THE BLACK MORIAH – Road Agents of the Blast Furnace

THE BLACK MORIAH – Road Agents of the Blast Furnace

The Black Moriah’s "Road Agents of the Blast Furnace" is yet another quality release by the German Folter Records and what a great and welcoming surprise this blistering black/thrash record is too. I was not familiar with this US outfit before I popped the disc into the CD player and pressed play, but the band’s hook-laden material recalls ancient Slayer as well as Aura Noir and to a lesser extent such acts as Exodus, Old, and Tyrann.
 
To cut a long story short, we are dealing with a strong and potent metal attack here, folks. I must admit that I have a soft spot for tear-the-roof-off black/thrash that wants to pulverize your bones and smash your face in, and one simply cannot argue with the quality of such roaring and relentlessly aggressive tunes as "Say It With Bullets" and "Death Valley Days". However, the real gems are the slithering and desert-like "Palaver", the twisted "Ratwater", and the gut-piercing "Elixir of Wrath". The cover rendition of Gorgoroth’s legendary "The Devil is Calling" is unremarkable and the album is riddled with thrash metal clichés, but that matters little considering that the majority of cuts are as entertaining and vigorous as they are. You want raw metal performed with lethal precision and booming confidence? Look no further than "Road Agents of the Blast Furnace". This is indeed music for a desert funeral!