Destruction, killing, is all that's in sight.
Unleashed in 1988 at a time when Death Metal as a genre was still at its infancy and the vast majority of bands were yet to release their first album, BOLT THROWER’s debut In Battle There Is No Law! already hit the nascent underground with full force. Only preceded by a handful albums like DEATH’s Scream Bloody Gore, NAPALM DEATH’s Scum or NECROPHAGIA’s Season of the Dead, In Battle There Is No Law! is widely considered a landmark record and ranks among the very first Death Metal albums ever.
Consisting of 8 tracks and clocking in at just around 28 minutes, the album originally released by Vinyl Solution is arguably BOLT THROWER’s rawest and most primal effort. Despite the uncompromisingly rough sound and their Crust and Punk influences still being rather obvious, the characteristics BOLT THROWER would go on to be hailed for, are already represented albeit in rather crude form, though. Rather than to its detriment, it’s this very unfiltered roughness that`s somewhat missing from their later albums that gives In Battle There Is No Law! its special unmistakable charm. Instead of putting emphasis on distinctive melodies and mid-tempo groove, the songwriting leans more towards all-out attack. Karl’s vocal delivery is a tad different too, at times abandoning his signature style in favour of vocals more akin to Punk rather than Death Metal. Lyrically already dealing with war in its different dark aspects, the first album’s cover depicts a different logo than the rest of their discography. This and the punkish artwork shown on the cover further set BOLT THROWER’s first album apart, turning it into a unique full length among the discography of one of Death Metal’s most important bands.
Replica of the original 1988 Vinyl Solution version including lyric sheet and a Vinyl Solution mailorder-list.
Jewel-case CD, 12-page booklet
