Genre - Death Metal
1. The
First Banner in the Fields of Devil
2. Words
Becomes Flesh
3. Hellspawn
4. Diabolic
5. The
Great Red Dragon
6. Intro
to the Revelation
7. Revelation of the Red Dragon
8. The
Dice Are Cast
9. The
Greatest King among Demon
10. An
Obelisk of the World
The Great Red Dragon is the sophomore effort
by Polish death metal horde Hellspawn, and if this is anything to go by then
they could certainly have a bright future ahead of them. Opting for a more
brutal, clinical approach to proceedings than the recent wave of Swedish influenced
acts which currently seem to be in vogue (not that I’m complaining), Hellspawn
have a sound that appears somewhat of a consolidation of old school US death
metal influences and the rather sleeker veneer of compatriots Vader and
Decapitated.
One
of the aspects of this release that initially drew my attention was the
extremely thick and tangible guitar tone which is heavier than a bus full of
Gene Hoglan’s. The riffs themselves twist and turn with a crushing, clever
groove, convoluting and pulverising a path through Robert’s technically
proficient, blast strewn brutal drumming and Mariusz’s deep set gutturals from which
I can certainly derive influences of Dave Vincent. The guitar in general be it
the huge riffing or wild soloing is all heavily influenced by Morbid Angel, it
has just been polished up a touch.
Speaking
of the guitar solos, they’re littered all throughout The Great Red Dragon during its brief stay and add a welcome sense
of twisted melody and variation to what could otherwise be a rather one
dimensional release. Luckily for Hellspawn though they kept their tracks mostly
around the three minute mark which was a smart move as this particular strain of
death metal is notoriously problematic with bands creating songs which just
drag on and on into a horizon of aimless monotony.
The
short yet potent bursts of brutality keep the concentration from waning and
prevent Hellspawn from ever becoming too stale. Any arguements I have with this
release lie solely with the song writing which becomes quite predictable,
notably so towards the album’s closing stages where the songs sort of just run
into one. The musicianship though is ace, amplified by the great clean production
job which clearly accentuates each individual instrument yet refrains from dousing
the fire which so many ‘modern’ production jobs manage to do.
Still,
regardless of the slight lack of originality and diversity The Great Red Dragon is a very respectable effort at a style of
death metal which more often than not bores me to tears. What it lacks in
innovation it more than makes up for in spirit and technique, which is present
in abundance. And when it comes down to it, isn’t that all that’s important? The
latest Horrendous album is still by far and large the death metal album to beat
this year though; still, fans of Vader, Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal will definitely
dig this and should give it a blast.
7.5/10
Sounds like - Morbid Angel, Vader, Hate Eternal
Originally Written for Metalcrypt
No comments:
Post a Comment