Artist: Speedslut
Country: Denmark
Label: Listenable Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2026
When I first heard Speedslut, through their ‘Ferocity Of Steel’ EP that was released in Spring of last year, I was quite charmed by this Danish band’s blend of classic Heavy Metal with nice and choppy Speed Metal. But that was around the same time I found out that the band was picked up by Listenable Records. Not only is that one of the most pathetic names of a label, I mean, who is selling records you can’t listen to anyway, but Listenable Records hasn’t been much of a great label in the last… 20 years or so? At least it is a label that has no experience or expertise in this sort of music or whatsoever. So, regardless of the quality of ‘Cimbrian Rites’, Speedslut’s first full-length, I am already extremely sceptical of what, in the end, this choice of label will bring the band.
But, that’s a concern for later, there will be enough time to evaluate this decision, now we can concentrate on the musical content of ‘Cimbrian Rites’. To start right of with a conclusion of sorts, this debut album definitely lacks the impact of their self-released digital EP. On these first few tracks it was the rawer edge and genuine enthusiasm that was practically oozing from it, that made it a very enjoyable encounter with a new and eager-sounding band.
Much of that is lost on ‘Cimbrian Rites’. The majority of the elements and ingredients of what ‘Ferocity Of Steel’ such a great EP are still there, but the issue is: there is no soul. The rough edges have been smoothed away and the production now sounds completely generic, meaning that not only has most of that youthful energy and vigour disappeared, but it has also become utterly interchangeable and devoid of identity. I’d bet that nobody would have guessed this was Speedslut’s debut album, not even those who’d heard their first EP and loved it. To be honest, this could be by any band.
In their defence, this sort of heavy/speed metal isn’t exactly the easiest genre in which to come across as both lively and fresh, whilst also maintaining some sense of identity. Yet it seems as though little effort has been made to put their own spin on the music or, at the very least, to create a less formulaic sound. And whilst that may not be a crime in itself, when the label also markets it as “apocalyptic Blackened Speed Metal for fans of Destruction, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer”, potential fans are bound to feel a bit let down. The raw and wild character of those bands is actually nowhere to be heard on ‘Cimbrian Rites’; instead, it sounds more like a faster version of the later Enforcer albums.
