Finally, the re-release of the mighty Bulldozer has seen the light of day! Avantgarde Music are scheduled to release the 1st four Bulldozer releases on CD sometime this year, but not having the patience to wait, I along with another old school aficionado (Hail Malphas!) picked up this rather dubious looking CD from one of the many distros carrying it. This is claimed to be an "import" from Roadrunner Netherlands, and I suppose this could be the case, but the on CD printing itself looks a little shoddy (no actual label logo), and the catalog numbers for this release are the same as the original vinyl. That plus the fact that this has obviously been mastered from vinyl copies of the albums makes me think "bootleg"...but regardless, it was either this or the unbearable wait for the "official" release.

Moving onto the actual music : this is comprised of the 1st two Bulldozer albums (at least as far as I know - did they actually have any vinyl output previous to this ?), and what fucking grand albums they are. Purveyors of all things ancient will relish in delight at the sight of this finally making it onto CD. Musically, Bulldozer can be pegged rather easily : Italy's answer to Venom...and were not talking "Possessed" era Venom either, but that good old fashion, sloppy as fuck, Motorhead-infused "Welcome to Hell" Venom. Back when "The Day of Wrath" was originally released, reviews for it were very quite mixed : some good, but most bad (due to the fact that this *IS* a carbon copy of Venom). Personally, I enjoyed it immensely...sure, it's as unoriginal as it gets, but who needs originality when the result is an album as fine as this ? The second album (The Final Separation) differs very little from the 1st - production wise, it isn't quite as bottom heavy (for the trivia buffs amongst you : the 1st Bulldozer was produced by none other than Algy Ward - those of you who don't recognize the name can now go outside to the playpen while us adults continue). Also, I find the vocal style on TFS to be slightly more developed. While still *very* Cronos like, I also detect a slight Jeff Becerra influence. Other than that, the material on both is very similar, and therefore, excellent on both.

Nothing more really needs to be said about this release. Old timers and those who appreciate black metal ala 1984 shouldn't hesitate to pick this up or the "official" release later this year. Those who hate Venom and think their only contribution to black metal was the name itself, well, avoid this...but it's your loss...

© 1999 chorazaim