BAND OF THE DAY: BAZÖOKA

Here's an interesting moral dilemma if you're concerned about where your funds end up – 'Toxic Warriors', the debut from savage Sodom-ites Bazöoka, is on Metal Inquisition Records, the apolitical wing of No Colours Records, represented by the thoroughly odious Rob 'Lord Wind' Darken, the laughable Level 18 grand wizard of NSBM. As much as anything can be apolitical in a world in which all art or activity is political to some degree, this Taiwanese thrashpack could be held up as an example of how he leaves his prejudices in his armour, or he could just not have a problem with subhuman monkey people provided they stay in their subhuman monkey countries. For something rooted in ignorance, racism is surprisingly complicated stuff.

None of which has any baring on Taipei's furious, super-DIY Bazöoka, beyond wondering what possessed them to shack up with a label whose reputation will inevitably overshadow their music, which focused primarily on the nastier end of Teutonic shreddery, with some of the poorly produced posturing of Venom - like Toxic Holocaust with actual band members. Regrettably, though active since 2005, there's only one disc out and they seem to have entered "hybernation", leaving more tales of nuclear fall-out and b-movie horror untold.

It's difficult to picture Darken losing his shit to crossover thrash of this swaggering ilk, but perhaps he was lured in through the back door by the sentiments of SOD's 'Speak English or Die'.