Review: “The Steel Beast” by Weapönizer

Sometimes looking at the small print on things opens up a metaphorical pandora’s box of questions that haven’t necessarily got any answers. When it comes to the new album “The Steel Beast” by Colorado Blackened Thrash crew Weapönizer, how is it that it was recorded way back in 2022 before waiting three years to be mixed in 2025 by Pete deBoer (Blood Incantation, Devil Master, In the Company of Serpents)? That seems insane. It was later mastered by Brad Boatright (Obituary, Nails) with the band having taken a long hiatus following their acclaimed 2017 sophomore album “Lawless Age”. That record was indeed a seminal one with the band creating a potent mix of Blackened Thrash with splashes of Hardcore Punk without compromise, fuelled by themes of war, violence and a post-apocalyptic world…

Fortunately there have been no departures from Weapönizer after that hiatus so the band comprises drummer Michael O’Connor, guitarists Peter Slivkanch and Justin Kelly and bassist Jorden Rex with all three string players partaking in vocals. They’re all seasoned veterans who have spent shared time in the likes of Carrion Crawler, Vargtimmen and Nekrofilth to name but a few and with more than two decades under their collective bullet belts and some interesting cover artwork by Arga Kurnia this one holds much promise.

The Viking funeral begins with the ripper that is “Witch Serpent” as Weapönizer fly into a fury of Blackened Thrash ‘n Roll in a similar vein to recent offerings from Hellripper, the main point of difference being the vocals from Rex which are nothing short of pure evil. “Victory” then dances with the devil on the thirteenth floor with obvious Motorhead influences as the band move in a different direction, the duelling guitar and bass solo a stone cold winner. The link between the lyrics and the cover artwork is a nice touch as the band destroy all in search of the adrenaline rush in violence. The lyrical title track “Engines” continues the narrative a ball of fury with some moments of Traditional Heavy Metal woven into the core along with some tasty movie samples. While they’re not going to win any awards for reinventing the wheel, what Weapönizer do they do so well that they’re hard to ignore.

There is an instant appeal in familiarity in the slick riffs of “The Secutor“, a song about a soldier with a blood lust which has catchy chorus which feels a bit surreal on the first couple of spins. We’ve all seen enough documentaries about the horrors of war to know that it has the power to turn someone into a psychopath and this one plays on that in an interesting way. You probably don’t want to sing-a-long out loud on a flight but it’s diabolically good fun, as is the blackened “Empire of Ash” which has arguably the finest restless and relentless display from drummer O’Connor on the album. The first of two instrumentals is “Acropolis Gates” which offers a little respite from the snarled vocals while being a masterclass in how to create something that is more than a simple interlude. The bass pops, the war drums pound and the atmosphere and energy of the record is maintained. As if that wasn’t enough, it doesn’t sound like it was simply thrown in as it didn’t fit anywhere else.

Raw and intense “The Living Wake” is a rampage of barbed riffs and fierce vocals as hundreds of souls are sent to their deaths for the glory of the motherland. Unlike some of the earlier cuts this one spits the truth about the horrors of war, depicting blistering skin and nasty wounds which will never heal as the bitter price the soldiers pay. “Beneath the Hammer” finds the band putting the pedal to the metal, casting aside the war themes and replacing them with ones of occult ritual. This one has a bit of Sadistic Force about it as the band continue to blur genre lines without straying to far from the left hand path before “The Masque” flies into Blackened Thrash Punk of the finest order. Sounding like it was recorded live on the floor of the studio in one take, the energy levels are insane as the quartet smash, dash and crash through every wall the building has to offer, leaving nothing but rubble in their wake.

The riffs fly in all directions on “Future Graves” which once again has that raw feel of a live performance as Rex talks about bodies left to rot in the fields of Flanders and it has to be said that he’s captured the grim reality of war really well. What makes the album great is the constant shifting of old school styles as the band never rest on their laurels and instead switch from Blackened Thrash to Traditional Heavy Metal to Punk with alarming regularity, speed and dexterity. They make their own rules but their sound is far from bedlam. The second instrumental of the record is “Firestorm of Fear” which is introduced by a classic monologue from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and will have audiences swaying like marionettes when its played live, the earworm riff one of post hypnotic suggestion. An era of rust and decay in a post-apocalyptic world is ushered in with “Night Eternal” and it’s an absolute ripper of a final cut. The Weapönizer war machine is alive! [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Witch Serpent
2. Victory
3. Engines
4. The Secutor
5. Empire of Ash
6. Acropolis Gates (Instrumental)
7. The Living Wake
8. Beneath the Hammer
9. The Masque
10. Future Graves
11. Firestorm of Fear (Instrumental)
12. Night Eternal

“The Steel Beast” by Weapönizer is out 16th October 2026