***Conqueror’s campaign of devastation began with the union of J. Read (Cremation, Revenge, Axis of Advance) and R. Forster (Domini Inferi, Blasphemy). After the 1996 demo, “Antichrist Superiority,” the band turned its attention to crafting the one of the most cataclysmic and savage Black/Death records ever produced. There are few albums as genre defining as “War Cult Supremacy.” Conqueror’s work may arguably be perceived as representing one of the last major steps forward in the evolution of underground metal, with instrumentation and imagery evoking an atmosphere of endless extermination. With Conqueror, Read perfected the style of playing for which he is now revered, where the reckless attack of the drums are a focal point of the band’s sound rather than a backdrop. The horrific collision of Read’s recalcitrant percussion and vocal mayhem with Forster’s roiling guitar cultivates visions of Armageddon in which the turbid smoke of the burning dead turns the sky a deep, opaque grey and the ground is soft with the dampness of blood. The intervening years have not reduced the effect of Conqueror’s music at all—their sound and vision are arguably more relevant now than at the time when they were created, perfectly suited for the apocalyptic nightmare perpetually unfolding around us. Existence is conflict and the martial sound of Conqueror is a mode of combat unto itself. The path toward conquest; the path of the Superion. Confronting the brutal nihilistic reality of the world with warfare mysticism, seeking the nexus of arcane esotericism and the savagery of battle.