I heard a lot about this CD before actually listening to it for the first time, in part because of all the controversy surrounding the band, due to their racist/Nazi lyrics. I was expecting a lot, and the CD is even better than I thought it would be. It is essentially very good death metal with an old school, NWOBHM feel to it. The music is often medlodic, but calling this "melodic death metal" would be an insult to the band, as the term conjures up images of the infamous Gothenburg sound.
Things kick off with Flogging the Cargo, which begins with a fast riff with an almost punkish feel to it. Soon leads join in for a brief solo before it gives way to a grooving, NWOBHM-flavored death metal riff, over which the vocals begin. The vocals are harsh and viscious, though not all too low, at times reminding me of David Vincent (ex Morbid Angel), and fit the music very well. The song is fast for the most part, but like many of the songs, the tempo slows down towards the middle, and gives way to a slower paced, melodic passage. The second song, The Purging Fires of War, is probably my favorite song on the CD. It begins with a mid paced, medlodic riff with an epic feel to it. The vocals kick in over this riff, and again, the song goes into a slower, melodic passage towards the middle. I especially like the end of this song, to which it seems like the slower part of the middle of this song slowly builds up to. It features very catchy riffing over blastbeats (which are not all too common on this CD), with vocals that perfectly compliment the rhythm of the guitars, which then all gives way to a very NWOBHM flavored, panatonic based riff. This song is as catchy as hell, and I would be hard pressed to think of other death metal as catchy as this. But nothing sounds out of place - this is pure hate driven old school styled death metal at it's finest. The next song, Quelling the Simian Urge, begins with a panatonic, thrashy sounding riff, which is essentially the main riff on which the song is built. The song breaks into a slower, melodic passage in the middle, and the song stays this way till the end. I could go on forever giving a detailed description of each song. But I will just say that the rest of the album continues in the same fashion, with top notch riffage and stellar musicianship. The title track of this CD is actually a great instrumental track clocking in at over 8 minutes. And the closing track, Hereditary Taint, is a very solid closing track. I can only recommend this album to anyone who likes death metal, or any extreme metal for that matter. This certainly must have been the best release of 2002.
Things kick off with Flogging the Cargo, which begins with a fast riff with an almost punkish feel to it. Soon leads join in for a brief solo before it gives way to a grooving, NWOBHM-flavored death metal riff, over which the vocals begin. The vocals are harsh and viscious, though not all too low, at times reminding me of David Vincent (ex Morbid Angel), and fit the music very well. The song is fast for the most part, but like many of the songs, the tempo slows down towards the middle, and gives way to a slower paced, melodic passage. The second song, The Purging Fires of War, is probably my favorite song on the CD. It begins with a mid paced, medlodic riff with an epic feel to it. The vocals kick in over this riff, and again, the song goes into a slower, melodic passage towards the middle. I especially like the end of this song, to which it seems like the slower part of the middle of this song slowly builds up to. It features very catchy riffing over blastbeats (which are not all too common on this CD), with vocals that perfectly compliment the rhythm of the guitars, which then all gives way to a very NWOBHM flavored, panatonic based riff. This song is as catchy as hell, and I would be hard pressed to think of other death metal as catchy as this. But nothing sounds out of place - this is pure hate driven old school styled death metal at it's finest. The next song, Quelling the Simian Urge, begins with a panatonic, thrashy sounding riff, which is essentially the main riff on which the song is built. The song breaks into a slower, melodic passage in the middle, and the song stays this way till the end. I could go on forever giving a detailed description of each song. But I will just say that the rest of the album continues in the same fashion, with top notch riffage and stellar musicianship. The title track of this CD is actually a great instrumental track clocking in at over 8 minutes. And the closing track, Hereditary Taint, is a very solid closing track. I can only recommend this album to anyone who likes death metal, or any extreme metal for that matter. This certainly must have been the best release of 2002.
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