In Battle
Welcome to the Battlefield
7.9
Sweden's In Battle have come a long way. Playing fast-paced black metal with members of Setherial for two albums, they had an entire lineup change in 1999, resulting in the modern incarnation of the band. With members of Aeon and Diabolical on board and production work (and occasional guitar solos) by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel), they've completely transformed into a steady and ultra-aggressive death metal act.
Welcome to the Battlefield has a similar feel to technical madmen Psycroptic, due to the mechanical drumming and abrupt shifts, as well as the vocals at times. With a deep and tough yell/growl, Odhinn Sandin sings with an excellent sense of rhythm and timing. In Battle utilize some mind-bogglingly complex leads, played with the spirit of intense black metal but with the sound of thrashy death metal. There's a lot of artificial harmonics thrown in and it's impressive as to how precisely they're used. The fucking drumming is bewildering - both in how hard the hits and blasts are in addition to some of the unorthodox fills. "Eld Jaettar" begins with some strikingly fast arpeggios, leading into a mix of thrashy pull-off riffs and outlandish harmonies. Originally being from a black metal background, they've kept a slight hint of the sound to them, particularly in some of the ascending guitar progressions on tracks like "Scorched World". It's all really unusual music under the superficial guise of the death metal you've heard again and again.
Welcome To The Battlefield is an excellent album that I can recommend to nearly anyone in good conscience. With its eclectic mix of black, death, and thrash metal - coupled with their unique guitarwork, there's something for every extreme music fan. Definitely worth a closer look.
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In BattleKingdom Of Fear
9/18/2007