Feral - Dragged to the Altar (2011)

There are limitless bands touting the Swedish party line in the field of death metal these days, but few of them proudly proclaim to fall into the death & roll category, despite the similarity so many bear to Entombed's 1992-1993 period. Into the fray steps Feral, an act likely to turn a lot of heads due to their excellent songwriting, huge production standards and shameless proclivity towards the tag, not to mention their spirited manifestation of influences. You'll hear the Wolverine Blues here, the Unleashed, the Desultory and Grave, all modernized and easily consumed alongside the band's brutally clear tones, writhing rock & roll leads and constant, carnal blitzing. After a few demos, the band has inked a deal through Ibex Moon and delivered one hell of a debut.

Like Wolverine Blues (the most obvious comparison piece), Feral do well to diversify their songwriting through a number of shifts between groove oriented fare and straight death. Cuts like "Once Inside the Tomb" and the ravenous "Altar of Necromancy" are spring loaded with energy and faster drum sequences, not unlike an "Eyemaster", but full cognizant of their rock halves; while "Judas", like a "Demon", goes straight for the ballsy swaggering hooks, pumping bass and effects. The vocalist is named 'Hook', and though he bears the expected resemblance to a L-G Petrov, he's got a thicker broth to his tone that sounds simply incendiary in this mix, especially thrust over the catchier tracks like "Howling", "Graverobber", and the chugging beast "Behead the Crucifix", all of which create the impulse to grab a bottle of Jack Daniels, drink it low, dig a ditch and then throw yourself into it. Honorable mention must also go to the closer, "Malevolent Summoning", which is intensely fun with a thick, dynamic thrashing vortex.

The only point at which the band relieve you of the thorough face rocking is the outro, a sober acoustic that sends the muscles into rigor mortis, much needed after this copious tirade. This is easily one of the best death & roll hybrids in history, making short work of Desultory's divisive Swallowed by the Snake or Vermin's virtually unknown Filthy F***ing Vermin, and coming damn near close to its direct spiritual forebear. Mix-wise, it may just be the best, with an even cleaner facade than countrymen Evocation, but losing none of the potential menace. Strange as it might be to find something so obviously an homage 'refreshing', but where so many hundreds of bands are biting off the grueling intensity of Left Hand Path, it's fascinating to see one headed in the other direction. Dragged to the Altar might ultimately seem further evidence of nothing new under the sun, but who needs the fucking sun anyway? Nighttime is much more metal.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.feral.se/

Hearse - In These Veins (2006)

The fourth album from Sweden's Hearse is quite a study in contrasts, or rather, the lack of contrast. While it's a far harder rocking effort than its predecessor The Last Ordeal, it's also the band's least dynamic offering musically, sticking quite closely to the punk-fueled death & roll rhythms, though the melodic surging continues in small doses. Some would inevitably find this more to their liking than other Hearse albums, if only because it seems to jive better with the pure aesthetic of the genre that Entombed started with Wolverine Blues. In These Veins is not the finest hour for Johan Liiva and crew, but it's a solid block of rock that you could ignite while burning down any cosmic roadway and at least get the neck hammering away.

"House of Love" doesn't conjure up anything truly catchy, aside from maybe the male choir backups in the bridge, but it boils up a cauldron of high powered riffing that benefits from the same massive production standard as the previous album The Last Ordeal. "Corroding Armour" goes for broke with a big dragstrip stoner groove that surges into more of the band's effortless punk chords, with some brief transitions into death metal and hardcore rudder riffs that serve as the chorus. Again, not insanely catchy, nor is "Intoxication", which once again bludgeons forth with death punk attitude, this time even picking up through the bass breaks and counter vocal angst. "Naked Truth" sticks close to the tree, d-beating drive rhythms with some great vocal echoes and a pretty cool, eerie little break with the guitars wailing to offset the melodic death.

"Crusade" feels like the band's take on a more nostalgic strain of hard rock & heavy metal, but it retains the punk and squealing, cautionary leads of many of their other songs. It's quite catchy and one of the better songs on the album, followed by the blunt thrash-core of "Among the Forlorn", which also has some great little guitar harmonies and a decent thrash breakdown. "Atrocious Recoil" has the most memorable of the album's melodies, a simple line over a surge of jet-fueled death which wouldn't be out of place for Amon Amarth. After three albums, the band finally decided to include a namesake song, and "Hearse" is another of the more memorable trips on the record, with giant crashing chords and ballsy blues grooves. The title tracks leads us out, a punchy number with a shuffling gait in between a forgettable death line, but the best solo on the album by far.

As a whole, In These Veins is a little better than The Last Ordeal. But only a little...and it lacks the hooks to truly burn out your mind. The sound is still somewhere between Entombed's 3rd album and Liiva's work in Arch Enemy, and the mix is excellent, at most levels and in most CD players. Not the first album I'd recommend for a new listener, but if you enjoy Armageddon, Mon Amour or The Last Ordeal then it's a safe bet.

Highlights: Crusade, Atrocious Recoil, Hearse

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.hearse.se/

Hearse - The Last Ordeal (2005)

Though in general I feel that the career of Sweden's Hearse has been on the constant upswing, their third album The Last Ordeal was a little bit of a jam in the gear. The album is not a heavy departure in style from the previous year's Armageddon, Mon Amour, and there is a great, almost live quality to the album through which you can almost feel a subliminal audience cheering for the band's rocking rhythms and blazing blues-based melody. Cranked to its full potential, there is no doubt that headbanging can ensue from its vital energies, but the actual songs do not provide much in the way of memorable entertainment, and it's another of those many albums delegated to just 'good' and going no further down the brain stalk towards the heart.

"Pathfinder" sounds good and crushing with a rock momentum that occasionally skirts the band's death metal core, but the melodies are not all that interesting, simply blues wail-offs that bridge the sodden rhythmic structure. The best part of the song comes near the 3:00 mark when Liiva does some freakish, otherworldly, demonic vocals, and then the bridge dies into a tranquil segment around 4:00 with some ethereal female singing. "Quintessence" feels more like an Entombed variety of death and roll, breaking for a thudding bass line drowned in droning guitars, before a more forward, violent thrust. While dynamic, and certainly one of the heaviest songs on the album, there isn't a lot here that I enjoyed save maybe the bridge melodies, and how Liiva doubles up his growls with a clean tone. "Shackles of Guilt" has an interesting intro, with children crooning in the foreground of what sounds like helicopter blades spinning...freaky. As the rock arrives, it features more of a series of Entombed-like balls-out punk riffs.

"Ambrosia" follows, a 2 minute instrumental laden in thick, doom-like atmosphere, where a ringing harmonic guitar follows a pattern of chords into the rolling wall of thrash that inaugurates "Una Lucha a Muerte", all brazen leads and immersive momentum that serves as the most interesting song on the album to this point. "Bountyhunter" is one better, a viral, thick death/thrasher with a lot of biting melodies that simmer foremost in the broth. Some of the atmosphere Johan creates when his vocals tear off echoing through the bludgeoning valleys of the guitars are stunning, and I really like the vibrato effect he interjects on some of the cleans. A dark trip worth taking, though the lyrics are mediocre at best.

The third and final section of the album begins with another instrumental, this time the folksy "Demon Curd" which erupts from river-rolling acoustics to blunt weapon-chords, built almost exclusively for the mosh pit or for some private activity in which you...mosh alone? Second to last "Aggravation" paints a broad blues brush with its opening salvo of rhythms, before a cool seque with a whispered sample, and then some barreling caustic death'n'punk hardcore over which Liiva offers some somber, monk-like chanting. Its a strange mix, between the more uplifting guitars and these bleak monastery overtures, but somehow works as one of the album's better tracks. "The Last Ordeal" is likewise unique, a slowly building, dark gothic rock which collapses under the weight of some crushing chords and Johan's swerving from aggressive to just somber.

This is nowhere near the best of Hearse, but pay special attention to the production of the album and the vocals, which are certainly as strong as their other albums. Though I have compared the band to Entombed often, they're really a lot more dynamic and atmospheric, as if everything were recorded to provide a cavernous (or space void) quality, which is perhaps where the subliminal audience comes into focus. If you're new to the band, I'd advise hunting down Single Ticket to Paradise or Armageddon, Mon Amour, but if your curiosity runs a little deeper, than you wouldn't be entirely disappointed with The Last Ordeal.

Highlights: Bountyhunter, Aggravation, The Last Ordeal

Verdict: Win [7/10] (to suffer is the key)

http://www.hearse.se/

Hearse - Cambodia EP (2005)

As far as an EP release goes, while I can't claim Cambodia is brilliant, it certainly should have a value to any hardcore fan of Hearse that wishes to track it down. The reason being that it contains more than merely a few new tracks, but the 2001 Hearse demo and the 2003 Torch EP contained in their entirety. Now, granted, all of those songs have already appeared on the Dominion Reptilian album, but it's kind of a nice deal to have them all here in one place, without a need to track down the originals if you're the collector type who simply wants all the music and not necessarily the original product.

"Cambodia" itself is a cover of the British pop songstress Kim Wilde's 1981 hit, which was also included with her Select album. Seems a rather far flung track for a band like Hearse to cover, and yet it somehow adheres completely to the band's melodic death & roll aesthetic. That's not to say it's one of their better tracks, but there is a great crunch to the very simplistic verse, and Liiva's just on fire, with a far larger grating tone in his voice than he's offered on the debut, and some manly backing choirs that ride in tune to the guitar harmony. "The Accused" is one of the two new originals here, with a nice accessible death line that parts into some little, crystalline melodies before a punkish vitriol erupts. It's a thoroughly entertaining tune which veers to and fro several great riffs, and the best on this EP. After this, "Wheel of Misfortune" builds an almost arabesque mystique through its intro rhythm, alongside some chugging. There are some nice, hardcore charging riffs here, and a decent lead segment, but I liked the track a little less than "The Accused".

After this, the Torch EP is reprinted in full, with two of the songs ("Torch" and "Avalon") that would prove to be counted among the stronger material of the debut album. The sound quality is comparable, if not the very same recording as the album (I can hardly tell a difference). The reprinted tracks from the s/t demo, however, feel a bit more boxy and crude in tone, though still clear enough to appreciate. Of the four, I appreciated "Well of Youth" and "So Vague" a little more than "Dominion Reptilian" or "Rapture in Twilight", but even then, I'd rather listen to the album versions.

At any rate, despite the fact that you probably owned 5 of its 8 tracks in a better format if you were a Hearse fan, the Cambodia EP is a decent value, and Karmageddon Media and the band were wise to release it with the inclusion of the older material (it's 40 minutes long...). It's not perfect, but far from a ripoff like many other releases of its type.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.hearse.se/

Hearse - Dominion Reptilian (2003)

After parting ways with Arch Enemy, Johan Liiva Axelsson was out to prove himself with several new projects. The first of these, Nonexist, released a single album in 2002 which had a similar sound to his work on Stigmata and Burning Bridges, if a little beefier in tone, but it would be Hearse where he really took flight. In the earlier years, Hearse had a sound quite like a hybrid of his albums in Arch Enemy and the death & roll sounds of Entombed or Desultory's Swallow the Snake. Thick rock and punk inspired death metal rhythms interspersed with breakout melodic riffs that feel similar to what the Amott brothers were writing in Liiva's alma mater. It was pretty clear, even with this debut, Dominion Reptilian, that this would be the band with the staying power to satisfy Axelsson, as they are five albums deep into their career now and honestly...they just keep getting better.

All this being said, Arch Enemy was not the first place in which Liiva had built a name for himself. He was also a member of the cult alt. death metal act Furbowl, and here in Hearse he is rejoined by Furbowl drummer Max Thornell. Together they blaze through 9 tracks and 43 minutes of premium grade Swedish traction, several of which are culled from the band's prior releases, the Hearse demo from 2001 and Torch EP from 2002. If you were lucky enough to score a digipack version of the album, you'll also be treated to a pair of bonus tracks, one of which, "Avalon" joined "Torch" on the EP in the previous year.

The album opens with the title track, which flourishes some of its rather dull death metal groove rhythms in a slew of frenetic melodies that escalate it into something more. Axelsson is himself here, his vocals given full reign over the carnal but uplifting epitaphs created through the riffs. "Torch" is a better song due to the busy shuffling thrash rhythms and bluesy wailing, with a glorious bridge that channels unadulterated rock & roll across some further, deep grooving. Like a lot of blues leads that are just hammered onto metal tracks, I didn't care so much for the actual solos, but the harmonies are quite good here. "Cosmic Daughter" is not only my favorite track on Dominion Reptilian, but remains one of my very favorite Hearse tracks to this day, for its subtle, gothic bass flow and brilliant escalation through melodies, enveloping some of Liiva's more gravely tones which are perhaps the only things that hang it just shy of utmost perfection. But the atmosphere is phenomenal, regardless.

There's a hole gaping wide
To have us all devoured
Nowhere for us to hide
From the corrosive showers

"Contemplation" creates a forceful punk-rock distorted bass rhythm before the guitar chords crash out beneath the weight of numerous explosive harmonies. The song actually feels a lot like some of the band's newer material (Single Ticket to Paradise), with solid hooks and a cosmic vibe which is similar to what one might feel on a Spiritual Beggars effort, although Hearse has a far darker tone due to the death metal that flows through the band's blood. "Rapture in Twilight" is a solid mid-paced rocker with some nice four chord action ringing out behind the forgettable leads, but not one of the stronger pieces on the album. This and the following "Well of Youth" are taken from the 2001 s/t demo, but the latter is a little stronger for its vibrant death metal rhythm in the verse, and I like the breakdown with the sirens and fuzzy solo. "Abandoned" trots along like a Swedish parable of "The Trooper", little leads ringing out over the writhing central melodies.

The back end of the debut provides some of its more memorable moments, beginning with the storming melancholy of "End of Days", in which the verse rhythms buzz with a brash immediacy, the bridge resounding with Liiva's barking. "So Vague" is like a space bar death blues hymn, perhaps the single most atmospheric track on the album, with some nice, haunting synthesizer work to fade it out. If you've got the digipack, this is followed by the bonus track "The Unknown", which opens with some wah-wah and subtle, serpentine riffs and features a gentle acoustic break before the rather mundane, screaming solo. This is decent, but I'm far more satisfied with the inclusion of "Avalon", burning and aggressive and highly memorable, and the closest to true death metal the album gets, without abandoning the screaming rock guitar harmonies.

Dominion Reptilian is certainly not the best of Hearse's albums, nor is it better than the previous efforts Liiva had taken part of (Stigmata, Burning Bridges, and Deus Deceptor are all superior to various degrees), but it's got more than a gallon of gasoline heart and a malleable potential stowed within it that will thankfully manifest through the band's career. I'm not a huge fan of all the band's lyrics, but that's not an issue exclusive to this one album. They're the sort of vague, pseudo sci-fi 'we're all hanging on the edge of darkness and need some universal peace' type of lyrics that fail to compel me, but this is no fault of the delivery. There aren't a lot of death & roll bands, or melodic death metal bands, that deserve your attention, but Hearse is clearly one that should merit your time.

Highlights: Torch, Cosmic Daughter, So Vague, Avalon

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (a distant future world of stone)

http://www.hearse.se/

Entombed - Wolverine Blues (1993)

After booting up their career with two massive, timeless death metal albums, it was time for Entombed to try and outperform themselves once again. There is a lot to be said of Wolverine Blues, for it was both a product of valuable inspiration and the 'beginning of the end', as its core aesthetic would be used to produce the band's two slovenly, unappealing full-lengths to follow. It was one of the two biggest albums of the Earache/CBS records partnership (alongside Carcass' Heartwork), and probably brought more new fans into the bands flock than any other single work of their career. On top of this, it is THE most immediately identifiable album when anyone should utter the expression 'death'n'roll'. Other bands like Desultory might have followed suit, but who else than Entombed could carry the crunch of their roots into this genre and not only succeed, but turn a great many heads as the potential death metal could have as a hybridized art?

Let's not even talk about how the product itself was rather a gimmick, with a comic book packed into the booklet that featured everyone's chortling, wise ass, invincible Marvel Comics anti-hero (I personally can't stand Wolverine, but I won't hold it against the album). This was a big release for Entombed, and Earache records, because enough success through CBS could guarantee a major step in extreme metal. And I'm happy to say, it was a success, though through the years my opinion of it has numbed (a few of the tracks don't fully resonate with me). Lars Göran Petrov's return to the band was a positive step, and he has remained ever since. The tones here are also suitably huge to the sound. Though they lack a little of the dark, swelling atmosphere of Left Hand Path or Clandestine, they compensate with a boxier, slamming distortion that suits the amplified rock assertions of the compositions.

Who could forget the rising feedback and Pinhead sample that announce the arrival of "Eyemaster"? I AM THE WAY. Searing grooves into chugs, and then the break ushers in a forceful, unforgettable grind riff...seriously, it's hard to believe no one had come up with that one before, but I definitely can't recall hearing it. As good of an opener as the track is, "Rotten Soil" matches it fist for fist, with a primal thundering rock fury that translates from its verse grooves to the that amazing riff at 1:00, right before the warlike breakdown. The punk rhythms later in the track are likewise phenomenal, and at one point the band clearly has not forgotten the death metal that got them here. "Wolverine Blues" had already been included with the Hollowman EP, but here you get to experience the track as intended with vocals, instead of the samples that covered it. Same choppy, lowdown riffing grit, and the track really subsists off the big blues groove guitar at about the 1:00 mark.

I'm a misanthropical breed
insatiable in my need to feed

What follows is perhaps my favorite track on the album, the super-grooves of "Demon", which simply crush below the vocals. In one of Petrov's more memorable recordings, his voice taunts off itself like a petrified parishioner trying to warn his townsfolk of some oncoming evil. I admit, when I first heard this song I was about ready to grab a torch and pitchfork and lose my mind, and the series of crushing thrash rhythms that remain are all brilliantly executed, including the leering lead. I don't think 'death'n'roll' gets much better than this one. "Contempt" commences with a vile weaving of melody before a solid hard rock breakdown, and the track moves along at the same relative speed as its predecessor, spinning even more little webs of evil in the melody between verses. "Full of Hell" is perhaps the most rockin' track on the album, with another of those huge, memorable hooks that I was surprised no grunge band had already written.

Speaking of grunge, the next track "Blood Song" is a vile morass of filth which stalks like some hillbilly vampire from True Blood, with a lyrical delivery that borders on both hilarious and frightening, or at the least very convincing. The shift into the thunder-punk is delicious, with some harrowing leads that feel being drunk off vitae and ready to kill. After this, the album actually trails off a little. "Hollowman" certainly isn't a bad song, but as someone who found it one of the weaker tracks on its own EP release, it's not a favorite here, though certainly above the rank of filler for the bluesy bluster of its bridge (about 2:00 in). The rock riff in the verse for "Heavens Die" burns with a lot of soul, and there's another little basic punk rhythm in there over which the guitars launch into a psychotropic lead, but again, just not a favorite. That being said, both of these tracks are superior to the bonus track "Out of Hand", which is included with some versions of the album, and not all memorable.

Wolverine Blues may be the London bridge between the band's creative impetus, expanding senses and the sullen heap of mediocrity they would next produce (To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth) within three years, but it certainly has few flaws of its own, and remains one of the band's better albums today. The influences that poked their heads through the ominous awnings of Clandestine are extracted and given new life to flit about and write themselves into the core songwriting, and the result was far more refreshing than the majority of death metal being produced in 1993. Entombed continued to prove here that they were innovators rather than simply followers. It's just unfortunate that same motivation wound up steering them into such a sinkhole later.

Highlights: Eyemaster, Rotten Soil, Demon, Full of Hell, Blood Song

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (emotionally disqualified)

http://www.entombed.org/

Entombed - Serpent Saints: The Ten Amendments (2007)

The first time I put this album on and the spooky acoustics and piano parted ways like virgin lips for the full on, refreshing blast of Sweden's favorite death metal pastime, I had nothing but a hideous, fat smile across my pasty face. This was the Entombed that I had known and loved in the early 90s, one of the first true breakout bands in the entire death metal genre. And yet, this was still the Entombed that loved its rock & roll, hardcore and punk rock music. But of all their work post Wolverine Blues, this must be the album that I most closely associate with a 'return to the roots' that made the band such a force to begin with. It also arrived about four years after its predecessor, not the first of these seeming pauses in the band's discography. But this album had the benefit of a 'preview' the year before through the When in Sodom EP, which was excellent. And while To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth was an underwhelming evolution for the band, which by this point even the more steadfast of the band's fans have largely forgotten, Serpent Saints - The Ten Amendments is a celebration of their entire history, smothered across 10 tight tracks of darkly comic mayhem.

Yes, the lyrics to this album are just as tongue in cheek as the past few efforts, if not more so, and for this reason, homophobes and curmudgeons might squawk at some of the delivery, especially since L-G Petrov is also having a go with his vocals here. But I assure you, this is all intentional, in the same bitter, dried wit of Morning Star and Inferno. Other changes here are to the tone, which is far cleaner than Inferno, possibly one of the more professional jobs they've had done with their work, yet still dense and atmospheric like their debut Left Hand Path. Other change-ups occur here within the band's lineup: Olle Dahlstedt of Misery Loves Co. takes over Peter Stjärnvind long-standing drumkit, and Nico Elgstrand of Terra Firma replaces Jörgen Sandström on the bass. Also, Uffe Cederlund had departed, so Alex Hellid was alone here on the guitars. But fear not, the integration here is quite seamless. Maybe the drums are a little tighter, but that's all I could notice.

The title track is a great choice for kicking off this beast, as it sprays a wave of loving nostalgia across your soul like a skunk excretion...you'll be wearing that smile long after the song ends, and your friends will be curious as to weather you're high or simply had a great sexual experience. They also might hesitate to shake your hand, you naughty sinner. There is still a hardcore/grind inflection to the guitar work that drives the tune forward, but then, this has always been the case, as far back as their formative years as Nihilist. Everything here is superb, from the verses to the crushing breakdown complete with Petrov's mouth full of angst, compounded here by the addition of 'snarling', black metal style vocals which we really haven't heard before from this source. "Masters of Death" opens with a salvo of 80s thrash guitars, recalling the fuzzy tone of Indestroy or Venom before moving towards a crossover rhythm strewn in death metal icing. "Amok" begins with all the subtlety of a late night slasher flick, building tension through ambiance and tolling before the deep groove of the guitars can be felt, and I mean groove. If Jimmy Page had been a serial killer, he might have written something like this before he went out on his final spree. The lyrics are blunt and a little strange, but they seem to fit the profile.

You wanna see me dead and buried
You better think again
I am the one your daughter married
And I don't play pretend

"Thy Kingdom Koma" digs down for another thrash riff, and Petrov uses one of his classic grand entrances, as the vocals echo into existence over the forward termination ala "Eyemaster". The track is a lot of fun, though the crunchy breakdown riff would hardly be effective without the atmosphere created by the vocals. We'd already been introduced to "When in Sodom" with the EP, but it fits in snugly here with its batshit dorky sexualizations, hinting at a larger social political perspective (as always). The use of the female backups in the bridge adds another level to the track, like the eerie biblical transgressions they conjure. Next is the slamming "In the Blood", with opens with a wall of groove every bit as massive as that you might find in "Demon" off Wolverine Blues, but grows ever creepier, as Petrov reaches into the gut and emerges with some of the most guttural vox he has used in forever. "Ministry" is a strange, percussive, choppy rhythmic piece which actually conjured up the BAND Ministry, at least during the verse, so I doubt the title is a coincidence. The chorus is driving and melodic, but otherwise it's probably the worst song on the album.

"The Dead, The Dying and the Dying to Be Dead", which wins an award here for best song title, starts off with a rock hook which might mislead you to think this is some tripe like what the band shat out on Same Difference, but it does escalate into a violent hybrid of punk and thrash, with some charging footwork breaks and a pretty amusing lyrical passage:

They fuck you standing up, they fuck you when you're down
And if you get to be the king, they will shit on your crown
And when you're dead, you won't be forgotten
They will dig you up, and they will fuck you rotten

Despite its wild cavorting and the crazy King Diamond-like laughter which hangs off in the distance during the groove, ghoulish breakdown, this too was not one of the better songs here, though superior to "Ministry" at least and lyrically entertaining. I was a little worried that "Warfare, Plague, Famine, Death" might follow suit, since it also brings back a lot of the band's hardcore influence, but the chorus here is fantastic, with little samples that break out behind the vocal line and a brutal thrash charge in there which alternates with a wailing old school Entombed deadline melody. "Love Song for Lucifer" is truly unique, like the closing cut "Amen" off the When in Sodom EP. A clean male/female vocal duet soothes over bristling acoustic guitars and turbulent background noise, as if they were being directed at you from a lone radio in an apocalyptic wasteland, the batteries soon to run dry. These are joined by some distorted barks before the track closes out the album with a series of cranking noises. Though strange, the track is sufficiently unsettling, and the pseudo-sexuality of lyrics that open with a repetition of "Come inside of me" is not lost upon its blasphemous veneer.

As you can tell, I'm pretty fond of Serpent Saints, an extremely solid album #9 for a band almost 20 years into their career. This is obviously not at the Left Hand Path level, or even Clandestine quality, but I'm not sure they will ever reach that again, so this sits confidently along with Wolverine Blues and Morning Star across the band's second tier of material. "Ministry" is probably the one song here I didn't care for, though "The Dead, The Dying and the Dying to Be Dead" has its weaknesses. To be honest, the trajectory of Serpent Saints falls slightly beneath the plane I had anticipated after hearing the 2006 EP, which featured some superb non-album tracks that are better than some of the songs here. Either way, this is money well spent. It's old but new, sleek and polished, and dripping with both humor and bitter humility.

Highlights: Serpent Saints, Masters of Death, In the Blood, When in Sodom, Love Song for Lucifer

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (sick at it may seem)

http://www.entombed.org

Entombed - Inferno (2003)

The 8th full-length from Entombed sees the band strike out on a plateau after their surprisingly great Morning Star. Inferno is a moody album which falls between that and Uprising. A grimy tone permeates this recording like a thick, toxic membrane, a riotous unrest ready to erupt at any second. The band brings back their rock, punk and hardcore influences here a little more than the previous album, and they've continued to write some clever lyrics here while emphasizing their conceptual bridge between social relevance and a spot or two of good old fashioned blasphemy. In all, it's a strong effort, with a long track list (13 songs plus a few more if you've got the Candlelight release with the bonus Averno disc), though on a few, brief occasions it does flirt with mediocrity.

The first track "Retaliation" is a slow if effective march which functions purely on the immense, cold crunch of its guitars, like an war party of neanderthals stalking a torchlit night out of desperation to find some shelter. The track gets pretty fuzzy and atmospheric in its closing climes, as it catapults into the churning two-fisted slugger "The Fix is In", a thick slice of hardcore punk which simmers in the juices of its wailing guitars and dour mood, with more of the band's entertaining, pseudo-Satanic lyrics, of which my favorite line was the repetition of "Heretic at the stake/Let the motherfucker bake" in the bridge. "Incinerator" is a choppy, mud-spattered thrasher which rekindles a bit of that Slayer influence the band ever been high off, with a great energy and some killer lyrics:

Children of black coffins
Awaiting to be sincerely torn
Bones are crushed by machinery
Their dust will be spread by the storm

"Children of the Underworld" follows, one of the best tracks on the album, a dire and slowly flowing roast of regrets and sorrow, guitar atmospherics fluttering about the gray winds of force the central rhythm emits, and an excellent breakdown with a massive chuggernaut riff that is almost impossible not to slowly worship with a steady, subtle nodding of the skull. "That's When I Became a Satanist" rips out more of the thrash breaks, with a grooving hardcore thrust and more of the band's dark sense of humor inherent in the lyrics. The chorus to this is a total dark punk headbanger. The quirky titled "Nobodaddy" celebrates good old fashion family values with a big, splashing groove that cedes to subtle mute picked rhythms that swerve with the bass to the inevitable climax. Another of the best on the album, followed by a catchy 2 minute piano "Intermission" which may remind you of how "DCLXVI" was used on To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, only this is better.

With the exception of maybe the more pronounced vocals, "Young & Dead" is a pretty close facsimile to the material of the first two albums, with steadily grinding guitars that storm ever forward, here layered in a few keyboard strikes to create a pretty horrific atmosphere. The breakdown in this one is all gloom and doom, like drowning yourself in tar. "Descent Into Inferno" breeds some nice, slow grooves with tremulous guitar effects in the verse, sliding across the land like a serpent bloated on lust and lies. However, I found the latter half of the track somewhat lackluster, in particular the slow crushing stoner grooves which conjured nothing but apathy. "Public Burning" is another of the band's socially charged anthems towards castigation of the oppressor, with some half decent, if forgettable punk riffs that morph into a grooving rockslide.

Which leads us into the twilight minutes of Inferno, beginning with the bouncing, carnal gait that chugs under "Flexing Muscles", an indictment of our far too image conscious Western civilization, kind of an attempt to trim the fat out the shallower end of masculinity, like Fight Club only more metal. I dig the fuzzy moldering of the guitars in the bridge, but the breakdown leaves a little to be desired. "Skeleton of Steel" is a slow, petulant thrasher which is suitable for a calm and controlled moshing, a cute little Slayer-like rhythm woven between its more brutal verses. "Night for Day" is the finale of the core album, a great track which recalls "Chief Rebel Angel" but truly crushing and depressing, making good use of atmospheric elements like a tolling belltower and subtle sweep of orchestration. This is another of Inferno's best, and I found it interesting as the following album Serpent Saints would go this route often with tracks like "When in Sodom".

If you have access to the edition with the bonus Averno disc, then I'd truly recommend you splurge on this instead of just the single CD, since it has some worthwhile non-album cuts. "When Humanity's Gone" is a burning, rollicking old school Entombed death metal track with a sludgy bridge, followed by the more hardcore infused "There Are Horrors of 1000 Nightmares". The chuggy "Random Guitar" is possibly the strongest track on the bonus EP, with a fun feel to its, some edge harmonic riffs and a solid groove. After these, there are 'video edit' version of the band's cover of Stillborn's "Albino Flogged in Black" and "Retaliation" from this very album. Neither could be considered important, unless you haven't heard the cover, and there are also videos included here for both of these.

Inferno is certainly a strong value, and belongs as a check in the positive category when examining the peaks and valleys the seminal Swedish outfit's roller coaster career. The majority of the tracks are great, even if they may feel a little more subdued than the previous album. The dark tone in general of this effort is very much appreciated, adding a cohesion to its many tracks and the ominous implications of its lyrical matter. I could definitely skip out on "Public Burning", and parts of "Flexing Muscles" or "Descent Into Inferno" and feel like I've lost nothing, but that's not a bad price to pay when you consider the quality of the difference left over. This is of course a stopgap between two better albums, but there are numerous tracks to which I return often.

Highlights: Children of the Underworld, Nobodaddy, Young & Dead, Night for Day

Verdict: Win [8/10] (we repent nothing)

http://www.entombed.org/

Entombed - Morning Star (2001)

After greasing up their long-dead engines with Uprising in 2000, there was really only one path Entombed could be hiking...the one that would lead them back to the grave. Yes, Morning Star is the most metal release the band had written since Clandestine, with even less of a rock infusion than 1993's Wolverine Blues. That is not to say the band has abandoned the blues and punk influence of their past few albums, for it remains an 'option' here, used only in a few tracks and often to better effect than when it was the norm. There's also an increased attention here for the occult and religious themes which would persist through the albums following this (Inferno and Serpent Saints).

Morning Star is not death metal in the sense that the band's classics Left Hand Path and Clandestine were, though. This is more of a slowed-down barbaric crunch metal Entombed, with a huge production, crushing grooves, and an element of thrash. The Swedes have always given me impressions of Slayer when they write their faster evil breakdowns, and perhaps more on this album than any other. This is an album Tom Araya and company might have written, but with the obvious differences in guitar tone and L-G Petrov's vocals. It also has a step 'forward' in production value from the very brash, dirty Uprising the previous year, but it makes sense, as this is a very different type of record. And most notably, the lyrics here are an enormous leap above the last three albums, weaving heavy handed sacrilege into relevant, cautionary tales that involve our modern lives.

"Chief Rebel Angel" begins with the pulse of a 'heart', the dull smack of a few acoustic notes awash in sprightly pianos, before a tour de force in chords grinds your soul into chopped liver, like facing down leviathan at 20 paces. The sequence of notes is rather familiar, but given a vibrant infusion of aggression that works as quick concrete below Petrov's vocals. The chorus alone is the best thing the band has done in years, breeding much anticipation for the tracks to come, and when the band hits that doomed sequence at 3:10, it's simply ON. "I For An Eye" rocks out with all the crunch of a Clandestine track re-mastered for the modern era, a huge groove akin to more modern Slayer, but better, flowing forward like a set of brass knuckles to the chin of God. When the band hits the bridge, it's almost pure oldschool Entombed! Bang thy fucking head I exclaim. "Bringer of Light" evolves about its central, sluglike grace, a thundering groove that erupts beneath some faintly audible atmospheric guitars. The track also has some of the best Entombed lyrics I've yet read, in particular the clever chorus:

At the head of all tables, bringer of light, here I am...I'm your man!
I will kill you if I must, I will help you if I can, I'm your man!
At the head of all tables, here I am, I'm your man!
I will help you if I must I will kill you if I can!

That's pretty bad ass right there, not to mention the rest of the lyrics in the song. I truly enjoy the Satanic undertones implied through a few of the songs here. "Ensemble of the Restless" starts with a meaty grooving grunge rock tone which wouldn't sound out of place from the band Gruntruck, save for the the uptempo thrash beat that explodes into the hardcore punk of the chorus. "Out of Heaven" builds a nice, rock groove to a steady beat, and for some reason I am again reminded of something Slayer might write, the vocals just have that bitter edge to them. "Young Man Nihilist" belts out another thick rhythm, a crushing use of the band's distinct guitar tones with an energetic sprinkle of liberating lyrics, and a kickass death/thrash bridge. "Year One Now" is the type of track I'd expect to hear more from Sick of It All than Entombed, a big political hardcore kick in the stomach that breaks for chugging aggression and wailing blues leads.

"Fractures" is a giant, grooving rock saga which hits you like a tank at 15mph. Sure, it might take awhile, but bones WILL be broken. "When it Hits Home" starts with a roughshod mix akin to the entire Uprising album, but it eventually picks up into the production of the rest of the record, a hard rocker with southern swagger which is honestly my least favorite of the album, though it has some of the more entertaining, humorous lyrics on the album.

You fist-fucked the planet and smiled, and licked your fingers clean
As gods come and go, you did not make the winning team

"City of Ghosts" is a a street fighting, barebones brawler which ranges from a crunching mid paced thrash rhythm to some great evocations of Sabbath-like evil doom in the bridge, and one of the more memorable tracks on the latter half of the record. "About to Die" is the band's last foray into bruising speed here, its great riffing made even stronger by the full bodied tone of the guitars and a nice, violent hardcore breakdown. "Mental Twin" is one of the more unusual tracks on Morning Star, a fusion of say...the Melvins and Fugazi, a post-hardcore sheen to the flowing thud of the bass and streaming octave chords that graze off across the skyline like industrial smokestacks.

Although the majority of the songs are well written and even given some rapt lyrical attention, I can't stress enough how the star half of Morning Star should be awarded to the mix. It's deep and overpowering, easily clobbering anything else in the band's career from a technical standpoint (though I have a soft spot for the dark atmosphere of the first two albums). Pouring forth from your speakers, it has an almost soothing, warm effect, despite the inherent hostility of the music itself.

In retrospect, I feel that Morning Star is just as good as Wolverine Blues. It may lack the utter savagery of that album or the novelty of its death & roll image, but it makes up for that with its huge tones and the dark humor of its lyrics. It's no masterpiece, and I don't really care for the music to "When It Hits Home", but it was very exciting to hear the band release another album at this level of quality, after so many years of regress. Uprising was a promising return from the void, but this album is the promise kept and expanded upon.

Highlights: Chief Rebel Angel, Bringer of Light, City of Ghosts, About to Die

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (a modern hell is an enterprise)

http://www.entombed.org/

Entombed - Uprising (2000)

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Entombed - Same Difference (1998)

The cover for the previous Entombed might have been a little unusual, but at the least it was visually appealing enough to intrigue you as to the album's contents. The cover for Same Difference is the same lackadaisical photography I might expect from some 90s alt rock or alt metal band like Clutch or Paw, but from fucking Entombed? But this is really only the first of many complaints for what is easily the most loathsome direction the band would take in their career, the sodden pits of quality which don't even function properly in their intended context: a full on heavy blues rock & roll album with a dash of punk and only the faintest trace of the mighty Swedes that once were.

Perhaps Clutch of Paw are good references, because this is the same type of blues/alt metal that those bands spun off into (though Clutch did a damn fine job of it, and the existence of an album like Elephant Riders only renders this one that much more irrelevant). I'm also reminded of how Corrosion of Conformity went from their excellent spastic crossover roots to a tamer thrash metal, and then to their gelded, polished stoner rock. While I'm no natural enemy towards change, I would ask you, should this album ever darken your day by crossing your path, to do a point by point comparison with Left Hand Path. Hear what Entombed had been, and then check out what Entombed had become. It is truly fucking sad. All that being said, had Same Difference possessed a catchy song or three, hell, even a catchy pop song, there might be something to forgive. But this the worst kind of experiment...the antithesis of 'progression', because it makes even the bland To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth seem mildly exciting by comparison.

"Addiction King" opens with a guitar melody that feeds off the pummeling bass below, and then a rolling chug rhythm and driving punk sequence which sadly represents the best the album will have to offer. Yes, Same Difference blows its wad within the first 3 minutes, with a track on the level of the previous album, decent but not enough so that it beckons a replay. Still, it almost gives an impression that this album might be an improvement over the prior, until "The Supreme Good" rolls across like some lost jam session between Soundgarden and the Snapcase vocalist, straight through your hearing pipes into the bargain bin. "Clauses" is a crashing heavy metal blues, and though the chorus attempts to build power, it simply lapses back into the bluesy rhythm with ringing melody which you've already grown tired of. "Kick in the Head" is more bouncy, forgettable alt rock, and for the title track they break out another of their Zeppelin/Hendrix inspired groove rhythms with a very "Albatross" verse riff and vocals (again, I refer you to Corrosion of Conformity who performed a similar castration to their career).

Surely, there is a diamond in the rough somewhere within the bowels of this album! It's not "Close But Nowhere Near", another Zeppelin groove with a semi-memorable chorus. "What You Need" slams pretty hard, like a chugging post hardcore that breaks into a filthy punk rock bridge rhythm, and it might just rival "Addiction King" for the best song on the album, due to big bass chord anchors. "High Waters" is reasonably atmospheric, with the lurching swamp bass, but offers no punchline, and "20/20" also wants hard to be a winner, but aside from the catchy notes played alongside the chorus, and the big bass strikes during the breakdown, it's just not that good.

By this point, at least the band are writing songs that don't put you immediately to sleep; they simply do not capitalize on their potential strengths. "The Day, The Earth" is fairly fluent as it stalks through the verse, with a big bass line grooving through, but all you've got to look forward to is a repetition of this same rhythm, with a chug thrown in for pacing. "Smart Aleck" and "Jack Worm" are dirty and aggressive, and both might have fit in with To Ride, To Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth, with the latter the more promising of the two, and the noisy, thumping rocker "Wolf Tickets" elongates its muddy blues into a mannerism that might have Monster Magnet fans' hands in their pants, but again, 30-60 seconds into the track, and you've heard al you need, with no important escalation or surprise awaiting you.

Same Difference reeks, but if I have to give it some credit, it at least tries to save face later on. The entire latter half of the album seems more strongly crafted than the first, but not strong enough to pitch the remaining salt water from the hull, to save the sailors from drowning. There is enough dark and brooding to subtly identify it with the Entombed of the past two albums, but it feels like the sort of 'filler' album which might have been better faced with a rejection notice. Still, the Swedes had enough punch and pull to do whatever amused them by this point, and never a band to recoil at change, this cartload of poo is now forever besmeared across their discography. Like a bad hangover, it lingers on, crushing at your patience. My advice would be to listen to the tracks in reverse, at least that way you'll only be bored to tears by the time you shut it off, and not livid with anger and confusion.

Highlights: knowing where to turn when you next run dry of firewood.

Verdict: Fail [3.75/10] (nature found a way today)

http://www.entombed.org/

Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth (1997)

Sometimes a great idea can go south pretty quickly, but in the case of To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, we had to wait about four years for it to go south. Whereas the previous album Wolverine Blues injected more of the band's punk, blues and rock & roll influence successfully into their death metal foundation, this 4th album pretty much leeches all the life and potential out of the hybrid of styles, with about 10-11 entirely boring songs that I can remember skipping over as early as the second listen through the album. Wolverine Blues may have stretched the patience of some fans, who were very disappointed to hear Entombed take a step away from their classic albums Left Hand Path and Clandestine, but at least that was a song built on a promising principle and some fine songwriting, with memorable hooks galore and feeling extremely original for what it was.

To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth lacks all that skilled writing, all of that inspiration, and to be honest, much of the raw energy of its predecessor. So much of this should have just been left on the cutting room floor until it could have been developed into a decent set of songs. I'm not much of a fisherman these days, but I can recall expeditions in my youth in which I'd reel in fish that were simply too small to be considered for dinner. So I'd throw them back in the pond, hoping in a few months or years I'd return for them in their full volume and fighting spirit. Entombed might have done the same with To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, rather than underwhelm us so after four eager years. This album may not be the equivalent to Metallica's St. Anger level of crushing disappointment, but it certainly qualifies as a Load, or Re-Load. Unfortunately, even at its most aroused state, this album is firing a load of blanks.

The title track feels like an attempt to build some sort of tension for a far more energetic track to follow, but it's really just a hustling, shuffling blues rock rhythm with a few dull boogie downs, even when L-G Petrov howls his angst over the melodic guitars in the bridge, it's still about as exciting getting to your mailbox and finding nothing but spam. "Like This with the Devil" might have saved the album's suffering, but the grooving riff that opens it feels like the same thing any lowbrow nu-metal Ozzfest opener might have performed, and the slightly punk shift to the bridge does nothing for it. "Lights Out" sounds like a track from Wolverine Blues being castrated, with a meaty guitar tone but a lazy chord sequence that does very little, nor does the chorus. "Wound" is a little noisier, like a Melvins take on Entombed, but once more, the very dull writing kills it quickly, and "They" is very high on the rock and roll and low on the memorable scale. "Somewhat Peculiar" might have been the first song on the album I never felt I really had to skip, with huge grungy bends and a half decent bridge melody on the guitar, but I probably wouldn't include it on an Entombed mix tape even if I had to choose songs from every album.

The piano piece "DCLXVI" serves as an intermission, and surprisingly it is one of the better composed pieces of music on the album, which would have been served wisely as the intro with a truly ass kicking song to follow. Here it's in the middle, and followed by "Parasight", which is another of the album's better tracks, especially when it builds up the crazy ass chorus around :45, but still choked with a throwaway riff or two. "Damn Deal Done" is like your feel good, hillbilly stoner rock meets grunge, with a riff inspired by the usual suspects (Zeppelin, Sabbath, Hendrix, etc), which sadly remains interesting for about as long as it takes for you to reach the SKIP button on your CD player. "Put Me Out" has a pretty cool Uncle Fester rockabilly, creepy vocal intro, infused with freakish laughter that sounds like the band might be about to bust out "The Monster Mash", but once the novelty ends, so does the interest level.

"Just as Sad" would almost be good, only the band have done far better songs of this nature on the previous Wolverine Blues (like "Eyemaster") or the Hollowman EP ("Serpent Speech"). "Boats" has a kinda cool blues swagger to it, like a Danzig/Melvins hybrid, but after the wah spin to the original hook, nothing exciting manifests. "Uffe's Horroshow" is a turbulent jammer with a few vocals, but simply serves as a minute or so of undeveloped potenial, bruising rhythms and howling. Interestingly, the song "Wreckage" is the final cut on the album, after seeing an EP release earlier alongside some cover tracks. I'd have to say it's the best song on this whole album, with a pissed off, filthy punch to the guitars and a nice little guitar fill in the chorus. But considering what it has here to compete with...that's just not saying much.

I guess if you'd had your fingers crossed that Entombed would move into an even more punkish blues rock direction post-Wolverine Blues, you might have found yourself briefly amused by this album, but it arrived and departed, nobody really cared, and people at their live gigs were still craving to old school butchery of their first two full-lengths. But clearly, judging by the album to follow, Entombed had yet to fully wash the mediocrity out of their systems. My opinions on this album may closely resemble the flat-lining signal on a heart monitor, but at least it's not Same Difference.

Highlights: Parasight, Wreckage

Verdict: Indifference [5/10] (sinking by the minute)

http://www.entombed.org/

Entombed - Hollowman EP (1993)

In 1993, suddenly it must have struck both Entombed and their new conglomerate overlords Earache and Columbia (the two had struck a deal which resulted in a bunch of releasing like Wolverine Blues and Heartwork reaching a far wider audience than they might have otherwise): let's do an EP properly! And Hollowman is just that, a short player release with enough unique material that it was well worth the asking price. And, not only was the content here largely original to the release, but it was also pretty fucking good. This was 1993, and thus Entombed had already begun to mutate their style towards a more rock & roll outlook, helping coin the phrase 'death & roll', but if you listen even back to their first two albums, you'll hear it in small amounts. Here, it moves out to the forefront, with Petrov's vocals howling like a mad wolf over a bunch of blues-based rhythms married to their carnal, grinding guitar tone.

"Hollowman" was not my personal favorite track off Wolverine Blues, but it's catchy and downtrodden and features that pretty excellent guitar sequence at 2:00 which paints the mental image of the Swedes sitting on a Mississippi porch staring off into the swamp in their backyard, which is shambling with undead, secrets and regrets. "Serpent Speech" is a fucking outrageous tune with a grinding volley of pumping, testosterone fueled guitars and a great little pause where a gun fires...I like everything from the lyrics to the hardcore fistfuck that erupts after the first lead, but if the band sounds like they've gone a little too far, they haven't: a killer if brief death metal rhythm erupts just after that. I'd have to say this is one of my favorite Entombed songs, easily the equal of just about anything from Wolverine Blues, and I wonder why it wasn't placed there...but then, it gives this release all that much more value.

The version of "Wolverine Blues" here is not the same as found on the album, but a karaoke version overlayed with samples of a zoologist (probably a band member, I'm guessing, due to the cussing) discussing the animal in question. It feels a little hamfisted, and a little too obvious, but the song itself is a great piece of groove oriented death rock, in particular I enjoy the thick bite of the opening riff. "Bonehouse" takes you right back to yesteryear, with the same grinding abandon you would have heard on Left Hand Path, only with the arguably better production the band was using in '93. It's fast, loaded with bullets and vitriol, and another of the primary reasons you should purchase this.

That leaves two more tracks. "Put Off the Scent" opens with a choppy rhythm, and i mean choppy like take your axe and hit the fucking tree repeatedly, before it breaks off into a flowing hard rock groove, with chords used as a counter-melody. There is a dash of Zeppelin and Sabbath here, but the band returns to their ghoulish death metal for the bridge between verses, and plenty of huge hooks. The finale is a metallic rendition of the Hellraiser theme, complete with samples, which are used often and in place of vocals. It's actually a really interesting idea (not the last this band would come up with) and works quite well, with enough kickass riffs to carry the atmosphere and conjure the darker side of the film. The shrill guitars after the 5:00 mark are pure money, and that closing riff sequence is pure horror...

Entombed truly outdid themselves here, forging an EP that has more value than the previous two combined, and I'd have to say it still ranks as one of their very best shortform works. It's not entirely void of redundancy, since "Hollowman" and "Wolverine Blues" appear on the full-length this was teasing, but at least the latter is in a mildly different form. Buy it, you won't regret it.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (we fucked it up)

http://www.entombed.org/

Hearse - Single Ticket to Paradise (2009)

I've been waiting for a knockout blow from Johan Liiva's Hearse for years, and it seems to have arrived with their fifth full-length Single Ticket to Paradise, an album that combines it's influences of Entombed and Desultory with a newfound melodic flair and excellent songwriting. The ex-Arch Enemy/NonExist vocalist and crew have been building up to this through their recent output, but Paradise dominates from front end to back, each song sinking some sort of hook into you.

A brief instrumental leads into the swaggering blues metal rhythms of "Misanthropic Charade", brutal and charging, with flurries of melody ascending from its deeper death metal hooks. The chorus is amazing, driving rock and roll intercepted by cutting melodies, all the while Liiva's brutal throat does not let up. "Sundown" uses a familiar descending pattern of notes for its opening gallop before shifting into a grinding d-beat rhythm for the verse. "The Moth" is a slower paced, epic rocker laden with simple, classic leads, and a total stoner death rock out. "An Emotional Fraud" grooves hard while routed in that thick, traditional Swedish deathstyle of pioneers Entombed. "Single Ticket to Paradise" creates big, bluesy riffs beneath well-placed samples. "The Ferocious Embrace" and "Degeneration-X" both rock, though I may not agree with the lyrical intent of the latter. The album closes with "Your Purgatory", a gloomy 'romantic ballad' that makes for a nice break from the intensity to come before.

Single Ticket to Paradise sounds fantastic, in fact it might be the best sounding death & roll record of the 21st century thus far. Huge guitars, biting melodies, impacting energy, and one of the better vocalists in melodic death metal all contribute to a real winner for Hearse. Should be on the shopping list of anyone that longs for the days of Wolverine Blues, Swallow the Snake, Burning Bridges or Stigmata.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.hearse.se/

All Hell - Knarkbrand (2008)

I was intrigued by the cover photo on this album, and I'm very glad I checked it out. For an unsigned band, Sweden's All Hell kicks quite a lot of ass! A fusion of hardcore, grind and pure rock and roll fury, try and envision a sound between Sick of It All and Entombed and you might arrive at this.

The album begins with the adrenaline fueled "At the End of a Rope" before lashing out with the groove and angst of "My Name is Fuck You". "Wreckage Riders" is a sick ass song Entombed would be proud of! "Through the Thickets" is slower and groovier with a stoner doom edge to it. The band picks it back up again with "When the Shit Hits the Fan" and the great "Among the Undead". Other tracks like "Necroblazter" and "Territorial Murder" really round off the experience.

The production on the album rules, it has a comparable tone to many of the bands playing Swedish old school death metal, with that unforgettable distortion. The bass is distorted perfectly and pummels along below the grinding and grooving guitars. Einar Magnusson's vocals are the perfect angry hardcore/metal tone, and the lyrics are effectively straightforward and highly pissed! Hopefully this band will get some label interest soon, it's rare enough to get a 'hardcore' band that sounds effective anymore, even one with such a huge metal influence. Fans of Swedish grind, d-beat, or even NYHC during its prime will all find something to love here.

Verdict: Win (8/10)

http://www.allhell.se/