In splitting the focus of their craft into two distinct halves Antwerp, Belgium-based blackened speed/heavy metal quintet BÜTCHER present both exemplar iteration and notable venture forth on this tradition bound yet personality rich third full-length album. ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing‘ still explores the extreme metal exaggerated vision of heavy/speed metal these folks have become known for, lending a certain melodious touch to their craft in continuation of the spirit of their now infamous second album, yet the second half of this record acts far beyond these strictures in order to tell an impressive and unexpected side-story. Steady grounding in 80’s heavy metal arrangements and panache given to 90’s extremism helps this experience stand taller and more complete in its exploration than before ultimately making a good argument for this being the finest release from these folks to date once its two halves become sewn and soup together in mind as oeuvre.

Bütcher formed circa 2002 lead by the vision of R. Hellshrieker (ex-Battalion) who’d surrounded himself with folks from the Antwerp region’s death and black metal scenery at the time (Suhrim, Axamenta, Gurthang, etc.) who’d go on to produce two demo tapes, both of which I do not have access to, before disbanding in 2007. The rhythm section returned with Hellshrieker in 2014 eventually producing a debut full-length album (‘Bestial Fükkin’ Warmachine‘, 2017) a few years later with songwriting from guitarist KK Ripper (Bones, Vulture live guitarist) who’d only taken cues from the past life of the band to a slight degree, rewriting two pieces from the early 2000’s for the album. Their style was loud, over the top in its rabid black metal inspiration and often compared to Nifelheim and Desaster per the first impression made as well as their spikes n’ bullet belted aesthetic. If you’ll recall it took a lot to stand out at that peaking year (2017) for black/speed metal inspired releases and the thing to say about these folks was their vocalist could wail and their inspiration taken from classic 80’s heavy/speed metal. From my point of view at the time, sure, they were heavy and had riffs but it wasn’t anything skull shocking.

Of course Bütcher found their breakthrough take with ‘666 Goats Carry my Chariot‘ (2020) an album that’d been a general hit with folks for its sonic focus on 80’s speed metal adjacent sounds, rabid and doubly fast strike upon tradition with some tangential black metal interruptus compared to the more direct focus of their first album. Granted each of their three LPs have some major component of 80’s heavy metal stoicism but that second record lead with energy and found its songcraft somewhere around the middle. While it was a hit with some reviewers and fans at the time I didn’t necessarily find anything all that special about it, same as their first album it was cool as shit but nothing to write home about beyond a solid grasp upon the riff with great continuity and flow carrying through the full listen. Per my review at the time: “The guitar tone is sharp, the vocalist can shriek bloody hell and the riffs are generally on point but it is the songwriting that ends up scrambling for ideas before the ~37 minutes are up.” The one song that did push furthest into 90’s black metal, the ‘epic’ 9+ title track, was the one to suggest these guys were onto something interesting and interestingly enough they’ve technically leaned into that mode again for parts of ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing‘ which is otherwise a bit of a pivot as well as iteration upon what the band’ve always done best which is blend black metal and heavy rock tinged ideas into extreme 80’s style evil heavy metal.

Backwards, not forward. — Bütcher are an exaggeration of speed metal in energy and voice more than they are a mutilation of its core rhythmic tenets where double-bass kicking push and melodious proto-power metal ripples are felt in equal measure but they’ve kept their black, death and thrashing fringes from overtaking the mid-80’s vibrancy of the sub-genre niche. In fact on ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing‘ they’ve looked backwards in time for inspiration rather than obey whatever current bestseller black/speed band is doing at the moment. By staying true to heavy metal, acknowledging both its heavy rock and black/death metal permutations it certainly feels like these fellowes are not only heavy metal geeks but their vision has more than craft beer and a messy vinyl collection behind it. Roughly four months ago the “Speed Metal Samurai” was clearly pre-empting the reality of Side A in this regard with a kicking and wailing trad metal piece bearing an arrangement sliding its wilds in between the first Helloween EP and a Manowar cover on the flipside. “Blessed by the Blade” confirmed this window, widening the portal to expectations as to what this record would end up being as a well-telegraphed take on tradition. While you did likely get the right idea about Side A this is only about half of the bigger picture available to the full listen.

Contrary to what you’ll find on Encyclopedia Metallum Side A ends with “Keep the Steele (Flamin’ Hot)” probably the most forceful thrasher they’ve written since the first album but also the first indication that the variety of their second album isn’t fully lost to this experience. The more extreme thrashing side of the band fires directly into ripping fast-blasted black/thrash there holding some continuity with the melodic lead-driven thread running through most all of this album otherwise. Side B otherwise fully changes its stripes flexing its epic heavy metal dual-harmonized leads and lithe 70’s heavy rhythmic movements alongside surprising vocal snarl on the melodic black edged rhythms of “A Sacrifice to Satan’s Spawn”. This is the first of three pieces which find an epic yet extreme approach to traditional heavy metal in their steadily built waltz my personal favorite being the “Mercyful Fate-does death metal” (or, early reformation/Hellroadie era Manilla Road) vocal inflections of the fully unexpected “A Gypsy’s Tale (Of Sex and Seance)”. Right there it feels like Bütcher not only found a way to stand out beyond their signature sound but that this album had gone places pretty damned quick.

This change in tone and timbre with broader-minded arrangement comes by way of their first dig into a conceptual piece, an idea that intentionally uses the whole of Side B to tell its tale while crashing down sub-genre borders within their greater ouevre. So, a half of a concept album which more-or-less tests and succeeds in expanding the language these folks’d built for themselves for the last ten years. This mixture of black metal rhythmus, deathly snarl and traditional heavy metal (essentially hard rock by proxy) all comes together for a most righteous conclusion with “An Ending in Fyre” as a looming Hammond-esque organ and a galloping start eventually lead us to soldier’d chorales and a rock opera worthy composition unfolds. This is both fitting enough for Bütcher‘s realm but also entirely unexpected, never fully hinted at outright beyond the title track on their previous LP. The effect is brilliant, engrossing and if you are a fan of Desaster and (more recently) Blackevil you’ll particularly get why this fusion is both unique and exception in the greater black metal meets traditional heavy metal headspace.

If you’d asked me what I thought of Bütcher these days before I’d ever cut into Side B of this album I’d have nothing but praise but perhaps no real flabbergasted enthusiasm for what they’d done on Side A as it’d felt like further tightened signature craft and a serious grasp upon speed metal theatrics with plenty of charmingly over the top vision. After sitting through the second half of the album of course the conversation on those three pieces dominated my thoughts and that is where my personal hype burned longest. The important takeaway is that with the whole deal of ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing‘ in mind I’d now consider these folks a talented, well-rounded evil heavy metal experience capable of so much more than the average black/speed metal battalion but admirably unwilling to shed their 80’s heavy/speed metal authenticity. From my point of view the “two faces, two sides” approach to this album helps make this point of broad capability potent enough, impressing to the point I’m still stoked on the quality and lingering attitude of the experience dozens of spins later. A high recommendation.

https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/on-fowl-of-tyrant-wing

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