Inculter - Fatal Visions review
Band: | Inculter |
Album: | Fatal Visions |
Release date: | April 2019 |
01. Open The Tombs
02. Impending Doom
03. Shepherd Of Evil
04. Endtime Winds
05. Final Darkness
06. Towards The Unknown
07. Fatal Visions
08. Through Relic Gates
Damn, my neck hurts!
Norway has developed a very vivid thrash metal scene in the last few years with bands such as Deathhammer, Blood Tsunami, Nekromantheon, Condor, and Shakma, just to name a few. These Aura Noir-influenced bands go for the fast-paced, relentless and raw type of thrash, trying to recreate the sound and atmosphere that the style's great old ones -mainly Slayer, Sepultura and Kreator- unleashed in their early days.
My gripe with this continuous parade of groups (that do not necessarily come from Norway) is that, apart from being entirely unoriginal, their aim is to just sound as close to the aforementioned thrash giants as possible and this does get really tiring and boring to my aging ears. However, once in a blue moon comes a band that, while capturing this old-school sound, also puts out music that is totally gripping and really fun to listen to. This is the case with Inculter.
Their debut, Persisting Devolution, that came out in 2015 showcased a young and talented band trying to stand out from the pack with their fast and evil slab of thrash but the fact that the songs seemed to only have one gear and more or less sounded similar to each other left room for improvement. This improvement came with Fatal Visions.
What you get with Inculter's second album is pure blackened thrash metal boosted with proto-death metal steroids. Prepare to be swept away by a tornado of feral riffs, blistering guitar solos, Max Cavalera-type vocals and ferocious as well as impressive drumming, with a sound so filthy (courtesy of Herbrand Larsen) that you're going to need tons of soap to wash it off after every listen.
The band has added a few tricks to make things more interesting like the more doomy, slow parts in "Open The Tombs", "Shepherd Of Evil" and "Endtime Winds", but without falling short of heaviness of course. I mean, just listen to "Towards The Unknown" and the title track's bone-crushing, chugging riffs that are sandwiched between the furious metal thrashing madness. Another favourite of mine is "Final Darkness" with its uncontrollable speed enhanced by enthralling lead guitar work over what qualifies as an absolute drum orgy. "Through Relic Gates" is the undisputed highlight of the album, starting calmly but ominously and building toward the riff-storm that brings the record to an apt close with visceral speed and bestial aggression.
And it's all over in less than 35 minutes, which only makes you want to play it again because you simply haven't had enough.
I am not going to lie; Inculter's music has been thrown on the table before and there's no doubt about it. However, the songs of Fatal Visions are so compelling and so hard-hitting that, without a second of pause between them, they keep coming at you like a freight train in the dark of night to thrash you senseless. What more can you ask for?
"Accept the merciless reality
To be set free"
| Written on 16.07.2019 by Only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud! |
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