Maniac Butcher

Of all the countries that get little to no respect in the world of black metal, Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic) might be at the top of the list. Despite boasting late first wave bands like Törr, Root, and Master's Hammer; classic second wave bands like Dark Storm, Avenger, Inferno, and MANIAC BUTCHER (hailing from Žatec); and recent innovators like Cult of Fire, Kult ofenzivy, nic (Black Strip), and Gorgonea Prima, people still don't give the Czechs the credit they deserve.

Maniac Butcher is perhaps one of the most overlooked and underrated Czech black metal bands.  The band formed around 1992 after gestating as an idea in founder Barbarud's head for several years. Citing old-school black, death, and thrash metal bands like Venom, Hellhammer, Slayer, Sodom, Mayhem, and Darkthrone as inspiration, founding members Barbarud and Vlad Blasphemer wanted a musical outlet for their individualist Satanist views. Maniac Butcher was that outlet.

The title track (in Czech, of course) from Immortal Death

It wasn't long after they came into existence that they unleashed the now-classic demo Immortal Death on the world. This demo  (and its follow-up, 1994's The Incapable Carrion) featured a rawer take on black metal than was the norm for the early nineties. The black metal of Maniac Butcher was fast, violent, and evil--just like black metal should be. It also featured harsher growls on vocals--almost reminiscent of Blasphemy.

Maniac Butcher kept soldiering forward with two great split albums before releasing a proper full-length debut. The second of these splits (Black Horns of Saaz, a split with fellow Czechs Dark Storm) is one of my favorites. But it is their debut full-length album, Barbarians, that is worth discussing

The title track from Barbarians---notice the cool sample at the beginning!

1995's Barbarians continued the raw-edged black metal of the early demos and splits. With a stripped-down organic production sound, relentlessly fast guitars, and shrieking vocals designed to send shivers down your spine, Maniac Butcher was flying the flag for true black metal at a time when other bands were experimenting and following trends.

One aspect that set Maniac Butcher apart was their unique lyrical content. Yes, they wanted to proclaim their allegiance to Satan, but they managed to do so while singing of their nation's pre-Christian past. Albums like 1996's Lučan-antikrist, for example, delved deep into the mythos of the Lucans themselves, who were the pagan ancestors of modern Czechs and fought against Christians (at least, according to Maniac Butcher).

"Midnight Empire" is one of their best known songs from Lučan-antikrist

Maniac Butcher continued releasing solid black metal with that raw, aggressive edge they were known for. A series of now-classic albums took the world by storm: 1997's Krvestřeb, 1998's Černá krev, 1999's Invaze, and 2000's Epitaph. Epitaph was, in fact, just that---an epitaph for the band. They decided to quit the black metal scene entirely out of disgust with the commercialization of the genre.

"Bloodlust..." is from 1998's Černa krev

This official video was on the CD of Epitaph.

The full title of the song (in a rough English translation) is:

"What's Good for Me, That Good is---It's the Unchanging Rule that Accompanies My Actions Through My Eternal Life"

But after a decade of silence (they did put out compilations and live albums---but no new material), Maniac Butcher re-formed and unleashed new material on the world. 2010's Masakr was Maniac Butcher at their most evil, their most vile. They showed that they hadn't lost a step in their absence. Maniac Butcher is still active, but founder Vlad Blasphemer died in 2015. So the future is uncertain for this great band.

The title track from Masakr

Select Discography:

Immortal Death (demo) (1993)

The Incapable Carrion (demo) (1994)

The Black Horns of Saaz 7" (split with Dark Storm) (1995)

Barabrians (full-length album) (1995)
Lučan-antikrist (full-length album) (1996)

Krvestřeb (full-length album) (1997)

Černá krev (full-length album) (1998)
Live in Open Hell (live album) (1999)

Invaze (full-length album) (1999)
Epitaph (full-length album) (2000)
Masakr (full-length album) (2010)

Next time: ILDJARN