhawk (USA) - "Free to Live" [1982]

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Midnite Madness LXXIII—Metal Gods Set Me Free

AL-FUCKIN-RIGHT. Show 73 sees Jan Utecht aka Janny Ratten of black metal band Occvlta open the show and almost finish it with a near-30-minute excerpt from his brand-new mix, featured in the post above.
I shall return next month on July 28th for more Midnite Madness. Stay clean!

Btw, the intro is—
1. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind (USA) - "Main Title 'The Shining'" [1980]
—and the tracks where it just says "Die Today [Cropped] are—
22. Sapphire (England) - "Encounter" [1982]
23. Dark Star (England) - "Lady of Mars" [1981]
24. Saxon (England) - "Princess of the Night" [1981]
25. Winterhawk (USA) - "Free to Live" [1982]

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Loud & Raw—Hectic Tunes Selected by Sergeant Salsten

Artwork by Salsten himself

On my last trip to Norway, back in February of 2012, I stayed with Deathhammer frontman Daniel "Sergeant" Salsten in his downtown Oslo apartment. Fenriz and I had been out thrashing in a remote town called Drammen with Salsten the night previous, and when we rocked up at Sergeant's place he was still going, a crate of stubbies on the living room table and an old live Exodus VHS. Thrash living 100%.

Fenriz was DJing a house club that night and was only staying a short while, but Daniel played us some records from the crates littering his hallway, many of them songs neither of us had heard before. I think this was the first time I asked him if he'd be up for doing a mix.

Then, quite deservedly, he and Sadomancer's band Deathhammer became pretty big (for an underground thrash band) and started touring more or less consistently across the globe, and we would meet at Live Evil every year, continue the jokes and hazy cloud that seems to follow us, and then get chatting about doing a mix again.

It took him to move to Tazmania as recent as January just past (seriously), for him to finally get the project started and from the off, it was never going to disappoint. In one of the most tinkered with mixes I have ever received, he managed to trim it down to almost 90 mins of loud and raw metal and punk. Almost pure perfection. He had this to say about the mix:

thrashing out and spacing in with dylan at last years live evil festival, and the talks of creating a mix for this killer radio blog began. after floating in the back of my mind for a while, the theme of the compilation ended up being some intense aggressive shit. it's a mix of hardcore, speed and black metal, mostly quite fast. the crossover blend of hardcore and thrash is highly present - for those relentless moods when the blood is rushing and the neck is loose. it's a natural fusion i wish was more around these days really. i trimmed the mix down to contain only the most ripping and max filthy tunes, energetic rapid stuff ideal for a rotten wasted night. if you are also obsessed by raw power and thrashing rage this compilation is for you.

Before adding this about the insanely cool cover he drew:

here's the cover, inspired by how cool i felt wearing a chicago bulls cap as a child hahah.

Play this one loud!

TRACKLISTING:
1. Impetigo (USA) - "Sinister Urge/Faceless" [1990]
2. Pokolgép (Hungary) - "Vallomás" [1987]
3. Raw Power (Italy) - "A Certain Kind of Killer" [1985]
4. Rudimentary Peni [England] - "Nothing But A Nightmare" [1983]
5. Crossfire [Belgium] - "Feeling Down" [1985]
6. Kafka Prosess [Norway] - "90 Åra" [1985]
7. Angel Dust (Germany) - "Fighters Return" [1986]
8. Agnostic Front (USA) - "The Eliminator" [1986]
9. Abhorer (Singapore) - "Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt" [1996]
10. Kaaos (Finalnd) - "Mellakka" [1982]
11. Sauron (USA) - "Demonic Invasion" [2004]
12. Turbo (Poland) - "Sztuczne Oddychanie" [1986]
13. 666 (Norway) - "Alkohol" [1982]
14. Descendants (USA) - "I'm Not A Loser" [1982]
15. Cryptic Slaughter (USA) - "Rest in Pain" [1982]
16. Biest (Germany) - "Motortraum" [1987]
17. Victimised (Norway) - "Lot Deg Ligge" [2004]
18. Carrion (Switzerland) - "Evil is There" [1986]
19. Thrust (USA) - "Overdrive" [1984]
20. R.K.L. (USA) - "Think Positive" [1985]
21. Celtic Frost (Switzerland) - "Journey Into Fear" [1985]
22. Nuclear Death (USA) - "Prolong the Agony" [1988]
23. Kohu-63 (Finland) - "Huorra" [1982]
24. Ghoul-Cult (Norway) - "Bulletbelt Berserker" [2002]
25. Gang Green (USA) - "Sick Sex Sick" [1987]
26. Impaled Nazarene (Finland) - "Condemned to Hell" [1993]
27. Sodom (Germany) - "After the Deluge" [1986]

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Full Speed Ahead Vol II - A Mix by Hades & Fenriz

Artwork by Jan Utecht

After the relative success of last year's Full Speed Ahead speed metal compilation, its composer—Hades Omega of Greek speed metal outfit Omega—informed me of a follow-up, this time brining more of the proto-speed metal sounds that set the sub-genre in motion for the early to mid-80s. This time he enlisted the skills of one DJ Fenriz, who picked out almost half of the tracks on this second volume of heart-pounding ripping metal.

Live from Kniven

They actually played the mix out at Oslo's finest metal bar Kniven, last weekend. Oh, and he even had the multi-talented Jan Utecht of German speed/black metal band Occvlta draw up the artwork for the mix. And a fine job he did, too. A real group effort, nice one.

I asked the guys if they had anything to say about their selection and Fenriz started by adding:

yeah, it's dopi from machetazo that sent me a whole bunch of old spanish metal from the 80s and i picked out my faves from that and put on this comp, atleast 4 spanish tracks i think. when i heard the whole comp i quickly deducted that the black magic track ruled the whole comp, btw.

Before Hades weighed in with:

Since last year's compilation went pretty good and many people got into it, i thought it's time for a second speed metal attack!  This time though, i was thinking about asking my friend and music trader Fenriz (Darkthrone), since he is the BIGGEST speed metal maniac i know, to join me and choose together the tracks. We even decided presenting the compilation LIVE at Kniven bar (Oslo), while hitting a few beers! I really like how it turned out, cuz there are many obscurities and interesting releases to dig from old and even new bands!! So i hope people will enjoy it , as much as we did!

TRACKLISTING:

1. Hades - Toxic (USA) - "Heart Attack" [1986]

2. Fenriz - Banshee (Canada) - "Breakdown" [1984]
3. H - Gillan (UK) - "What's the Matter" [1982]
4. F - Banzai (Spain) - "Coche Rapido en La Noche" [1983]
5. H - Dio (USA) - "I Speed at Night" [1984]
6. F - Hades (Spain) - "Entre El Fuego y La Crue" [1985]
7. H- Black Magic (Norway) - "Thunder" [2014]
8. F - Jonah Quizz (Sweden) - "Attack" [1982]
9. H - Scorpions (Germany) - "Dynamite" [1982]
10. F - Paradox (Germany) - "At Night Never Twice" [1986]
11. H - Flight (Norway) - "Escape" [2014]
12. F - Sable (Spain) - "Simbolos de Rebelion" [1987]
13. H - Blood Money (UK) - "Metalyzed" [1986]
14. F - Triton (Spain) - "Triton" [1985]
15. H - Outcast (Australia) - "No Tomorrow" [2014]

16. H - Satan (UK) - "Fuck You" [1986]

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... T.W.N.B.P. - A Mix by Hateful Abandon

Early last year, my old mix-making buddy and Salute rager Tom Swine sent me the promo of a record he'd been working on with Hateful Abandon founding-member, Vice Martyr. It took me by surprise. He'd kept his dealings with this project low and, as a result, I had no preconceived ideas before I hit play – but a great record it turned out to be.

It did make me wonder where they got their sound from, though, and seeing as the original band member's name is Vice I figured a mix collecting the band's musical origins would be more fitting than another box-ticking interview. And here it is, with words from Mr Swine himself about the mix, the album and its reception.

There are several reasons to be cheerful about being asked to do something like this: it gives us another excuse to blast loads of music while choosing tracks to play from past to present; there's the excitement of maybe bringing bands to people's ears that they may never have heard of; and finally, it's exciting to show everyone where we're coming from with regard to our music tastes.

No disrespect intended whatsoever to Candlelight Records, who have been very open-minded and supportive, but we feel a little misrepresented by the media at large. Because we're on a predominantly metal label, outlets automatically assume that we play metal, and so react with disappointment and often utter confusion, aggressively making the point that "there is little to no metal to be found here", accusing Hateful Abandon of having "little regard for traditional song structure".

If "traditional" means your typical metal song structure, then no, we do not. And really, there shouldn't be a standard song structure outside mindless pop music – because that makes music incredibly predictable. And that's boring. Break free and take the blinkers off.

As for the mix, it came together pretty easily. There are a TON of tracks we missed off or didn't have time to include, such as Iron Fist of the Sun, Trepaneringsritualen, Alaric, Krieg, The Walker Brothers, David Bowie, DAF, The Fall, Suicide, etc, etc, etc. I hope you all enjoy what we managed to squeeze in!

Salut.

 TRACKLIST
1. Eyeless in Gaza (UK) - "Ever Pitch and Bite" [1981]
2. Godflesh (UK) - "Slavestate" [1991]
3. Pinkish Black (USA) - "Fall Down" [2012]
4. Lycia (USA) - "Nine Hours Later" [1995]
5. Dead Can Dance (Australia) - "Frontier" [1984]
6. 1919 (UK) - "Scream" [1983]
7. Sektor 304 (Portugal) - "A Vessel of Guilt" [2011]
8. Haus Arafna (Germany) - "Heart Beats Blood Flows" [2011]
9. Non (USA) - "Total War. Edit." [1997]
10. Vatican Shadow (USA) - "Contractor Corpses Hung Over the Euphrates River" [2013]
11. Zombi (USA) - "Times of Troubles" [2011]
12. Shahram and Hafez Nazeri (Iran) - "Enchanted" [2001]

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Shallow Sanction

It seems that when it rains mixtapes, it pours. Not even a full week after I offered up an audible chasm of darkness in the form of Fenriz's latest opus comes a somewhat different mix altogether, this time compiled by two of the minds that make up east London's finest post-punk band, Shallow Sanction.
Well, post-punk isn't quite fitting, but before I started using words like "gothpunk" to describe their sound, I asked guitarist Jake Gill if making a mixtape would sum up the band's sound better than an interview full of questions they've likely already answered. He and frontman Jesse Cannon came up with a 60-minute trip into the psyche of Shallow Sanction, accompanied by these short, but fairly profound words:

Here lies a blitz of UK punk and industrial music for your aural pleasure. This mix for A Fist In the Face of God/VICE was pieced together by Jake Gill and Jesse Cannon, consisting of 15 tracks of prominent pieces of underground music that have influenced us and Shallow Sanction.
We are swimming in the lunar sea, drowning in insanity between the devil and the deep blue sea – our world is dying and nobody's driving!

TRACKLIST:
1. Amebix - "Monolith/Nobody's Driving" from Monolith [1987]
2. Part 1 - "Ghost" from Pictures of Pain [1985]
3. Killing Joke - "Tension" from What's THIS For...! [1981]
4. Whitehouse - "Wriggle Like a Fucking Eel" from Bird Seed [2003]
5. Rudimentary Peni - "The Psycho Squat" from Death Church [1983]
6. Conflict - "Cruise" from Increase the Pressure [1984]
7. Vex - "World In Action" from Sanctuary [1984]
8. Crisis - "No Town Hall" from No Town Hall [1978]
9. Flowers In the Dustbin - "Nails of the Heart" from Nails of the Heart [1985]
10. UK Decay - "Middle of the Road Man" from The Black 45 EP [1980]
11. The Grey Wolves - "Beyond Hypocrisy" from Catholic Priests Fuck Children [1996]
12. Throbbing Gristle - "E-Coli" from D.o.A. The Third And Final Report [1978]
13. Flux of Pink Indians - "Tapioca Sunrise" from Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible [1982]
14. Omega Tribe - "Is This a Future?" from Angry Songs [1982]
15. Alternative TV - "You Bastard" from How Much Longer/You Bastard [1977]
16. The Mob - "Witch Hunt" from Let the Tribe Increase [1983]

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Midnite Madness LXIII - Unholy Forces of Evil III/O.O.O.O.O. feat. DJ Fenriz

AVE. Sorry for the delay in posting this latest offering, been having serious hard drive woes to the extent that this show almost didn't get made. But it did, and thanks to DJ Fenriz, it is a ripper. Thanks again to him for compiling this evil little 75-minute mix, which can be downloaded separately on the post below. He went for some newer stuff that I will admit to hoarding a bit myself for the final show, the annual end of year show.
The next show will be a Live Evil special on October 14th, and will feature tracks from all this year's participants selected by none other than LE mastermind and Amulet riff-wizard, Marek "Heathen" Steven. Beware!

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... O.O.O.O.O. - A Mix by DJ Fenriz

It's been almost three years since Fenriz—Gylve Nagell to the gods—sent me his last offering, the arrestingly cavernous "Slow Black Death", which he compiled for his 40th birthday.

A few months back, he told me he'd begun working on something "evil" for me, but it wasn't until I saw two recent mixes with his lovely wife Marte (one was for Lodown, and the other seems to have somehow vamoosed already), that I thought, 'Hey, how 'bout my mix, man?' To which he replied: "Keep pestering me for it." Which I did. Maybe two emails later he sent me this opus in the darkest arts of death and black metal, imaginatively entitled "Out of Our Own Orientation" – morbid visions, indeed. In his own words:

Obviously I went for the jugular immediately here and ferociously mixed a heap of evil ripping tracks together, then a little detour to Trondheim's bleaker side with the Black Majesty track before I head on off again. But then... there's the Goatwhore obscure intro thing, and suddenly I'm on a different vibe altogether with three majestic AND intricate longer songs at the end. The transmission concerning Quorthon's horses on top of the Bölzer outro came to me when I listened to the Bölzer track at work. Now let me rest.
- f e n r i z

TRACKLIST
1. Occult Burial (Canada) - “Occult Burial” [2013]
2. Abyssous (Germany) - “Burial Sea” [2012]
3. Protector (Germany) - “Apocalyptic Revolution” [1986]
4. Alchemyst (Germany) - “Kharon” [2013]
5. Quintessenz (Germany) - “Back to the Cult of the Tyrants” [2013]
6. Ruins (Germany) - “Chambers of Perversion” [2010]
7. Abysmal Lord (USA) - “Revelation” [2014]
8. Black Majesty (Norway) - “Thus Singeth the Sword of Curse, Key of Truth” [2009]
9. Sabbat (Japan) - “Witch Hammers” [2011]
10. Deathstorm (Austria) - “Awakening of the Dead” [2013]
11. Törr (Czech Republic) - “Exorcist” [1987]
12. Goatvomit (Greece) - Just some awesome intro they have on tape
13. Funereal Presence (USA) - “The Tower” [2014]
14. Bölzer (Switzerland) - “Labyrinthian Graves” [2014]
15. Bathory (Sweden) - The first 10+ bit minutes of the Blood Fire Death LP, you maniacs [1988]

HERE (FREE STREAM & DOWNLOAD)

A Fist in the Face of God presents... Full Speed Ahead - A Mix by Hades

ALRIGHT. Here we have the first mix of the year, compiled by none other than Hades of Greek speed metal band, Omega. I met Hades at a recent metal festival where we talked about our shared love for fast heavy metal with shrieking vocals and naturally we spoke about a mix. He wanted to make a kind of Best Of mix, and he did not disappoint, taking in sounds from 1971 right up until today. Hell, he even managed to squeeze in some Queen (on a speed metal compilation?!).

He also mimicked my usual style of mix covers (this is the first one I did not make of all the mixes to feature on here) and sent over a few different edits of the comp before settling on a 30-track, nigh two-hour long opus. I make one of these every two weeks for my radio show, so it was nice to see what bangers a fellow speed freak would concoct.

And, he even had the good sense to include a ripper off his own band's latest offering The Hell Patrol (that I included on my end of year show), in the midst of action. I will let him tell his tale now…

I came across this heavy metal sub-genre when I was looking for bands playing stuff like the fast songs of Judas Priest, Saxon and Iron Maiden.  I had to find more, so I asked an old friend of mine (who has a killer vinyl collection) in my town and he told me about this Speed Metal genre. A week later he gave me a tape compilation with Exciter, Agent Steel, first Anthrax, Warrant (from Germany, of course), Violent Force, and a few more obscure bands from the 80s on it. I was beyond impressed, because I could hear the heavy metal riffs and solo melodies, but in a more THRASHY way and with faster tempo then the usual NWOBHM bands I'd heard previously. This gave me a fascinating mania to DIG deeper and deeper in the 80s underground scene and find more bands playing this so called Speed Metal genre. 

Many of you may ask WHY there is a song from Queen and Deep Purple in the compilation—do they play Speed Metal? The answer is "no, they don’t", because there wasn’t a genre called Speed Metal back in the 70s.  The reason I HAD to include these specific songs is because they gave the inspiration to bands like Metallica, Exciter, and Anvil to create this heavy metal sub genre in the early 80s. So it’s more or less for history reasons and it’s for those who are interested to learn how all this craze started.

A very important factor was also the Canadian label, Banzai Records, which gave birth of the so-called “Speed Metal Swirl”, which they used for many of their releases, some of which were not even Speed Metal by definition, but they had this mark or symbol for all the extreme and fast metal bands coming out then. I hope people will enjoy this compilation as much as I do and I want to thank all the NEW bands which are still keeping this way of playing metal ALIVE, even after 30 years of existence. Bang your head and raise the dead!
HADES

1. Judas Priest (England) - "Exciter" [1978]
2. Riot (USA) - "Warrior" [1977]
3. Queen (England) - "Stone Cold Crazy" [1974]
4. Whiplash (USA) - "The Burning of Atlanta" [1985]
5. ADX (France) - "Caligula" [1985]
6. Darkthrone (Norway) - "Circle the Wagons" [2010]
7. Violent Force (Germany) - "Sign of Evil" [1987]
8. Deep Purple (England) - "Fireball" [1971]
9. Phantom Lord (USA) - "Speed Demons" [1986]
10. Agent Steel (USA) - "Mad Locust Rising" [1986]
11. Ranger (Finland) - "Touch of Death" [2013]
12. Motörhead (England) - "Speedfreak" [1982]
13. Exciter (Canada) - "Stand Up and Fight" [1983]
14. Tank (England) - "Turn Your Head Around" [1982]
15. Tröjan (England) - "Hypnotized" [1985]
16. Megadeth (USA) - "Rattlehead" [1985]
17. Savage Grace (USA) - "Sins of the Damned" [1985]
18. Omega (Greece) - "Speed Metal Force" [2013]
19. Razor (Canada) - "Take This Torch" [1985]
20. Enforcer (Sweden) - "Live for the Night" [2010]
21. Iron Maiden (England) - "Aces High" [1984]
22. Flotsam And Jetsam (USA) - "Hammerhead" [1986]
23. Warrant (Germany) - "The Enforcer" [1985]
24. Saxon (England) - "Set Me Free [Sweet cover]" [1984]
25. Exorcist (USA) - "Riding to Hell" [1986]
26. Bitches Sin (England) - "Hold On to Love" [1980]
27. Diamond Head (England) - "The Prince" [1980]
28. Griffin (USA) - "Hunger" [1986]
29. Hallows Eve (USA) - "Outer Limits" [1985]
30. Metallica (USA) - "Metal Militia" [1983]

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Maniac Monday XLVII - AFITFOG & Friends

ALRIGHT. Thanks again not only to those who tuned in for this week's show, but to the show's selectors. As I said the previous show, this one would me made up of listener's choices, throwing the NO REQUESTS motto out the window momentarily.

So, here goes; Fenriz picked tracks 1-4, Sid 5-8, Nuno 9-11, Brad 12-15, Anna 15-19, Glenn 20-22, Odd Martin chose 23-27, and I finished off proceedings. I thought it was a pretty good show, so thanks again to all those I just mentioned.

Maniac Monday returns for the last time this year on December 30th, where I will be playing only releases from this fine year. Promises to be a good one, if I get a chance to listen to some stuff I got in over the last month or so—seriously, so much shit. There is also a black metal show brewing and an all-out death metal one on the horizon too, so 2014 will see Maniac Monday continue much in the same vain. SOON.

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Thrashing Rage, Vol. III

Alright! It's been, what, five months now since an offering brimming with thrash lava erupted into your very eyes. Well, Bradley Smith and Cato Stormoen have made a follow-up to their insanely popular Thrashing Rage, Vol. II mixtape, this time abandoning the thrash gods of old in favour of the new flesh. Yes, that is right, this killer 19-track comp features only bands from the latter part of the 90s, 2000s, right up until this very year. I've actually been planning to do one of these myself for a while now, but what with all the dragon-fighting, wench-fucking and weed-smoking, there just hasn't been the time.
Words from Brad after the break; Cato is too busy being a real motherfucker somewhere to give his ten cents right now, sorry.

The previous two Thrashing Rage mixes focused on old school bands that deserved a shining beam of unholy light cast upon them. But talking with Cato, I realised that there are a whole new crop of diabolical thrash bands whose music corrupts your blackened soul. And we decided then and there to unleash a tornado of TRUE thrash, but with a modern perspective!
Brad

TRACKLIST:
1. Antichrist (Sweden) "Intro/ Coven of Evil" (2008)
2. Entrench (Sweden) "Portrait of a Phobia" (2011)
3. Nocturnal (Germany) "Thrash Attack" (2003)
4. Terror Squad (Japan) "Sonicriot" (2006)
5. Körgull The Exterminator (Spain) "Axe Thrash Attack" (2010)
6. Audiopain (Norway) "The Decay Spiral" (2007)
7. Nekromantheon (Norway) "Blood Wisdom" (2012)
8. Deathroner (Canada) "Evil I" (2007)
9. Corrupt (Sweden) "Profits Prevailed/Modern World Hypocrisy" (2006)
10. Occult (Chile) "Defenders of Black Steel" (2011)
11. Bastardator (Canada) "Entrenched" (2006)
12. Condor (Norway) "Thrasher's Attack" (2011)
13. Insane (Italy) "Die in Hell/Metal Torment" (2004)
14. Vomitor (Australia) "Pain of Death"
15. Sauron (USA) "Strom of Ashes" (2008)
16. Witchtrap (Colombia) "The Maniac" (1997)
17. Trash The Graveyard (Norway) "Medieval Torture" (2006)
18. Chörnyj Woron (Germany) "Woman in Chains and Leather" (2008)
19. Ghoul-Cult (Norway) "Infernal Upheaval" (2002)

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Thrashing Rage, Vol. I

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Thrashing Rage, Vol. II

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Thrashing Rage, Vol. II

That's right, lady, eat the baby. It's been three months and over 1000 downloads of their first collaboration, but Brad and Cato have composed another trans-Atlantic mix of forgotten ancient metal all for your listening pleasure, or displeasure, depending on how you feel about obscure 80s thrash. Words from the mixmasters below...

Unheralded thrash got a shot in the arm with our first mix, so Cato and I decided that we needed to take another journey into the thrash underground, though this time it would be darker, more obscure, and ultimately more dangerous! When our two sets of selections were united I was left battered and bruised. So once again, I'll let the music take no prisoners as it shreds your eardrums.
Brad
BEWARE as another Thrashing Rage comp sweeps across the land leaving only the tormented screams of those who dare to hear it left... This is the eve of darkness!!!
Cato

TRACKLISTING:
1. Sabbat (Japan) "Bring Me the Head of Satan" (1986)
2. Sentinel Beast (USA) "Sentinel Beast" (1986)
3. Heathen (USA) "Goblin's Blade" (1987)
4. Slaughter (Canada) "Eve of Darkness" (1985)
5. Meliah Rage (USA) "Beginning of the End" (1988)
6. Carrion (Switzerland) "Demon's Child" (1986)
7. Kublai Khan (USA) "Mongrel Horde" (1987)
8. Znöwhite (USA) "To the Last Breath" (1988)
9. Violent Force (Germany) "Sign of Evil" (1987)
10. Vectom (Germany) "Open the Coffin" (1985)
11. Viking (USA) "Do or Die" (1986)
12. Warrant (Germany) "Scanger's Daughter" (1985)
13. Debustrol (Czech Republic) "Apocalypsa" (1988)
14. Sextrash (Brazil) "Seduced by Evil" (1990)
15. Schizo (Italy) "Epileptic Void" (1989)
16. Xyster (England) "Die on the Cross" (1989)
17. Fingernails (Italy) "I Don't Ally with the Devil" (1987)
18. Energetic Krusher (England) "Thrash Ritual" (1989)
19. Demolition Hammer (USA) "Corpse Content" (1988)
20. Sadus (USA) "Desolator" (1986)

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Thrashing Rage - A Mix by Brad & Cato

Okay, so it's taken me an AGE to get it together to post anything on here, but the metal Gods have blessed us with a brand new mix, of the thrash variety, courtesy of regular A Fist in the Face of God mixmaker Bradley Smith and Deathhammer's Cato Stormoen.
In a similar vein to the crust mix Brad did for me with Sindre back in March, this was conducted solely over email, as Brad is still living it up in Hawaii while Cato leaves in a cave somewhere in Norway, battling the cold winds of death. Anyways, it is an impressive line-up, with some surprises for even the most weathered thrasher out there. Words from Brad and Cato below.

So many thrash bands out there never received the attention they truly deserved, so I took this opportunity to collaborate with one of my favorite up and coming thrash maniacs to spread the word on some unheralded, yet truly explosive and corrosive bands. So I'll keep this short and sweet and let the music do the talking. Thrash Hard!!!
Brad
I have never collaborated on a comp like this before so I just piled together some killer tracks which I thought would fit. Some old favorite tracks of mine and also some stuff I came across recently, like Anacrusis. The cool thing about this für mich is the amount of new bands I discovered through Bradley's side of the comp. Hails and play it loud! DIE HARD!!!
Cato

TRACKLISTING:
1. Protector (Germany) "Protector of Death" (1986)
2. Morbid Saint (USA) "Assassin" (1988)
3. Soothsayer (Canada) "Build the Terrorism" (1986)
4. Burnt Offering (USA) "Power of Death" (1989)
5. Hobbs' Angel Of Death (Australia) "Cold Steel" (1988)
6. Toxodeth (Mexico) "Black Doom" (1988)
7. Dolmen (USA) "The Ritual Night" (1989)
8. Pentagram [Mezarkabul] (Turkey) "Intro (Wreck)/Rotten Dogs" (1990)
9. Messiah (Switzerland) "Hyper Borea" (1987)
10. Ulysses Siren (USA) "Above the Ashes" (1987)
11. Infernäl Mäjesty (Canada) "Into the Unknown" (1988)
12. Sindrome (USA) "Rapture in Blood" (1987)
13. Anacrusis (USA) "Imprisoned" (1988)
14. Sacred Reich (USA) "No Believers" (1987)
15. Nasty Savage (USA) "Fear Beyond the Vision" (1985)
16. Lääz Rockit (USA) "Last Breath" (1987)
17. Demonax (USA) "Evil's Cast Aside" (1984)
18. Holy Terror (USA) "Debt of Pain" (1988)

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