Music: Modern Death Metal
Duration: 42.32 (11 songs)
Cool songs: Shunned by Life, Scorched World, Serpents, The Blood Divine.
Website: www.in-battle.com
A lot of metal bands have upped the ante this year. The latest from Mastodon, Clutch and Omnium Gatherum immediately come to mind. And whilst theyre quite not in the same league, Swedens In Battle have put together a new full length that makes their previous efforts look quite amateurish. As far as I could tell, Welcome to the Battlefield is a massive step up for this band.
According to a bit of press I witnessed on this release, except for John Frolen (brr), In Battle is a completely new band. Since 1998s The Rage of the Northmen, joining Frolen is vocalist John “Odhinn” Sandin, ex-Diabolical guitarist Hans Carlsson and drummer Aeon (a.k.a. Nils Fjellstrom). This was the line up recorded the mini CD “Soul Metamorphosis” and subsequently gained a label deal with Cold Records, Metal Blades sub-label.
With a title like Welcome to the Battlefield, it doesnt take a genius to realize that this is going to be an exercise in brutality. Checking the involvement of one Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) as the producer and mixer on this disc only confirms that this will be severe. With the aid of Shawn Ohtani at Mana studios in Tampa Florida, the sound achieved on WTTBF is ultra precise and crystal clear giving rise to a delightfully vicious tone not dissimilar to the likes of Vital Remains and Hate Eternal themselves. Clearly, In Battle are a much more modern sounding thrashy/death metal act than the fast paced primitive black metal band they were half a decade ago.
Aside from the overall sound change In Battle have established on this new disc, two distinct elements stand out for me. Firstly, the drumming is devastating. Like a Kevin Tally (ex-Dying Fetus) or Matt Byers (Misery Index) Nils Fjellstrom is the human octopus, displaying an incredible love for insanely fast blasting, complex fills and a relentless double kick. The other stand out feature of In Battle is Sandins vocals. Now, his style is nothing original, nor could even be considered varied or far-reaching range wise. However, what he does do is encourage a somewhat Modern American Metal sound for his band. So much so that I thought Lamb of Gods Randy Blythe was doing guest vocals for this band. The similarity is uncanny. If this impresses you, then view In Battle as Lamb of God on speed.
WTTBF is one of the more surprising albums of the year. For a band that was so middle tier and decidedly bog standard on previous efforts, this album is a major improvement and has me considering their position in the metal community in a completely different light. For fans of fast paced but technically proficient blasting style death metal with that Lamb of God American Metal feel (which Im sure is unintentional), then this is worth your time.
note: 8.0/10
Tracklist
1.Shunned By Life
2.Madness In The Realm Of War
3.Eldjattar
4.Scorched World
5.Soul Metamorphosis
6.Despoter
7.Serpents
8.The Blood Divine
9.Stonefaced Mountains
10.King God
11.Mass Produced Hybrid Humans
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