Artist: Thy Killing Hand
Country: Poland
Label: End All Life Productions / Norma Evangelium Diaboli
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2026
Thy Killing Hand is a relatively new Polish band that after two demos now releases their debut full-length album on End All Life Productions. While the members remain anonymous, it seems that the sound on their debut gives away hints of their origin. Indeed, ‘Infernal Commands’ has a rather distinct cleaner guitar sound, without too much distortion and rawness drenched over the riffs. Along with the thicker bass sound, this makes Thy Killing Hand lean closer to the first wave of Black Metal bands. Not only does it remind of bands like Necromantia, Beherit and Barathrum, but mostly due to the production there’s a few contemporary Polish bands that immediately come to my mind: Cultes des Ghoules, Sodality and Death Like Mass. Thus despite that the pawns behind the band are unknown, I would not at all be surprised if members of these aforementioned band are also involved in Thy Killing Hand. Not only in the sound, but also in the level of quality that the band offers.
Fitting with the influences mentioned above, the music that the band serves up on their debut is a blend of rather regressive, first wave inspired Black Metal, with straightforward but effective riffs and percussion and a rich role for the plodding bass. The vocals that top it off are certainly spirited, bordering on the unhinged as they croak and rasp forward. The keyboards are more sparsely used but add a haunting atmosphere to it all. Although the band opts for a more frantic pace from time to time, they often also reside in the lower tempo echelons, building atmosphere in a ritualistic manner. But that the band is not entirely bound to the Black Metal genre is apparent in ‘The Great Beyond’, a song that mixes regressive Black metal with a passage that seems influenced by the likes of Sisters of Mercy. A track like ‘Bones Resound’ is very stripped down of Black Metal elements, except for the eerie strumming, nervous rhythmic section and preaching vocals. This then transforms into ‘To Receive the Final Task’, a song both restless in the frantic riffing and guitars, as well as creepy in the discomforting strumming and vile vocals. Thy Killing Hand certainly places atmosphere above all else, entrancing, corrupting and vile in intent.
While perhaps not as literally worshipping the ancient Hellenic scene as some of the other first wave Black Metal inspired bands that have surfaced of late, Thy Killing Hand does offer something intriguing for those that have embraced that resurgence. Perhaps less overtly leaning on keyboards and ore vocal-driven instead, the uncanny storytelling of Necromantia blended with the crude sound of Beherit molded into ‘Infernal Commands’ makes it a rough and ritualistic record that embodies the spirit of the early 90’s in a similar and impressive fashion as for instance the Medieval Prophecy Records bands do.
