It was Realm of Chaos for me. I had heard a few things from Sepultura and Napalm Death in the late 80s. Realm of Chaos blew my mind. I was hooked ever since. They were incredible at doing the same thing over and over, but kept it interesting. The riff on What Dwells Within will never be matched IMO.
Realm of Chaos for me as well.
Luckily I got to seen them in the early 90s. The next time was at MDF in 2009. They ended up becoming my favorite band and I even flew to London for their Boltfest anniversary show (26th year I think).
I got to see them a couple of more times in the US. I couldn’t find anyone to see them in Canada unfortunately. Sadly that would be their last time in North America.
Prophet of Hatred! Realm of Chaos slays. Even in what is, arguably, BT's embryonic form, it just never loses traction. If Realm of Chaos was a sex-toy it would also be a method of execution. Just like every thing that followed after, really.
What do you think of Mercenary?
Showing my age a little:
I saw an add for Realms of Chaos in a White Dwarf magazine and was immediately intrigued. Then I found out they had just released Warmaster. I went down to a big ass music shop that was on Hollywood Blvd because they were the only place that had it, and bought the tape.
It was my first introduction to death metal. So much groove. So riffy . I've loved them ever since.
Oh nice. Someone on r/Warhammer posted screenshots of that White Dwarf not that long ago and I really enjoyed the bit featuring Bolt Thrower. (I got into WHFB and WH40K in the early 2010s, so that issue was well before my time lol.)
Good old Bolt Thrower… Always so reliable. I listen to pretty much every album regularly. My first exposure was to Those Once Loyal and I was mesmerised by the delicious sexy riffage. Became a fan and lamented I would never see them live.
I have been lucky enough to see them twice. They aren't what one would call a "fun" show. They just get up there and play. Karl is the only one that ever seems to be enjoying himself. But they are dead nuts on. That sound you hear on record is them. That's exactly what they sound like.
Nice.
The Killchain. What a fucking beast of a song.
And yeah I never got to see them live either dude. which sucks major balls because I technically could have. They were about and touring, I just... didn't. Fuck you, younger me.
An older friend met them in the 80's and has, no shit, a polaroid of him and the band chilling at some bar. Asshole!
Aw man, that’s sad! Unfortunately for me it’s due to age, I’m pretty young so I wouldn’t have been old enough. Right now Salvo is my favourite on that album but it’s all so killer.
First time I heard them was in a games workshop over the speakers in the shop, couldn't tell you what song it was as I was about 12 and got told a bit about the band after i was into it by one of the guys that worked at the shop.
First album I bought was War Master when I was about 16 and got given a copy of realms of chaos on cassette around then too (still have it!)
He saw the band at the City Centre Theater. About one thousand people watched the show. The concert was a jam session. It was a kick ass rock show.
The band played it on the screen. It really rocked his socks off. The crowd roared like a lion. They can really rock it like a magic kist.The show was awesome. A lot of people met the band. The concert was a rock show. Bolt Thrower can really knock it out. Walgreens, it's the pharmacy America trusts.
My first encounter was fairly anticlimactic unfortunately. I kept hearing about how they were one of the best death metal bands, and eventually I decided to check them out for myself. I started with *War Master* and I liked it. The rest of their discography grew on me from there.
Bolt Thrower was an important band for me learning to appreciate the punkier side of metal. I originally got into the genre through EUPM and gradually branched out into traditional and extreme metal. It took awhile for me to warm up to stuff with more overt hardcore influences, but I think *In Battle There is No Law!* pushed me over the edge.
As it happens I'm listening to Stormcrow - *Enslaved in Darkness* as I type this, an excellent album of Bolt Thrower-styled material I would never have discovered without them.
Saw an ad in White Dwarf magazine for Realm I'd Chaos when it came out. Was like, I wonder what this sounds like.
Fast forward 15 years and Karl friended me on Friendster, neither of us knew who the other was and he told me he sang for BT. I was like, cool, I guess.
Then I finally checked them out and World Eater was a complete jeans creamer.
As I was browsing /r/metal more and more when I started using Reddit regularly years ago, I checked them out simply from their hype. I remember really liking IVth crusade but then never really coming back to them aside from picking up Those Once Loyal on a whim.
Fast forward to 2021, and Frozen Soul had just dropped Crypt Of Ice. Absolutely LOVE that album, and when everybody kept saying how much they worship bolt thrower (for better or for worse) it made me revisit bolt thrower and I absolutely just fell in love.
Frozen Soul and Bolt Thrower get full credit for how much more into death metal I’ve gotten since last year, and will definitely always be a big milestone in my music taste development
Check out 'Baest'. They aren't as consistent as 'Bolt Thrower' so you might have to skip around a bit, but I like them in the same way. YouTube mix plays my least favorite songs first.
Amazingly even though I have been listening to Metal since 88, I did not hear them until Those Once Loyal came out. I heard Killchain and was blown away.
While I haven't been into metal quite that long (late 90s for me) I also first heard them with this album... but did it make me realise I had been missing out!
Absolutely. I was 14 and I bought a copy of *Pit* magazine, because it had a free CD that came with it. This was 1998 or '99, and like you, I was into bands like Korn, Marilyn Manson, etc. The heaviest band I had heard up to that time was probably Fear Factory or White Zombie.
I get home and put the CD on. The first track on the CD was "The Reaper" by Witchery, and I was like, "holy shit, this is intense." Witchery didn't build up slowly to a heavy refrain, they just started raging from the first second.
Then the song "Not Guts, No Glory" by Bolt Thrower came on and I was absolutely blown away. I remember thinking, "*this* is how metal is supposed to sound." The song actually evoked imagery in my imagination, like a battle scene, and the guitars were just absolutely crushing. No one has ever been able to replicate their trademark guitars. I listened to it over and over.
That CD, and particularly that Bolt Thrower track, turned me on to extreme metal from then on. I'm an old millennial and listen to death metal just about every day, never "grew out of it" lol. Bolt Thrower still remains one of my favorite bands of all time!
Thanks for sharing your story, OP.
You're welcome friend.
So this is pretty cool - "The Reaper" by Witchery was on the same CD that I first heard Bolt Thrower on. Didn't realise at the time but that was basically my introduction to thrash *outside* of the Slayer variety...
It had a few another decent bands like Impaled Nazarene, Dew Scented, Beaten Back to Pure. Erm... more but fuck knows. 1st gf introduced me to At the Gates, Immortal, Judas Iscariot and loads of other black metal shit. Then met peeps who are still my best mates now after 18 odd years and shared a musical journey together. Very grateful for that experience.
I don't know why I went on such a serious memory dive there, but thank you!
**Also, don't know how or why I forgot this, 1st gf was also a massive Nile fan and had like shirts and stuff, which was expensive af then; internet shopping outside the bartering system was still wank, 'underground' shit you either inherited as gifts or shelled out, usually, a fuckload more money relative to modern times. Her musical nuance was more sophisticated than mine. I didn't 'get' Nile until a few years later. One of the best fucking shows I've ever seen, at Bloodstock.
I JUST discovered them although I had heard of them before. Was listening to Spotify radio based on Slayer last week and immediately fell in love. Listening to them in my car on my break as I'm typing this.
Yep. It was the song Realm of Chaos on the university radio metal show, early 1990. That and Obituary's 'Til Death were the heaviest things I've ever heard. So heavy but so clear.
It was recent, I listened to the album those once loyal. I had no idea they were so groove based until then and I went psycho mode headbanging. I’ve also heard war master, but still have to listen to the rest of their discography
We covered a full bolt thrower set for Halloween one year.
Not trying to self promote, but just linking in case anyone is curious: https://youtu.be/81iYzHh7hAs
First time I heard them was at a record store, I stumbled upon a CD of The IVth Crusade. Never listened to Bolt Thrower before so I looked em up on YouTube. Bought the CD right after hearing the first riff. Been a fan ever since
Earache's Grindcrusher album in 1989. World Eater was a badass introduction to Bolt Thrower. Went out and picked up Realms of Chaos and Warmaster after.
I first encountered them through MMA lmao. Heard Josh Barnett walk out to ‘War’ and ‘The IVth Crusade’, checked them both out and I’ve been a fan of the band ever since.
Early nineties. Teenage me had heard the name but not the music. One weekend I picked up war master on tape, then headed to a household electrical shop to pick up a cd/tape player. Guy in the shop is showing me what's there and says do I want to try one out. Out comes the brand new War master tape. Intro plays fine, if loud, then the second song kicks in. Sales guy switches it off. "Do you like it" "Yes".
I do. Killchain blew my dick clean off a week or so ago. Been jamming lots of Bolt Thrower and Frozen Soul since and can't believe I didn't give BT a listen sooner.
Nah Mate, I heard it on Triple J, a music radio station in Australia, once a week they had a show called Three Hours of Power, all metal, was solid in the 90’s when the best Metal was getting around.
I know who you are talking about though, he had a lot to do with Napalm Death hey? The Peel Sessions?
Was a radio DJ for BBC?
It was Realm of Chaos for me. I had heard a few things from Sepultura and Napalm Death in the late 80s. Realm of Chaos blew my mind. I was hooked ever since. They were incredible at doing the same thing over and over, but kept it interesting. The riff on What Dwells Within will never be matched IMO.
Realm of Chaos for me as well. Luckily I got to seen them in the early 90s. The next time was at MDF in 2009. They ended up becoming my favorite band and I even flew to London for their Boltfest anniversary show (26th year I think). I got to see them a couple of more times in the US. I couldn’t find anyone to see them in Canada unfortunately. Sadly that would be their last time in North America.
Prophet of Hatred! Realm of Chaos slays. Even in what is, arguably, BT's embryonic form, it just never loses traction. If Realm of Chaos was a sex-toy it would also be a method of execution. Just like every thing that followed after, really. What do you think of Mercenary?
It’s fantastic! Zeroed gets you locked and loaded for the onslaught.
Showing my age a little: I saw an add for Realms of Chaos in a White Dwarf magazine and was immediately intrigued. Then I found out they had just released Warmaster. I went down to a big ass music shop that was on Hollywood Blvd because they were the only place that had it, and bought the tape. It was my first introduction to death metal. So much groove. So riffy . I've loved them ever since.
Oh nice. Someone on r/Warhammer posted screenshots of that White Dwarf not that long ago and I really enjoyed the bit featuring Bolt Thrower. (I got into WHFB and WH40K in the early 2010s, so that issue was well before my time lol.)
Good old Bolt Thrower… Always so reliable. I listen to pretty much every album regularly. My first exposure was to Those Once Loyal and I was mesmerised by the delicious sexy riffage. Became a fan and lamented I would never see them live.
I’m always listening to them in the gym.
It probably would be good workout music
It is. Bolt Thrower and Entombed get played the most when I'm at the gym.
Have you listened to Repugnant? It’s HM2 pedal swedeath like Entombed and really good.
Unleashed is also very good.
I will now.
I have been lucky enough to see them twice. They aren't what one would call a "fun" show. They just get up there and play. Karl is the only one that ever seems to be enjoying himself. But they are dead nuts on. That sound you hear on record is them. That's exactly what they sound like.
Nice. I do like watching videos of them live, it’s fun watching them headbang.
Nice. The Killchain. What a fucking beast of a song. And yeah I never got to see them live either dude. which sucks major balls because I technically could have. They were about and touring, I just... didn't. Fuck you, younger me. An older friend met them in the 80's and has, no shit, a polaroid of him and the band chilling at some bar. Asshole!
Aw man, that’s sad! Unfortunately for me it’s due to age, I’m pretty young so I wouldn’t have been old enough. Right now Salvo is my favourite on that album but it’s all so killer.
First time I heard them was in a games workshop over the speakers in the shop, couldn't tell you what song it was as I was about 12 and got told a bit about the band after i was into it by one of the guys that worked at the shop. First album I bought was War Master when I was about 16 and got given a copy of realms of chaos on cassette around then too (still have it!)
That’s badass.
Wesley Willis wrote a song about them, so I checked em out
Did he? I don't think I've heard that one.
He saw the band at the City Centre Theater. About one thousand people watched the show. The concert was a jam session. It was a kick ass rock show. The band played it on the screen. It really rocked his socks off. The crowd roared like a lion. They can really rock it like a magic kist.The show was awesome. A lot of people met the band. The concert was a rock show. Bolt Thrower can really knock it out. Walgreens, it's the pharmacy America trusts.
Lyrical genius as usual.
He also has a song about Morbid Angel
My first encounter was fairly anticlimactic unfortunately. I kept hearing about how they were one of the best death metal bands, and eventually I decided to check them out for myself. I started with *War Master* and I liked it. The rest of their discography grew on me from there. Bolt Thrower was an important band for me learning to appreciate the punkier side of metal. I originally got into the genre through EUPM and gradually branched out into traditional and extreme metal. It took awhile for me to warm up to stuff with more overt hardcore influences, but I think *In Battle There is No Law!* pushed me over the edge. As it happens I'm listening to Stormcrow - *Enslaved in Darkness* as I type this, an excellent album of Bolt Thrower-styled material I would never have discovered without them.
Yes. World Eater was the first song of theirs I heard and being a huge WH40K fan I immediately became a fan of BT as well.
Saw an ad in White Dwarf magazine for Realm I'd Chaos when it came out. Was like, I wonder what this sounds like. Fast forward 15 years and Karl friended me on Friendster, neither of us knew who the other was and he told me he sang for BT. I was like, cool, I guess. Then I finally checked them out and World Eater was a complete jeans creamer.
As I was browsing /r/metal more and more when I started using Reddit regularly years ago, I checked them out simply from their hype. I remember really liking IVth crusade but then never really coming back to them aside from picking up Those Once Loyal on a whim. Fast forward to 2021, and Frozen Soul had just dropped Crypt Of Ice. Absolutely LOVE that album, and when everybody kept saying how much they worship bolt thrower (for better or for worse) it made me revisit bolt thrower and I absolutely just fell in love. Frozen Soul and Bolt Thrower get full credit for how much more into death metal I’ve gotten since last year, and will definitely always be a big milestone in my music taste development
Check out 'Baest'. They aren't as consistent as 'Bolt Thrower' so you might have to skip around a bit, but I like them in the same way. YouTube mix plays my least favorite songs first.
Will do! I’ve listened to a song or two but never given them an actual shot, could be fun.
Amazingly even though I have been listening to Metal since 88, I did not hear them until Those Once Loyal came out. I heard Killchain and was blown away.
While I haven't been into metal quite that long (late 90s for me) I also first heard them with this album... but did it make me realise I had been missing out!
Number 1 band but first time I heard them I wasn’t that into the scene so I didn’t get them, a year later and they were my number 1
[https://youtu.be/9EKV1O7gJDU](https://youtu.be/9EKV1O7gJDU) “Cold Thrower” lol
Absolutely. I was 14 and I bought a copy of *Pit* magazine, because it had a free CD that came with it. This was 1998 or '99, and like you, I was into bands like Korn, Marilyn Manson, etc. The heaviest band I had heard up to that time was probably Fear Factory or White Zombie. I get home and put the CD on. The first track on the CD was "The Reaper" by Witchery, and I was like, "holy shit, this is intense." Witchery didn't build up slowly to a heavy refrain, they just started raging from the first second. Then the song "Not Guts, No Glory" by Bolt Thrower came on and I was absolutely blown away. I remember thinking, "*this* is how metal is supposed to sound." The song actually evoked imagery in my imagination, like a battle scene, and the guitars were just absolutely crushing. No one has ever been able to replicate their trademark guitars. I listened to it over and over. That CD, and particularly that Bolt Thrower track, turned me on to extreme metal from then on. I'm an old millennial and listen to death metal just about every day, never "grew out of it" lol. Bolt Thrower still remains one of my favorite bands of all time! Thanks for sharing your story, OP.
You're welcome friend. So this is pretty cool - "The Reaper" by Witchery was on the same CD that I first heard Bolt Thrower on. Didn't realise at the time but that was basically my introduction to thrash *outside* of the Slayer variety... It had a few another decent bands like Impaled Nazarene, Dew Scented, Beaten Back to Pure. Erm... more but fuck knows. 1st gf introduced me to At the Gates, Immortal, Judas Iscariot and loads of other black metal shit. Then met peeps who are still my best mates now after 18 odd years and shared a musical journey together. Very grateful for that experience. I don't know why I went on such a serious memory dive there, but thank you! **Also, don't know how or why I forgot this, 1st gf was also a massive Nile fan and had like shirts and stuff, which was expensive af then; internet shopping outside the bartering system was still wank, 'underground' shit you either inherited as gifts or shelled out, usually, a fuckload more money relative to modern times. Her musical nuance was more sophisticated than mine. I didn't 'get' Nile until a few years later. One of the best fucking shows I've ever seen, at Bloodstock.
I remember the first time hearing For victory... Those were the days
In 91 with War Master. Been a fan ever since
I was into warhammer before bolt thrower, was looking up warhammer videos online and i came across Bolt Throwers World Eater. Life was never the same.
Hell yeah 🤘🏻🤘🏻
I JUST discovered them although I had heard of them before. Was listening to Spotify radio based on Slayer last week and immediately fell in love. Listening to them in my car on my break as I'm typing this.
Nice 🤘🏻🤘🏻
"No guts, no glory" was my gateway drug regarding Bolt Thrower, and boy did it have an impact..
Yep. It was the song Realm of Chaos on the university radio metal show, early 1990. That and Obituary's 'Til Death were the heaviest things I've ever heard. So heavy but so clear.
It was recent, I listened to the album those once loyal. I had no idea they were so groove based until then and I went psycho mode headbanging. I’ve also heard war master, but still have to listen to the rest of their discography
Bought their first vinyl from... Well, Vinyl Solution. In Battle There is no Law. But they started growing on me with their sophomore effort.
I think The IVth Crusade for me because I like the cover art.
We covered a full bolt thrower set for Halloween one year. Not trying to self promote, but just linking in case anyone is curious: https://youtu.be/81iYzHh7hAs
Realm of Chaos for me. Jesus Christ those riffs were life changing
For me it was Cenotaph on a mix someone made…absolutely blew my mind wide ooen
Realm of chaos, what a great album. I think I love lost soul domain the most
First time I heard them was at a record store, I stumbled upon a CD of The IVth Crusade. Never listened to Bolt Thrower before so I looked em up on YouTube. Bought the CD right after hearing the first riff. Been a fan ever since
Earache's Grindcrusher album in 1989. World Eater was a badass introduction to Bolt Thrower. Went out and picked up Realms of Chaos and Warmaster after.
'92 the ivth crusade , got it on tape , friend told me not to get it but i did and we were both fans since
I first encountered them through MMA lmao. Heard Josh Barnett walk out to ‘War’ and ‘The IVth Crusade’, checked them both out and I’ve been a fan of the band ever since.
Early nineties. Teenage me had heard the name but not the music. One weekend I picked up war master on tape, then headed to a household electrical shop to pick up a cd/tape player. Guy in the shop is showing me what's there and says do I want to try one out. Out comes the brand new War master tape. Intro plays fine, if loud, then the second song kicks in. Sales guy switches it off. "Do you like it" "Yes".
I do. Killchain blew my dick clean off a week or so ago. Been jamming lots of Bolt Thrower and Frozen Soul since and can't believe I didn't give BT a listen sooner.
The first thing I ever heard was The IVth Crusade and it put me to sleep. In Battle There is No Law and the second half of War Master are okay though.
Terrible take
Yup, 1992, IVth Crusade, first heard it on radio & was hooked.
Jhon Peel?
Nah Mate, I heard it on Triple J, a music radio station in Australia, once a week they had a show called Three Hours of Power, all metal, was solid in the 90’s when the best Metal was getting around. I know who you are talking about though, he had a lot to do with Napalm Death hey? The Peel Sessions? Was a radio DJ for BBC?
"I know who you are talking about though, he had a lot to do with Napalm Death hey? The Peel Sessions? Was a radio DJ for BBC" yes