BOLT THROWER - Spearhead / Cenotaph LP (Blue Vinyl)

After two raw albums that belong to the history of death metal, Bolt Thrower in 1991 were back with this EP made of 3 studio songs and a live one. We must say that the death metal here is still fucking heavy but a bit better structured and less chaotic.

This ep is basically all about the two b-side leftovers from the IVth Crusade sessions: "Crown Of Life" & "Lament".

Both tracks deliver exactly what you'd expect from Bolt Thrower: heaving vocals, caustic riffage, chugging mid-tempo double bass beats, and the occasional swing tempo breakdown. Pretty much perfect by any acceptable standard of what makes for great Bolt Thrower.

"Dying Creed" re-appears from the original recording session and is thus wasted in its appearance (great song though). As well, the extended version of "Spearhead" drags a bit with the additional two minutes of music not really doing favors to a song I already thought was overlong. Still better to have a different version here than the album one.

Overall, this little ep was worth the effort I put into tracking it and anyone who digs Bolt Thrower, particularly IVth Crusade-era, needs to hear these two b-sides.