Review: Bastard Priest – Under the Hammer of Destruction
Bastard Priest - Under the Hammer of Destruction (2010) [Pulverised] // Grade: A
About fucking time. I like my death metal like I like my meatballs. Ground flesh, blood and with a kick. I want to feel blood running down my cheek when I bite into my death metal. Göteborg can kiss my meatball-laden ass. Stockholms län’s modern death revival is mincing up some fucking brutal death metal akin to Possessed and Death’s early work. If you fiend for the best, do not miss Bastard Priest’s new album Under the Hammer of Destruction. These dudes have come a long way from the gritty and compressed sound of their 2008 demo, Merciless Insane Death. Expect old school breaks, decrepit vocals and lighting-beckoning riffs.
I swear to God, “Blasphemy from Hell” and “Visions of Doom” alone will sell you on this album. Super simple and yet highly-effective deliverance of death metal. Seriously, it’s not that hard to put a good album together. The formula is simple. Blast beats, reverb in the vocals, riffs and deep breaks. Then all you need are some easily-repeated lyrics. Take “Evil Pain” for example. I don’t think Matt Mendoza even mutters anything besides “Evil Pain” for the entire three minutes. That doesn’t mean Under the Hammer of Destruction is predictable though. Akin to their influences like, Repulsion and Autopsy, Bastard Priest knows how to mix it up just enough to keep the listener engaged. With eleven tracks and 35 minutes to do so, Bastard Priest keeps you in tune.
In what I think is the best song on the album, “Power of Death” screams an homage to Chuck Schuldiner’s greatest work. Just listen to it and tell me you’re not fighting the urge to drum on your desk. Many hits follow, including “Chuck”, “Merciless Insane Death” and “En Hälsning från Helvetet”, a Bombanfall cover. How epic is that track? Damn. Under the Hammer of Destruction might be one of the better death metal albums of 2011. For a while, the Germans have been ruling the world and now, maybe it’s time for a Stockholms län revival. If I could open a death metal meatball bar at some point in my life, I’d get Bastard Priest to play the opening party!
