Rok - "Burning Metal", 2001

The second solo album by Sadistik Exekution's frontman, Rok, keeps moving along the lines of a black n' roll reinterpretation of the singer's main influences, once more Venom and Bathory, with nods to 80s speed metal, hard rock, and even epic doom this time. "Burning Metal" is a more accomplished work than its predecessor; all the filler and noise intermezzos are pretty much gone, there are more songs, and the running time is satisfying. The songwriting also seems to be a bit more focused, delivering memorable and rocking anthems that you could almost sing along to. 

The faster songs on the record, the opener "Warpower" and "Funeral Guts", are actually the least interesting of the lot; they vaguely sound like something that early Impaled Nazarene could come up with, with repetitive and minimalistic riffs and drumming. It's not surprising that Rok himself removed them from the abridged vinyl reissue of the album that was released in 2018, since they kind of sound out of place within the tracklist. This said, the rest of the record is all killer and more consistent stylewise, leaning decidedly on the Venom/Bathory template on fist-pumping tracks such as "Born in Fire", "Roadkill" or "Hell's Angels", among others. 

Rok shows some more ambitious songwriting too, on tracks such as the awesome "Vampire" and "Satanika 6000", two blackened epic doom metal tracks that would have made Fenriz of Darkthrone proud; between acoustic/clean guitar overdubs, triumphant riffs, falsetto-style heavy metal vocals, and dramatic atmospheres, there's a lot to love, and "Vampire" in particular is a haunting, anthemic opus that probably qualifies as the best song on the record, clocking in at a respectable 7:43 minutes.

"Satanik Slut" is another surprise worth mentioning, being a full-on hard rock track - obviously Rok style - that would work well to disrupt a boring heavy metal party playlist. 

Production values and musicianship are along the lines of the debut album; it's all raw and booming, bathed in reverb, with drums that often sound like a drum machine. While a bit chaotic on the faster tracks, it works rather well on the rest of the material, especially on the doomier songs. This said, if you're searching for tight playing and punchy sounds, you better look elsewhere. Rok's vocals are top-notch; his black metal screams are commanding and ferocious, and they work wonderfully throughout the songs. I think it might be one of his best performances ever.

All in all, "Burning Metal" is a pretty solid effort, and certainly a lot of fun if you take it for what it is; it's still a lot more effective and genuine than a lot of stuff that gets sold as "black n' roll" these days, and in some way it predates a lot of the stuff Darkthrone did from 2006 onwards. The 2018 vinyl reissue, featuring a reworked tracklist (also including a couple of songs from the previous record), sounds probably a bit more coherent stylewise, focusing on the more 80s-infused and epic material, but regardless of what version you like the best, it's always an enjoyable collection of songs that would have deserved more attention from the underground metalheads at the time.