Bolt Thrower

One of Britain's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Birmingham's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the extreme genre's history without ever giving in to commercial temptations, or hardly even altering its sound. The fact that they were unusually blessed with a steady lineup throughout much of their career no doubt contributed to this stability, and though they were rarely bestowed wild praise for their efforts, with most of their competitors or contemporaries either adopting other styles or long retired, Bolt Thrower has gradually established itself as one of the best death metal bands ever to emerge from England. Guitarist Gavin Ward and drummer Andy Whale formed Bolt Thrower in heavy metal's original birthing ground, the industrial city of Birmingham, England, in 1986. Taking their name from a character in one of their favorite role-playing games, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the duo soon drafted vocalist Alan West, guitarist Barry Thompson, and bassist Jo Bench (one of the first female musicians to take part in an extreme metal group of any sort). True to form given their name, Bolt Thrower would dedicate their whole career to analyzing and dissecting all aspects of human warfare -- its history, its weapons, etc. -- and they quickly took to the road in order to perfect a brutalizing musical onslaught worthy of backing up such morbid subject matter. Despite their material's general inaccessibility, legendary BBC Radio1 DJ John Peel became an early supporter, hosting the group for various early sessions (subsequently released in 1991 with the expected Peel Sessions title) and helping to bolster their profile on their way to securing a deal with the Vinyl Solutions label. Around this time, West was replaced by the band's van driver,...