One of the Czech Republic's first extreme metal bands, Maniac Butcher was formed in 1992, before Czechoslovakia's peaceful splintering, and went on to release a handful of albums and even more singles and mini-releases before crumbling toward the end of the decade. All of these contained only minor deviations from the misanthropic, obscure, and decidedly lo-fi black metal blueprint favored by many European underground metal bands of the '90s (Darkthrone, early Mayhem, etc.), and saw numerous part-time musicians collaborating with ever-present, corpse-painted duo, Barbarud Hrom (vocals) and Vlad Blasphemer (guitar, bass, drums). ~ Eduardo Rivadavia