|
Think
of the Swedish death metal guitar sound and marry it to
grindcore excess and you got Afgrund. True, the guitar
sound is a bit more actual, meaning is not as gritty nor
dirty as the one featured in Left Hand Path, but the
principle and tonality is very similar. What’s totally
opposite is the amount of technique that goes into this
album. Then again, it seems like these days every youngster is born a virtuoso. No silly notes here
though. Just fluent playing, clear grind. Annihilating
racket.
Vid
Helvetets Grindar is Afgrund’s second full-length and features
some face ripping, ass munching, bone-cheek cracking music.
Afgrund is one tireless band, one of those rare merciless trios whose
sole mission seems to be eardrum destruction. Speed is of
course, of the essence, the base on which the guitars will flow
to eviscerate you inside out.
But there is
music even for those whose pallets are too delicate. The riff in
“Thrash Vortex” is out of character for Afgrund. Here the band
adopts a more metal approach. Kinda like melodic Swedish death
metal without the clarity and gentile presence of a nice chap at
the mike. Afgrund are mean. Even when their riffs are pure death
thrash.
Have no
doubts though. Grind has rarely sounded this vital. Some have
said that Afgrund are here to take Nasum’s place and this
sophomore effort really shows them as worthy successors.
At the
center of this beast is guitarist/vocalist Andreas Baier, an
underground revelation if there ever was one. Not only does he
sound like a god of violence should sound, but he also serves
some of the meanest riffs that side of the old world.
Extra kudos
to the band for handling the production. Vid Helvetets Grindar
is one of those few grind albums that sounds crisp and yet, it
loses no visceral power. On the contrary, it brings these
stellar performances to the front.
Incendiary
cover artwork, incendiary performances and incendiary songs.
Nice job.
MySpace |
