Affliktor

Record Label: Transcending Obscurity


These days it seems that one man black metal bands are a dime a dozen. However the one man band Affliktor is more than a notch above the usual bedroom musician that considers themselves a band as Affliktor not only add a thrash metal element but as the main man behind Affliktor is Toby Knapp, who has been hammering away on guitar since the early nineties and releasing underground metal albums both as a solo artist and as a band.

While Knapp's vocals are of the typically evil black metal goblin variant as you might expect it's the guitar playing that puts this above not only a tonne of one man black metal bands but also many other blackened thrash bands. The thrash metal on "Born to the Breeder" is strong and some mighty fine guitar leads hits the eardrums when the song slows down. "Backwards into Hell" is more black metal oriented although the drumming is more thrash metal oriented than blast-beats and there are wicked guitar leads that push their way out rather than being prominent parts of the song, which helps to strengthen the song. The intro to "Chaos Magick Totaliy"harks back to both 80's Metallica and Megadeth but then heads to much darker area of metal while still incorporating thrash style drumming and guitar solos. "Burn the Earth" convinces the listener that Affliktor really do want to set the world ablaze with the evil vocals, quickly paced drums and blistering guitar work.



It's definitely mainly the technicality of the guitar work that sets Affliktor above other blackened thrash bands out there. That the drumming isn't chock full of blast-beats and favours the more thrash metal approach is also a huge thumbs up. It's worth noting that the PR sheet hits the mark suggesting that is for fans of Slayer, Testament, Inquisition, Desaster, Arrallu, Waxen, Kreator, Sodom and Yngwie Malmsteem.

4/5

Release Date: 20 October 2017


Affliktor on facebook




Affliktor on bandcamp



The Small Takeover on Facebook