Harm - The Evil
Harm’s debut "Cadaver Christi" was a harsh old school death metal assault that blew away the cobwebs when it came out four years ago, their follow up "The Evil" follows a similar “(left hand) path”. Whilst it’s not a copy of the legendary Swedish album I’ve just name dropped, its more fitting for that field of old school death metal with the likes of Asphyx and Obituary clearly a strong influence too. There’s a heavy presence of distortion, a blistering drum assault and a monolithic urge of aggression from the vocals of a certain Mr Blitzkrieg Barkley. The Pungent Stench cover of ‘Dead Body Love’ is pretty awesome to point out too.
If you were ever in any doubt of the power, listen to the first few chords of the opener ‘Vlad the Impaler’. The presence of the melodic sounding solo adds a touch of ambient, but the only drawback is the mix. This may be down to my mp3 files I have to review with, but the drums are often lost in the mix with the dominance coming from the guitar and vocals. Still, the low end guttural charge is further regurgitated with the faster track and wonderfully titled ‘God forgives…My Chainsaw Not’. Slowing down marginally for some neck breaking bottom end grooves, the power is special, as I found on their debut. It’s a tried and tested formula, some may find this a touch repetitive, but I feel the source of energy really encapsulates the listener, it breathes war and gore!
Dynamic, aggressive and frightening to the uninitiated, Harm and ‘The Evil’ gives a strong showing. Whilst the mix may not be to everyone’s liking, it’s enough to capture to mood and strong rooted classic death metal stance that this German band clearly find a fond influence. With less emphasis on a cleaner production, the album feels dirty, you won’t be able to wash away this blood curdling release in one sitting that’s for sure.
If you were ever in any doubt of the power, listen to the first few chords of the opener ‘Vlad the Impaler’. The presence of the melodic sounding solo adds a touch of ambient, but the only drawback is the mix. This may be down to my mp3 files I have to review with, but the drums are often lost in the mix with the dominance coming from the guitar and vocals. Still, the low end guttural charge is further regurgitated with the faster track and wonderfully titled ‘God forgives…My Chainsaw Not’. Slowing down marginally for some neck breaking bottom end grooves, the power is special, as I found on their debut. It’s a tried and tested formula, some may find this a touch repetitive, but I feel the source of energy really encapsulates the listener, it breathes war and gore!
Dynamic, aggressive and frightening to the uninitiated, Harm and ‘The Evil’ gives a strong showing. Whilst the mix may not be to everyone’s liking, it’s enough to capture to mood and strong rooted classic death metal stance that this German band clearly find a fond influence. With less emphasis on a cleaner production, the album feels dirty, you won’t be able to wash away this blood curdling release in one sitting that’s for sure.
- Vlad The Impaler
- Knife Penetration
- The Evil
- Undead World Crusade
- City Of The Dead
- God Forgives - My Chainsaw Not
- Gutted Like A Dear
- Dead Body Love
- First Blood 1918
- Panzer Apocalypse
