Maltuka: No, it isn’t the latest TikTok craze referring to a sexual act, nor did anyone just sneeze. It’s the name of a brand new thrash metal act from Norway, because surprise: There’s more to Norway than black metal! What’s interesting about these guys is that similar to fellow Norwegian thrashers, Nekromantheon, Maltuka too lead double lives. Nekromantheon slaughters by day as Obliteration, and thrashes by night. Maltuka too spend most of their time death metalling around under the moniker Contorted. I can only assume the leather-jacketed, high-top shoed ways of their youth got the better of them, resulting in this thrashing mad offshoot.
On their debut EP, Black Rite, Maltuka rage in defiance of those who assert that thrash, not black/thrash or death/thrash or crossover, but tried and true, meat and potatoes, no BS thrash, is dead. Admittedly, those who piggybacked the genre’s resurgence of the late ’00s and early ’10s have long since moved onto death metal or some hipster-sanctioned niche that you’ll find covered on the virtual pages of Pitchfork, not here, so it’s easy to turn your nose up at the idea of a pure thrash band in 2025, especially one that’s good. Well, much to my surprise, Maltuka are indeed a juggernaut of unadulterated thrash, and a damn good one at that.
Consisting of four songs and an intro (because what release doesn’t these days?), Black Rite manages to tap into various veins of classic thrash, and does so with equal conviction. “Blood Sacrifice” channels the obsidian murk of late ’80s Slayer and straightforward attack of Extreme Aggression era Kreator. In other words, think major label thrash circa ’89 at its darkest. The short and explosive “Condemnation” keeps the attack going, sounding like Voivod had they not fully abandoned the speed/thrash ethos of their first two (and best) albums. Post-apocalyptic brutality at the speed of a nuclear warhead? Bring it!
“Xolotl” guarantees lunatic thrashing for all à la Anthrax and Vio-Lence, laying down one airheaded mosh riff after the next with frenetic urgency. Rounding it all out is the lengthy and ambitious title track, on which the band shifts gears towards a tech death/thrash vein akin to Hellwitch or Atheist. Yes, I know I said there were no amalgamations to be found on this EP, but fear not fellow moshists. The thrash outweighs the death in this equation, and the prog/tech/avant-garde explorations outweigh all. I have to hand it to Maltuka for managing to craft a song of this nature while still managing to stay brutal and, more importantly, memorable.
Black Rite accomplishes exactly what a metal EP should do: Lure us in with an all killer, no filler sampling of songs, and leave us wanting more. Considering the variety amongst these four songs alone, one can only wonder what direction Maltuka will take when it comes to a full length outing. No matter what that direction may be, it’s guaranteed to leave thrashers pleased, headbanging and circle pitting in rabid rejoice, just as this here EP does.
7 out of 10
Label: High Roller Records
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Slayer, Kreator, Voivod
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