Those of you who voted in our Instagram poll get what you wanted. It wasn’t a full majority, but no election gets that these days. So, to surprise you, I dug deep into my inner child to bring you Oxygen Destroyer‘s newest album, Guardian of the Universe. It has freaking Gamera, Mothra, and Megalon-like monsters on the cover! How could it get any weirder and cooler at the same time? (Can we finally get Gamera and Gozilla to fight each other? Japan, make it happen!) I know, the real question is: can you take this album seriously? Join us on this trip through the ruins left by unknown creatures!
Join the feline insurgence here!
Alright, how do I put this? THIS ALBUM IS SHOUTING ALL THE TIME! There are no breaks, no stops, no feelings. It’s just spirit-crushing mayhem with no solace for your ears. Take every edgy and cool riff Testament, Kreator, or Morbid Angel ever played, feed it with the energy of a nuclear plant, and you get the level of aggression that Guardian throws at you. It honors its themes by sounding like several kaiju battling and devastating our cities, while they couldn’t care less because we’re absolutely insignificant to their enormous presence. Nothing will remain untouched by the pure savagery of these brief yet blood-boiling tracks. Yet, Gamera is our “hero” and the bugs our “enemies”.
At some moments, I wonder if Guardian was meant to be an instrumental album since the vocals are absent for what feels like a long time, but no, they’re just as hysterical as everything else going on here. This is, as you’d expect, a guitar-heavy album; its riffs represent weapons humanity should’ve never obtained, yet we did, thanks to Oxygen Destroyer. Of course, I don’t want to disregard the drumming, which is also on point and mixed beautifully. I know there’s supposed to be some plot in these tracks, but who cares? We came here to see (or, well, hear) giant monsters beating each other to a pulp!
There are some things to keep in mind before falling in love with this kaiju Metal as if you were a three-year-old again. Guardian is blasting Thrash/Death with a brevity and directness that might feel rudimentary for many. There’s nothing Prog here. The musical ideas are familiar too, even if pushed to their extreme. Don’t expect nuance and room for interpretation. It’s as in-your-face as old Punk, but these guys are actually good musicians. No production complaints though, I like how sharp it hits.
If you want something weird but with no pretensions, I believe Oxygen Destroyer has created something unholy and nasty for you. It beats 95% of all kaiju movies ever made, there, I said it! Hate me now, but watching them as a grown-up has ruined the magic for me! However, there’s no magic in Guardian, there’s just honest and unmitigated barbarism from the depths of the hive mind of this grotesque entity, or so I understand from the colorful track titles and lyrics. All hail the giant turtle!
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Release date: 9 August, 2024
Website: https://www.facebook.com/KaijuConjuringDeathMetal
Country: USA
Score: Salvation via carapace or 4.0/5.0 if you want to kill the magic…
Metal Eclipse Reviews 
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