JUGULATOR
“Imperator Insector”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Jugulator are a thrash metal band from Algeria formed in 2014, releasing three albums to date – ‘Ad Exitium’ (2019), ‘Under The Verdict’ (2021), and ‘Imperator Insector’ (2024).

The bands new album offers seven new songs across a barnstorming forty five minutes featuring a ferocity and aggression level you’d normally find pouring out of German thrash via the Teutonic Four – Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and Tankard. The band line-up for ‘Imperator Insector’ is Ramzy Abbas (vocals, guitar), Ziri Abes (bass), Abderezak Yahimi (drums), and Lamine Amrane (guitar) – however, there’s a deluxe 2CD version, with the second disc containing the same seven songs performed with guest musicians from the Algerian metal music scene (see tracklist below for details). The deluxe version also comes with a twenty eight page booklet complete with lyrics, photos and information on all twenty one guest musicians.

The album opens with the one and a half minute effects laden come spoken word come crescendo building intro ‘Awakening Of The Insects Kingdom’, before the band let all fucking hell break loose via the thunderous (album) opener ‘Infected Focus’ – Jugulator going for the jugular with an all out barrage of searing savagery! Taking no prisoners, ‘Infected Focus’ is an uncompromising brutal assault to knock yer block off, the Algerian thrashers launching their new album in blistering style, ‘Radioactive Mutation’ roaring outta the blocks at a hundred miles an hour! The already sky high level of head bang ability has just risen even higher here, Jugulator howling, scowling and snarling their way through a ferocious thrash metal onslaught! I tell ya readers, if the opening brace is a sign of things to come, anyone of a nervous disposition had better watch out, or at least get a few bottles of Pepto-Bismol to hand!

The title song ‘Imperator Insector’ strolls in on the crest of a short mellow intro, the band building to a mighty groove metal led foot stomp, changing through the gears to race off at a phenomenal pace! The band continue to change gears here, shuddering the ground with immense force to leave only desolation in their wake – no-one and nothing is safe from the aggression fuelled firestorm that’s engulfing the airways, every listener, fan and follower feeling the effects of a bone crunching opening threesome! A threesome that quickly becomes a foursome as ‘Order The Invasion’ maintains the ferocious streak that started the same time the album did – Jugulator marching heavily across the land. So heavily in fact that subsidence and sink holes are collapsing the very ground they’ve just walked on – ‘Bleeding Earth’ rocketing on at high velocity, the albums head bang ability rising higher and higher! Jugulator are at full tilt here, violently rocking the heads back and forth of every single listener, fan and follower around the world!

The intensity of ‘Imperator Insector’ (the album) since it began has been phenomenal, the band keeping a very tight hold on everyones attentions with absolutely no intention of letting ’em go, ‘From Underworld’ storming in as the longest song on offer! At over eight minutes in length, ‘From Underworld’ sets a scorching pace at it gets going, settling down to a mid tempo mid paced thunderstorm of heavy hitting proportions, the band continuing to crunch bones with effortless brutality! Jugulator change gears all the way through ‘From Underworld’ to deliver a variation loaded barrage of uncompromising thrash! And all too soon the final song looms large over the horizon, the band ripping through the previous six songs with precision and panache – ‘Atomic Insecticide’ surging forth with immense menace! That’s not to say the rest of the album hasn’t been without menace, it’s just that ‘Atomic Insecticide’ has more of it, along with the bands penchant for blistering speed, razor sharp riffs and all conquering intensity!

Overall, a bone crunching, skull crushing torrent of barbaric thrash metal fuelled by aggression and menace with a sky high level of head bang ability.

TRACKLIST

CD1:

Awakening Of The Insects Kingdom
Infected Focus
Radioactive Mutation
Imperator Insector
Order The Invasion
Bleeding Earth
From Underworld (Feat. Redouane ‘Redo’ Nahar & Abdelhakim Ait-Aissa)
Atomic Insecticide

CD2:

Awakening Of The Insects Kingdom
Infected Focus (feat. Danny J Kross, Seh Guitars & Rafik Slimani)
Radioactive Mutation (feat. Julien ‘Nutz’ Deyres & Mathieu Pascal)
Imperator Insector (feat. Nazih Hadji, Ransel & Nazim Kri)
Order The Invasion (feat. Redouane Mostefaoui & Lamine Benabbou)
Bleeding Earth (feat. Redouane Aouameur, Abdelmalek Benchefra & Reda ‘Dada’ Chami)
From Underworld (feat. Younes Kacimi, Havoc, Mahdi Fekhikher & Samy GB)
Atomic Insecticide (feat. Zakaria Fellahi & Nazim Mohammedi)

https://jugulator88.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jugulator.band

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