Between Phantom’s Not Midnight Yet and now today’s album in review, I’ve been blessed by the speed metal gods (or rather devils) this week. Look, with a name like Speedslut, you can’t go wrong. Amazingly, it wasn’t until 2023 that a group of headbangers hatched up such a wicked moniker, or at the very least put it to good use. In the few years since their formation, the aptly branded Speedslut have been spreading the blackened speed gospel at breakneck pace, first striking with their debut EP, Ferocity of Steel, last year. Fast forward a year and change, here they come again, storming out of the gate with their debut album, Cimbrian Rites.
Whereas the material on Phantom’s latest is more nuanced and mature in comparison to past efforts, with the band dipping their toes and then some into the traditional metal pool, Speedslut are as orthodox as their name would have you believe. Cimbrian Rites boasts 9 outbursts of no-nonsense, honest to goodness speed, guaranteed to vaporize those who oppose the denim and leather-clad ways of yesteryear. It should also be noted that, although not as explicitly blackened as say Hellripper or Deathhammer, there are enough first wave black metal leanings on this album to warrant a black/speed tag, similar to Night Roar, whom we reviewed earlier this month.
Now when it comes to a release of this nature, the first thing that usually stands out to me are the riffs and their delivery. Are they unleashed at lightning speed, or perhaps wielded with a healthy dose of black ‘n’ roll swagger? Speedslut’s riff barrage certainly focuses more on the former than the latter (though there is some of that too), but it wasn’t even that which struck me upon first listen, as much as the production of the album as a whole. Cimbrian Rites is pleasurably loud and crystal clear, with every instrument evenly balanced as if ready to leap out of your speakers and attack with lethal force. The ripping guitars compliment the frenetic vocals which compliment the thundering rhythm section. All of this, mind you, without ever sacrificing the raw energy that fuels the music.
As I said before, Cimbrian Rites is rife with diabolic speedsters guaranteed to stoke the fires of hell itself. “Pestridden Stallions”, “Asbestos Born Wrath”, and “Whores of Speed” aren’t just cleverly named cuts, but rapid fire outbursts that’ll test the limits of even the most ardent headbanger’s neck muscles. There are also a handful of turbocharged, angsty Venom-esque black ‘n’ rollers in the form of “Dark Night Riders”, “Into the Grave”, and “No One Escapes Death”, which add some depth to the affair, as well as “Stench of Evil”, which begins like Show No Mercy era Slayer attempting a Manowar battle march before morphing into a tremelo-laden black metal apocalypse.
If you’re a slut for speed, and lord knows I am, then Speedslut is the band for you! They boast the same young, savage metal attack that their heroes did many moons before they or I were even born. Cimbrian Rites is also proof positive that, when in the right hands, something fresh, new, and thrilling can be made out of the old. Sure, this album would be more at home in the mid ’80s than the mid ’20s, but considering the overly derivative nature of today’s so-called metal, Speedslut sound cutting edge by comparison! Do your neighbors a favor and be sure to crank this one to the max!
8 out of 10
Label: Listenable Records
Genre: Black/Speed Metal
For fans of: Hellripper, Destruction, Venom
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