Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
Before writing this review, I had never heard of Infest but I’m glad I have heard of the Serbian death metallers now. This album is a brutal assault on the ears filled with crazy riffs and hypnotic beats capable of transfixing any listener into a frenzy.
The introduction to is atmospheric. It begins with the sound of a storm mixed with drums and gunshots. Then begins the ringing of church bells with the phrase “Holy Father, embrace me, save me.” Repeated until the climactic yell of “Rape me!” which immediately and effectively undermines the Christian overtones of the introduction and leads into the album.
The album begins with Destroyer of Their Throne which jumps straight in, unapologetically, to an energetic powerhouse of thrash. Zombi’s drumming is the first notable thing from it as he is absolutely ferocious. It’s a great track to listen to if, like me, you haven’t heard Infest before as it really shows what the band are about. The switch in pace at 2:07, where Zaelot’s excellent bass playing can be heard clearly, followed by the guitar solo from Glavoseča at 2:20 keep this track exciting and alive.
This is followed by Of Everlasting Hate which opens in a blaze of chunky guitars, incredibly quick drumming and interesting bass riffs. This song is filled with energy and game-changing break downs with such power and speed, it leaves me to conclude that the only reason for the break down and guitar solo from 1:48 is to give everyone a fighting chance to get their breath back before, once again, they throw themselves back into remorseless thrash. This track feels, to me, like a rollercoaster of metal and I love it.
Among the Fallen Ones is my favourite track from this album. I am a big fan of Vandal’s deep and powerful vocals and, for me; this is where they came to life. With a contrast of other higher voices Vandal’s vocals really stood out here. It would be an injustice to Vandal and Glavoseča’s guitar playing to only mention the vocals in this song as both do a great job on this track.
Compared to the rest of Cold Blood War, Demonic Wrath is slow. It moved at a much steadier pace without losing the integrity that the speed element has given the album until this point. Its solid beat and its slower solos are all building to the climax of this song which is the breakdown at 2:30 where the track shift into almost a battle cry which prompts, to me, the image of a crowd splitting in half and waiting for a command from Vandal to begin a pit. The conclusion of this breakdown is a surge in energy to bring Demonic Wrath to its powerful conclusion.
Terror Lord is another favourite of mine from this album. The vocals are excellent again, as are the other components, but what I really like about this track is the way it really captures the thrash metal feeling, particularly as it leads into the chorus. The old school sounding guitars mixed with a slightly (momentarily) more relaxed piece of drumming works brilliantly together.
I find it hard to review band sometimes as I can be very picky when it comes to vocals and bass. I like my death metal vocals to be sophisticated and guttural and I like my bass to be beefy and audible. This means that sometimes I can be very quick to dismiss bands that do not have these things. However, Infest offer me a plateau of brilliant vocals and bass lines for me to feast my ears on, making this album a great joy to listen to and to review.
I also loved the mix on this album. I’m a big fan of old school thrash and love nothing more than listening to thrash while driving on a summers day (although I should perhaps roll my windows up when stuck at Salisbury next to a car full of young children. Or turn it up louder…) ad so I love this mix on this album. It has an old school feel whilst the music itself sounds like contemporary death metal. A winning combination if ever I heard it.
Overall this is a great album if you like thrash and death metal. Every member is talented and they all clearly work well together. My only criticism of this album is that, at 29 minutes long, I was left wanting more!
Review by Eileen Bate
]]>
