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Mäax: Six pack witchcraft

20/09/10 || Butt-Beard

More shit in the pile from Abyss Records. Mäax are your typical “Lets mix NWOBHM with Bathory, dude!” kind of band, but darker, heavier, faster and definitely less shiny. Maax is really more of a blackened heavy/thrash affair with an old school vibe (good old school). And they’re not into pretty wankering either. This is fast-paced metal with an all-hell-breaks-loose, take-no-prisoners approach. These guys are just hammering away at their instrument which gives this EP one hell of a chaotic feel, further amplified by a muddy, reverberating sound that is reminiscent of live show with a not-so-great sound system. And you know what? It works. Six Pack Witchcraft is a load of fun to listen to, and its messy sound makes you feel like you’re at some show at a local bar, filled with tattooed bikers and really ugly chicks.

My only problem is that the sound quality does hinder the record in repeat listens. This shit sounds like fucken Venom actually. All five tunes are rock-solid and all contain a healthy helping of fast and loose metal with a churning, filthy rhythm section, catchy riffing and corpse-defiling vocals.

The CD has moments, sure; “Go Fuck Yourself” spills over like a drunken Cronos over that familiar bulldozer sound all too famous for imitation these days. “Six Pack Witchcraft” has a certain Bathory “Sacrifice” feel to it, which is the most memorable moment for me until the end where it sounds like a bar being busted up with drunken patrons vying for any door. Not completely without merit, this EP is just okay. I rather like the thinly layered trudging along of the bass for the most part, but a mesh of NWOBHM and early Bathory is being done to absolute death these days.

Six Pack Witchcraft is catchy all around with old school heavy/thrash riffage that throws you back 25-30 years, when garage bands roamed turntables all over. This might be black/thrash in essence, but with track names like “Die By The Ax”, “Fire in the Hole”, “Go Fuck Yourself”, “Six Pack Witchcraft” and “Bastards”, it’s obvious that this is all about having fun. Think of Motörhead, Venom, and a bit of German thrashing madness all blended together in an underground NWOBHM-style “DIY” approach to their playing. The vocals are somewhat clean for the most part, though they occasionally get harsher and much harder to decipher (and the aforementioned muddy sound doesn’t help with that.) Maybe they’d reach a wider audience with a cleaner vocal style, but that would most likely take away some of this EP’s charm. I haven’t heard their debut album “Dawnbringer”, but with bands like this it’s usually just more of the same.

This stuff has the immense booming drums, breakneck riffs and pace , and the under-produced gruff vocals that just summon total pandemonium. It’s as deafening as a typhoon of pissed off mutant trailer park trash, and any bit as two-fisted as a captive tornado of Satan Worshiping Bikers with a massive case of cigarette withdrawal. This EP will rip the testicles of old Lemmy himself or at least the warts on his face. Packed with an attitude and as much heat as a fat trucker fart after a long binge of convenience store food, this is filth and fury at it one of its finest hours. That being said, I still don’t really like this record, but I’m sure there’s people out there who adore this kind of stuff.

Seriously essential for fans of: early Celtic Frost, Venom, early Bathory, Darkthrone, Kreator, and recent Darkthrone.

Information
Released: 2010
Label: Abyss Records
Website: Mäax MySpace
Band
Tim: vocals
Kyle: guitars
Brett: guitars
Jeremy: bass
James: drums

Tracklist
01. Die By The Ax
02. Fire In The Hole
03. Go Fuck Yourself
04. Six Pack Witchcraft
05. Bastards

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