I don’t have too many releases by bands from Croatia but this second album is sure to start my quest of getting more from bands in obscure places though some are impossible to get and I’ll leave you to ponder those countries. The band’s debut “Misanthrope” released in 2015 was a no nonsense journey into filth ridden death metal with short angst filled tunes that reeked of the fetid odour of crust punk favouring a Scandinavian methodology for caustic ear corrosion. That style continues into the sophomore which sees the production improved without diluting the intensity but maintaining the short song durations for maximal sonic fervour.

Opening with the infamous words by Julius Robert Oppenheimer where he stated with considerable gravity the immortal words of ‘I am become death, destroyer of worlds’ in reference to his participation in the Manhattan Project that led to the development of the first nuclear weapons, which perhaps rather prophetically is still relevant and probably even more so. Serving as an intro piece it works well to announce the detonation of the opening title track which explodes forth in cacophonic annihilation that is chaotic and at first your senses are totally obliterated with the onslaught. As the track progresses it settles into a Swedeath style but with far more speed with the blasts arriving in thunderous shock waves. Inserting some chilling retro facts about a nuclear explosion whilst the song slows to a veritable dirge allows the song to coalesce back into a blasting furore. The blasting continues on “Jebem Vas U Usta Ladna” as the bone sawing guitar riff hacks remorselessly with the vocals possessing a deranged inhumanity.

My hint at the crust punk subgenre rears its scab encrusted putridity on “Homo Homini Lupus Est” as the song carves depthless gouges of sonic terror via ferocious blast beats as the track dives into a quagmire of rancid riffing ploughing through pools of reeking fury. 856 seconds of “In The Name Of God” sees those second blast by raining down scathing riffs and grisly vocals, and it even has a lead break on it too just in case there’s not enough going on in the song already. Returning to a more Swedeath oriented style the song has a guitar hook very reminiscent of Dismember due to the tuneful riffing style but still retaining a noxious venom in the pace.

The opening riff to “Torn From The Death’s Bed” is prime cuts Swedeath, with a steady beat and catchy approach delivered via the riffing and pulses of double kick and leads nicely into “Pooast” which continues that catchy approach in a sort of death ‘n’ roll style but not quite as laid back. “Tombcrawler” (great song title) closes the album with a semi acoustic guitar hook sitting on the breath of shoreline noises and waves crashing creating an ominous aura that is increased with the eerie lingering riff ready for the song to explode into life. The juddering drop in tempo is excellent positioning the song for the finale via a gnarly riff that brings the album to a fine close.

This is a repugnant slab of grime encrusted deathly filth that all old school death metal fans should crave for especially if you like Swedeath and the more repulsive acts from the US like Autopsy.

(8/10 Martin Harris)

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