Killer - Wall of Sound (1982)

Killer is one of those bands you rarely see mentioned despite their enormous impact on the European metal scene in the early 1980s. Coming off a less-than-stellar debut record in 1981, these Belgian steel-slingers sought to step up their game and tighten up their entire sound come their next album: Wall of Sound. When this came out in 1982, it was a big deal to those who bought it. People hadn’t heard music of this speed outside of bands like Venom or Motörhead – or in other words, bands from England. For a Belgian band to be doing music like that, it was really something. Of course other speed metal groups would emerge from Belgium – most notably Acid, Crossfire, and Warhead – but looking back on the history of heavy metal in Belgium, Killer were the first of their kind.

Setting themselves apart from other acts, Killer employed the use of twin lead vocals, with guitarist Paul “Shorty” Van Camp singing on three tracks and bassist Ivo “Spooky” van Dooren singing on the other five tracks. Their distinct vocal styles bridged grit and melody, adding a unique flavor to their overall sound and taking the aforementioned Motörhead influence and sort of pairing it with the likes of bands like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. The result was nothing short of spectacular, as each track has a strong rhythmic element in conjunction with an infectious melody – usually elevated by Spooky’s higher vocal range. And that’s not to say Shorty is a bad singer; he does what can on his tracks very, very well. It’s just that songs (although written by Shorty) with lead vocals by Spooky tend to be the most memorable – a prime example being “Kleptomania.” Try beating that chorus!

To get back to the innovation aspect of things, Killer were an admittedly fast band at the time – that much we’ve already established. But… why? Well, to sum it up, Killer were an early example of bands that fused hardcore punk drumming with downright mean riffing. Sure, it may have been “basic” by today’s standards, but look me in the eye and tell me the riff to “Wall of Sound” isn’t sick as hell. Oh, that’s right, you won’t! This fast pace would coincide with their lyrical themes, usually centered around fantasy, war, and other devilish acts – a great example being “Battle Scars,” a song about the horrors of war and the physical / psychological toll it takes on a person. By the time Wall of Sound was out and Killer were touring in support of it, they’d established themselves as a tour de force of the burgeoning speed metal movement, getting progressively faster as their career carried on. In short, if you’ve ever been in the mood for some speed metal mastery, you’d be wise to take a crack at Wall of Sound.

Encyclopædia Metallum

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Originally published in March '24 (Issue No. 2)