Into the Void: The Final Separation

Bulldozer - The Final Separation (Feb, 1986)

I don't think this album is all that great, but the development of the band in the one year since The Day of Wrath is remarkable. They skip the stupid album intro this time, instead going with an excellent music intro, with some clean arpeggios and choral "oooohs" that sounds kind of thrash, but also kind of black metal. This transitions cleanly into "The Final Separation," which has that sort of Motorhead feel to it. The arpegios from the intro come back throughout the song. I'm quite impressed with the songwriting here, particularly when comparing it to The Day of Wrath. The next three tracks, "Ride Hard, Die Fast," "The Cave," and "Sex Symbol's Bullshit" also have that Venom/Motorhead rocking feel that is typical of these early bands, with "Ride Hard" being the standout of the album.

The thing is, The Final Separation sounds to me a lot like a poor Italian man's Metallica. It's kind of like they spent all of 1985 listening to Ride the Lightning and Kill Em All. You hear this influence particularly on ten minute epic "The Death of Gods." You can definitely tell that the band is heading into full Thrash territory, and by their next album, the Venom worship is completely gone. I find the vocals on this album to be one of the worst parts. A.C. Wild's unfamiliarity with English is painfully obvious on tracks like "The Cave" and "Sex Symbol's Bullshit," and his accent makes it nearly impossible to distinguish between "St. John" and "Satan," for some pretty hilarious lyrical misunderstanding on my part. Also, it's come to my understanding that the original pressing of this album had an absolutely horrific production that sounded like it was coming through an AM radio. The copy I've listened to is the remastered one from 2007, so the original listeners would have heard a much more lo-fi version—something that could be seen as a black metal influence.

Final Verdict: 2/10 - Nothing particularly original here, this album is about hating the Catholic church and having a huge dick. Unfortunately, the first assertion is the only one I actually believe.