Black Viper is a Norwegian speed metal band inspired by American heavy metal acts like Agent Steel and German thrashers Helloween. The genesis of the band was when drummer Cato began writing songs inspired by classic heavy metal of the early ’80s which didn’t mesh with the eccentric thrash-punk of his main band Deathhammer. While speed metal is a progenitor to thrash, an evolutionary step away from the genre’s R’nB roots and a sub-species of sound, dubbed long thought extinct by metal scholars, Black Viper is able to revive it through
Hellions of Fire with an absolutely vengeful zeal. On this album, the band is straightforward, fast, and deceptively mature- striking fast and delivering a mighty payload war-making chords, the venomous progression of which will course through your system for weeks to come, causing fever, dry-mouth, and periodic fits of furious air guitar. The main riffs on “Hellions of Fire," “Metal Blitzkrieg," and “Nightmare Mausoleum” make for instant classics, feeling both immediately and intimately familiar while conjuring the rejuvenating ethos of a more care-free era in metal’s history. Salvador Armijo’s siren-like vocals are mesmerizing and Cato’s inimical bellicose beats give the songs just enough crust punk grit to keep the whole affair feeling tough, brazen, and purposeful. Black Viper is going to drag you to hell and make you look forward to every burning inch of the trip.
