After three years is out brand new album from LBTS called The Pagan Pantheon. There is change in drummer – in line up is now Frank, who is helping Wouter with Heathen Peace but you may know him from metal bands like God Detroned and The Monolith Deathcult. Album is out as CD (8 panel digipack) and LP (250 black and 250 frost packed in trifold sleeve). Together there are nine songs and you may know Warriors of our Time from 2023 demo EP and Invocation of Tyr + Wild Hunt are bot instrumental ones. There are also guests who are helping to vocalist Erick - Karl Willetts (Bolt Thrower, Memoriam) who add his voice into The Annihilators and Paul Jones (Enchantment, Crypt Feeder) who has spoken word in Dark Horizonts Set Ablaze, The Pagan Pantheon and in last one Ghost of War (where also Wouter sings). Compared to previous albums there are more acoustic stuff (beginning of intro Invocation of Tyr or Ghost of War which both went into classic sound and rhythm). Guitar solos are more into black (part of Dark Horizont set Ablaze, end of Bending Time Curves, with some strange effect or the title one The Pagan Pantheon). Most of all I like The Annihilators which is about riders of Apocalpyse and destroyers of the worlds and this motive put band on brand new t-shirt and in the middle of trifold cover. You can imagine the lyrics – old, really old times and ancient gods, courage and myths and legends, explosion/implosion of whole universe and worlds (Bending Time Curves) or the sensless, tragic and horrific wars where young people die and their souls are walking around like restless ghosts of war. There is also more personal or actual lyrics like Gaia which is about the wrath of Mother Earth. Song is slower and it is not so hard as the others. It has also perfect refrain and guitar solo. Cover is also absolutely perfect with all lyrics, band photos, tattoos from fans and band members, picture of wild hunt and apocalypse plus a few words (maybe thankslist, I don´t know because on promo version it is very small). This is absolute bomb which take the best from many genres and which make perfect high-voltage cocktail of madness which doesn´t have to taste to everyone but for me it is absolute delicacy.

Split EP of two Swedish bands will officially out at the end of March 2025 and it will be the first review of some stuff from this year. Lavett (Carriage for Gun) has already released two EP´s on Common People Records, they play in four and they sing inSwedish. Their songs are Kamplust (Fighting Spirit) a Stolt which is nothing more than cover from Böse Onkelz in Swedish. Their song Kamplus is perfect and I still think that the mother tongue fits more to bands. Song is straight forward and at the end is nice solo. To the cover from BO I can say that it is good :). Close Air Support has released mode EP´s (4 I think) which were released by them or by PST Records. They are playing also in four and I think that they share same drummer with Lavett. They have there two songs in English - In this Country and This Is Oi!. In this Country is nice patriotic and melodic piece with swinging guitar rhythm and solo at the end. This is Oi! Is message for everyone who makes from Oi! poppy shit for everyone which is not offensive. All songs were recorded in 2023. Vinyl is on 10 inch format, limited to 300 copies, cover is quite simple – Swedish flag on the front side and band photo on the back side (but photo in front of bunker :)). Inside is paper with lyrics and short thankslist from each band. Fine surprise from the bands which I know just by name.

Compilation with all nine songs from their 2012 album This is America (or better to say from EP´s Real American Oi! - 2013 and split EP with Lonewolf NYC Who Will Survive... - 2014), four songs from Blood in the Sand which was released digitanlly in 2015 (and also on CD-R) and song Valhalla (which I don´t know from any of band´s releases). This LP was released in 150 black copies and 100 dark blue. Then came repress from 2021, where are also paper with the lyrics instead of this copy, but OK, let´s go. I have both mentioned EP´s in my collection so I buy this compilation because of the Blood in the Sand, which is 10 years old stuff. Again there are nice melodic songs like This is America, Way of Life, Corrective Action, American Skinhead or slower Blood in the Sand and also harder stuff like Witch Hunt, RAF Anthem, Stand Alone or PC Society. Message of the songs is similar to previously reviewed album We the People. Maybe interesting or subjective fact…I find stuff from This is America better (sound itself and also sound quality) then songs from Blood in the Sand even they were recorded earlier. This LP version contains no paper with lyrics and again Muna is responsible for the cover graphics. Nice collection of almost all stuff recorded by the band on one LP. Good, but I leave it without rating.

This is second album of Pennyslvania based band which was released in several pressings (this is second one limited to 97 copies on red wax) in 2022 on CD and LP. The band plays in five pieces and two of their members are playing in Mob Mentality. Together you may check 11 songs which can be characterized with significant bass line, knowledge how to joint melody and hardness and lyrics which are dealing with unpopular topics. Just check first two songs - Because We Live Here and The Cycle Never Ends which are about the fact how honest people slaving in factories and parasites who are just breeding children and do not take care about them are living with silver spoon in mouth. These two songs perfecty characterize the band – first one is melodical with nice singalong refrain and the second one is more straightforward and harder. And similar are also the others – melodical stuff like Resist, Liberty or Death (both with perfect guitar), Memories, Best You Can (nice singalong), Ship of Fools compared with harder stuff like Steel Capped Patriots, Our Pride or We the People. Patriotismus (love your country, hate the state), anticommunism, pride on work are other topics which deal the band with. You will hear also acoustic guitar (at the beginning of Because We Live Here). It is hard to find best songs from the album because each of them is perfect. Inside you will find paper with lyrics and cover is done by Muna and it is based on the Red Dawn movie. This is absolutely perfect from music and also from the lyrics point of view.

Broken faces is older compilation released on Bords de Seine which contains 14 songs. 6 from them are from other side of Atlantic pond – Montreal, Quebec. These songs are previously unreleased and they are from bands Coup de Masse, Trouble Makers and Bootprint. All bands has common members – for example Jon plays in Tm and CDM, Laurent in Bootprint and CdM, etc… LP is opened with Coup de Masse and their songs are calmer and the second one (Le Grand Refus – The Great Refuse) is in ska rhythm and it is one of the best sonsg for me. Trouble Makers has there Chasse Aux Sorcières (Witchhunt) and Enfants pension (Kids pension). Both bands are playing really melodic stuff and I really like them because I met their band members personally in the past (Cheers to Jon and Simon). Bootprint are singing in English and they have there two covers - Teenage Slag from Condemned 84 and F82123 from Combat 84. Other 8 songs are from French bands Carcereduro, Haircut, Shameless and Riot Krew and again they are just on this compilation. Riot Krew has there perfect piece Enfant de la Misere (Child of Misery) with saxophone and there is also official video on this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG1gD3krhrQ and Bobone (again with sax) where hard music is mixed with great melody. Carcereduro are playing their viking rock style with accordion and their songs are called Hastings 66 and Chant D'un Patriote. Shameless and Haircut have there English songs - Proud to be Proud, The Bill (both are melodic, catchy and full of nice guitar tunes) and Another Day which is semi-acoustic ballad with female vocals similar to Ravens Wing stuff (Fading Memory). Haircut has there also cover from Camera Silens Squatt. Inside is paper with band photos and few words from each of them. Perfect compilation which find the way to me little bit later after its release but it does not change the fact that there is no bad song. But it is just compilation so I leave it without rating.