Thunderbolt was awesome!!! Why did it take me so long to find these guys? But seriously, Poland has put out some tremendous product in the last dozen years in the incarnations of frenetic Blackened Death Metal. The nation has made some of its best youth musicians into rebellious luciferians to the distinct chagrin of their Catholic arch diocese. Poland has practically been a factory for these Blackened Death bands, always bearing the contributions of a tremendous drummer. Search bands like Behemoth, Crionics, and Decapitated and you’ll find that our reviewers are not only fond of them but collect their exploits. Bands like Hate and Vader also deserve mention despite their little Black Metal evidence. Take one listen and enjoy the masterful drumming. These bands have recognizable faces like Behemoth’s Nergal, but the real excellence lies with the percussion.

The talent pool is spearheaded by the whirlwind Inferno of Behemoth, while one listen to Armageddon’s Evolution by Crionics shows “Darkside” Kowalski isn’t far behind. The Metal nation will always mourn the loss of Decapitated’s Vitek, who was already an ace at the age of 23 when he was taken from us in a car wreck. The point is, the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. These very same principles that made the aforementioned three great makes Thunderbolt worth extending this triumvirate to four. The band may not exist any longer, but beginning with their very first full length, these guys played some brutally impressive music. Thunderbolt never missed a beat from their first release to their final, which is the album reviewed here. This is 2007’s Apocalyptic Doom. I have been a Thunderbolt fan for years now, yet this is the first I am hearing of their final opus. Once again, it is a clinic on seamless transitioning, perfect production, tight guitar work, and of course phenomenal drumming – as Poland has become accustomed to. As first highlighted on the previously reviewed Inhuman Ritual Massmurder, the drumming on this album is not only extremely precise, but fast as a Ferrari out of Hell. The blast beats take on a new pace and blow the mind the first time one hears them. These are not gravity blasts, but a normal human wrist being pushed to its very limits. If only I could drum like that someday. The first track, more or less the title track, starts off with one of their more recent clean guitar passages. Following some booming tom rolls and chanted lyrics, the usual Thunderbolt approach shows. The riffs and blast beats make this band special. Nothing else, nothing new. They’re just a pissed off bunch of anti-Christian musicians who turn their vitriol into some of the most punishing tracks out there. Songs like Occult Gateway of Hell just beg to be turned up as loud as the player can go. This track embodies what Polish Blackened Death Metal has made itself to be. Hateful, pungent lyrics surrounded by endless mega-fast drumming and appropriate string accompaniments. During all of these rapid portions are short bridges that beg for head banging. These satisfy the groove nerve that I have, but don’t do anything to relieve the listener from the madness. These bridges are like a break from the monstrosities, not a complete departure. The results leave us hungering for more.

The band is not known for their guitar leads but they play them beautifully and place them and portion them at the perfect moments. During groovy parts on Unity with a Thousand Names one of these breaks give the guitarist an opportunity to shred. He hits the nail on the head with a classic sound that takes advantage of a breather between blast beats. The result is a well-timed solo that doesn’t sound like it’s trying to keep up with the drummer. There is more here on the strings than power chords and alternate picking, but it is where Thunderbolt make their money’s worth. That type of simplicity could be off-putting at first glance, but one listen through exemplifies the efficacy of this delivery. The biggest importance of the riffs is that they are keeping up with the drummer and are recorded and played with absolute precision. This band is tight, strung together with cohesion, and not subjected to horrid production for the sake of it. Sometimes, a band can be as kvlt as any other without intentionally sounding like shit. It’s a concept that not as many Scandinavian bands have discovered. While budgeting increases and fanfare have led to many of these bands spending more time and money in the studio, bands such as Ildjarn will always suck because of their stubbornness.

All together, Apocalyptic Doom is nothing short of a closing opus of terrific magnitude. Thunderbolt pushed their drums faster, their guitars sharper, while the vocals are nothing short of perfection. Songwriting has grown even more diverse despite the excellence of Inhuman Ritual Massmurder. There is nothing short of an ‘A’ here by my grade book. It’d be hard to challenge such a vastly talented group for dominion of Poland. Even with household names like Behemoth, Hate, Vader, and Crionics, the only stoppage to the natural force that defines the Thunderbolt is the dissolution of the band itself.