Axis Powers
Marching Towards Destruction
8.2
Listen, I’m going to be blunt here - there are only a few things on this earth that give me a boner the size of the Eiffel Tower; busty, blue eyed blondes, great blow jobs and old school Swedish death metal. Being married, the first two options are pretty much out, so it falls on the likes of Axis Powers to keep me going in life.
I’ll be honest, when I heard that Axis Powers consisted of members of (mediocre) black/thrash outfit Suicidal Winds, I wasn’t that thrilled to check this out, but once the opening throes and war samples of opening introduction “March Towards Destruction (From San Francisco to Stockholm)” loped from the speakers with a firm Sunlight Studio buzz and when the cantankerous Discharge meets Autopsy gallop “War of Attrition” and “Brutal War” kicked in, I knew I was in for a treat.
This is pure old School Swedish death metal that’s as retro and well done as anything by Hail of Bullets, Evocation, early Bloodbath or Rib Spreader. In fact, maybe even more so as this has that punky, primal, dirty power chord, Nihilist sound that Murder Squad perfected complete with rumbling, twangy bass, oft sloppy drum work (“Forward March”), and scrawling, haunting solos. Now don’t get me wrong - there’s hardly an original note on Marching Towards Destruction as its pretty singularly paced and overall the album isn’t as good as ..Of Frost and War, The Fathomless Mastery, Dead Clam Chaos and such, but god dammit it's good, enjoyable stuff, especially when death metal is in the midst of tech overload or breakdown obsessed deathcore.
The guitar tone, while pure Sunlight, is a bit light in the breeches, but conveys perfectly the simple chord progressions and structures of yore with the likes of “Outbreak of the Blitz,” “Mankind Dead and Raped” and “Slowly to Decay” which just reek of a raw, early Entombed in their Autopsy worshipping days and frankly are to die for. Mathias Johansson has a competent, no frills gruff roar that’s neither too over the top or too soft - again all fitting perfectly into the Stockholm visage that Axis Powers present perfectly.
March Towards Destruction won’t be on any year end lists, not even mine, but by god it's going to get a lot of air play and give me some nostalgic memories of the 90's when musical times were better – and I got more blow jobs.
