WestWall is made of veterans of the Minnesota metal scene. These Legionaires serve up their own brutal style of war metal. Influenced by great metal bands such as Slayer, Bolt Thrower, Iron Maiden, Arch Enemy, and Death, Westwall stays in keeping with the purest tradition of metal.Inspired by movies like Gladiator, Braveheart, Troy, 300 as well as hundreds of history books extolling the virtues of hard-edged, in-your-face, do or die mentality, Westwall’s music is built on overtly powerful guitar riffs, pounding drumming, pulsating bass work and commanding vocals.It is a full-throttled finely tuned music machine that will exhilarate the most discriminating metal heads.

The metal scene has had its ups and downs over the years. It has survived the trends, it has went through evolutions, and after decades it still exists due to its die hards. Hailing from the frozen soils of Minnesota comes a band that has its deep roots in metal. This band does not have fancy hair-dos, they do not wear tight jeans or try to act like something they are not. For all these members have been through the rollercoaster of the metal eras dating back decades and have stayed true to the music.

Owing to their love of history and the powerful sounds of metal combined with some classical elements comes the war machine known as Westwall. The formula for Westwall is one of straightforward, brutality with touches of technicality. Feeling that too many bands nowdays try to play 1 million miles an hour and throw in as much wanking as possible with lyrics that are not understandable, Westwall goes into another direction. Combining the punishing straightforward metal with intelligent and understandable lyrics is the formula to their success. They say life is a struggle, to us everything is a war, and so Westwall is a war metal band.

The band members have been into the metal scene for 3 decades, growing up on the greats such as Iron Maiden, then being a part of the first thrash wave with such bands as Exodus, Destruction, and the such. Having played in some of the legendary Twin Cities death metal bands such as Ossuary Insane, Dominion, Defile and Before God. The finest of these musicians have come together to form the Juggernaut now known as Westwall. These 4 Barbarians serve up the true sounds of a war machine, ready to conquer any and every listener they come across.

Current line-up 
Kris Kringle - Guitar (Ossuary Insane as Cantor Celebrant)
Iceman - Guitar (Ed from Bound For Glory, Plunder & Pillage, Before God, Bully Boys) 
Billzebub - Bass/Vocals
Doc Martin - Drums (Defile) 


Review:
Written by vorfeed on August 1st, 2009 

This is the second full-length album from West Wall, an American band playing death metal.

The production on this album is much better than on Blitzkrieg Symphony #1 -- the guitar sound is crushingly heavy, the drums are crisp and resonant, the bass is just audible, and the growled vocals are right up front. The extra low-end on this record lends the songs plenty of impact.

The songwriting on this record is just a bit more complex and epic than on Blitzkrieg, but it's still squarely in the same vein -- catchy, aggressive death metal with hints of RAC (this band features Ed from Before God & Bound For Glory) and a good deal of influence from newer Bolt Thrower. The choruses and lead guitar lines are incredibly memorable. They'll get stuck in your head pretty much instantly, along with the catchy, headbangable riffing. The lyrics are quite insightful, also; few bands seem to write about the Vietnam War, but "Tunnel Rat" and "Fire In The Hole" bring the up-front, man-against-man nature of jungle combat to life. The other tracks are equally steeped in history: in one album you've got songs about the Battle of Vienna and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest side-by-side with others which are less specific, and thus more resonant with today's challenges. All in all, this is one of the most meaningful death metal albums I've heard since Bolt Thrower's "Those Once Loyal" and Spearhead's "Decrowning the Irenarch". The message here is a lot more subtle than on the first record, yet no less potent for it... in fact, the heavier production and varied lyrics make this one an even better album than Blitzkrieg was!

The only complaint I could possibly make is that the album is a bit short, at just a bit over half an hour. I can listen to this on repeat for hours, though, so perhaps it's perfect as-is! Anyone who enjoys mid-paced death metal must hear this; it's by far the best new album I've heard in 2009. Fans of Bolt Thrower, Destroyer 666, Asphyx, or Bound For Glory will be especially pleased with it. Conquest Or Death earns my highest recommendations.

Standout tracks: "Tunnel Rat", "Fire In The Hole", "Furore Teutonicus"

Genre = Death Metal
Format = Mp3
Bit Rate = 320 kbps

Track Listing
01. Slavedriver (Intro) 
02. Shield Wall 
03. Conquest or Death 
04. 1683 
05. Slay Them In My Presence 
06. Tunnel Rat 
07. Fire in the Hole 
08. Furore Teutonicus