Hell-Born
Legacy of the Nephilim
6.1
Fresh from that Eastern European breeding pit of competent death metal known as Poland comes another rival to the throne, Hell-Born. Containing ex-members of Behemoth, Hell-Born has set out to pay homage to the metal ways of yore with their third full-length, Legacy of the Nephilim. Their death metal is not blazing and brutal like the death metal of today, instead it rumbles along at a steady clip, smashing the listener with old-school simplicity. The overall production job suffers from a problem of under-distortion in the bass and a slight fuzziness to the guitars, which was probably the intention.
Their bio speaks of an admiration of bands like Destruction and Possessed, and the final results bear a resemblance to what Possessed would sound like, if given a modern makeover. Technicality is not a concern here, what matters is sending forth simple, to-the-point riffs of war. The drummer stands out above the other players due to the fact that he always seems to play the perfect beat for a given riff. Baal’s vocals are rough, but decipherable.
The songwriting is adequate, with obvious high points, and some songs that just fail to get off the ground. The best of the bunch has to be “Guardians of the Daemongate”, with its Stockholm-esque opening and driving drumwork, which never fails to draw me in and induce a bout of bedroom headbanging. “Lucifer” is an enjoyable track, but unfortunately it’s ripped straight from the Amon Amarth discography. Opening track, “Supreme Race”, is served with just a touch of God Dethroned styling. On the other hand, a few songs, including the title track, are just bland.
Hell-Born, while certainly not of the high caliber of Vader and Decapitated, have not at all eroded my admiration for Polish death metal. Legacy of the Nephilim is for those that seek death metal that isn’t very challenging, but still packs a hearty dose of evil. While flawed, this band keeps improving, and their next effort should be a formidable one.
