One of the world's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Coventry's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the genre's history without giving in to commercial temptations or altering its sound. The fact that they were unusually blessed with a steady lineup throughout much of their career contributed to this stability, and though they were rarely bestowed much praise for their efforts, Bolt Thrower gradually established itself as one of the best death metal bands ever to emerge from England, and the earth for that matter. Taking their name from a weapon in one of their favorite tabletop miniatures games, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, they drafted vocalist Alan West, guitarist Barry Thompson, and bassist Jo Bench (one of the first female musicians to take part in an extreme metal group of any sort) to complete the lineup. True to their name, Bolt Thrower dedicated their career to analyzing and dissecting all aspects of human warfare - its history, weapons, etc. ...show more

One of the world's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Coventry's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the genre's history without giving in to commercial temptations or altering its sound. The fact that they were unusually blessed with a steady lineup throughout much of their career contributed to this stability, and though they were rarely bestowed much praise for their efforts, Bolt Thrower gradually established itself as one of the best death metal bands ever to emerge from England, and the earth for that matter. Taking their name from a weapon in one of their favorite tabletop miniatures games, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, they drafted vocalist Alan West, guitarist Barry Thompson, and bassist Jo Bench (one of the first female musicians to take part in an extreme metal group of any sort) to complete the lineup. True to their name, Bolt Thrower dedicated their career to analyzing and dissecting all aspects of human warfare - its history, weapons, etc.

- and took to the road to perfect a brutalizing musical onslaught worthy of such subject matter. Despite the material's general inaccessibility, legendary BBC Radio1 DJ John Peel became an early supporter, hosting the group for various early sessions (subsequently released in 1991 with the expected Peel Sessions title), bolstering their profile on the way to securing a deal with the Vinyl Solutions label. Around this time, West was replaced by the band's van driver, one Karl Willetts, who proved himself a more than capable successor and served as the final cog in the Bolt Thrower warmachine. Released in 1988 with little success, their poorly produced and somewhat tentative debut album, In Battle There Is No Law, lacked the focused ferocity yet to come, but delved into their lyrical obsession with all things warlike.

The following year, Bolt Thrower became one of the first acts to sign with on-the-rise, extreme metal powerhouse, Earache Records (also the home of grindcore experts Napalm Death) and 1989's Realm of Chaos fittingly saw them partner with Games Workshop, the company responsible for the Warhammer game which had inspired their name. Boasting lyrics directly inspired by the game and custom artwork provided by GWS, Realm of Chaos was a far more confident effort, and despite continued production problems, Bolt Thrower found its identity. The band then joined the now-infamous Grindcrusher tour (also featuring Napalm Death, Carcass, and Morbid Angel) across the U.K. before starting work on what would become their most definitive album, 1991's War Master. ...show less