It’s no surprise that I love Panzerchrist as much as I do. Their core sound has remained consistent throughout their storied career. Each album has stood as a testament to their brand of brutality that has remained solid since 1999’s Six Seconds Kill.

Maleficium Part 2 is the follow up to last year’s Maleficium Part 1, which I covered in these hallowed pages and raved over profusely; I mean the album fucking kills, go listen to it if you haven’t yet.

Panzerchrist have achieved a milestone with this one. The tempo changes when you least expect it, and I have to mention the lyrics which are enunciated perfectly while Sonja still sounds like she’s gargling with hydrochloric acid. Among female Death Metal vocalists she stands alone as a powerhouse.

“Witchfinder General” sets the tone and concept of the album. Instantly brutal from the beginning, drummer Ove Lungskov lets you know you’re in capable hands for Maleficium Part 2‘s 41:21-minute conquest… and those riffs are just unrelenting. This is such a killer album, guys you need to hear this!

“Harmbidder” hits you right in the giblets with a sick drum intro, but this song sees Panzerchrist fucking around with some insane blasting into mid-paced tempos and the guitar solos are just amazing. “Catalyst of Chaos” and “Hex Maleficium Pex” are both heavy as a pile of crushing stones during ruthless torture.

“Suffer My Fury” turns up the heat to blast furnace status, an unholy field of burning corpses where the wrath of God has been unleashed by human hands. Thus were the burning times in Europe; the time period of Maleficium Part 1&2.

“On Walpurgis Night” burns with malice and has a sick as fuck interlude where the song unleashes absolute hell and it’s intertwined with some killer tempo changes. “Black Mirror” sports more insane time changes than you can shake a stick at, it’s an exciting track and one of my favorites on Maleficium Part 2. It’s followed by “The Descent” which begins with another sick drum fill before the song takes flight on its lumbering course. It picks up speed to a mid-paced crusher at the 1:19 point but as far as warp speed goes, this is not that type. It keeps a steady, rumbling drum patterns keep a madman’s heartbeat for the length of the song.

Maleficium Part 2 could very well be my favorite Panzerchrist album, surpassing Room Service (and that’s not an easy feat) since that is the album that defines Panzerchrist for me.

You already know what I’m going to say next… If you like the brutality of Marduk, God Dethroned or Belphegor then you need to own Maleficium Part 2, and Part 1 while you’re at it.

“The only good witch is a dead witch!”

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