Be warned….. I’m gonna gush like a broken fridge all over this one.
Let’s get it out of the way right now….. I can’t remember the last time I played an album so fun and so unashamedly METAL! as this newie from Polish devil botherers Warfist.
And when I say “fun” I don’t mean fun in a comedy Lawnmower Deth / Evil poxy Scarecrow way (I fucking hate that nonsense) I mean fun in a “6 pack of PBR, studs & leather, none more fucking metal, make Nifelheim look like Destinys Child” kinda way.
From the moment I hit the play button I felt like I’d just had a big injection of everything I love about heavy metal.
You fancy an 80’s style acoustic intro a’la Kreator on “Choir Of The Damned”? ‘course you do! Then we’re off on a march….. or more like sprint with “Black Army” this is a perfect opener which is just full tilt blackened speed metal mayhem and is a fantastic three minute blast. I felt like I’d just been swept away in the TARDIS to 1985 and the feeling I had was like I’d just heard “In The Sign Of Evil” for the first time.
Next up is “Chapel Of Death” with more hooks than a chubby Cenobite cosplayer. What the fuck is this absolutely fantastic nonsense? My neck is killing me and that’s before the totally crushing mid paced stomp of “Feasting On Dead Bodies” has even started. Here the band slow things down to a comparative snails pace and a couple of simple yet catchy riffs that bore their way into your skull. Tempo is back to 10 for “The Burning Flames Of Ignorance” and “Slay, Swive And Devour” – brilliant opening line…. “bloodthirsty creature of hatred is coming to hunt you” . Then we have “The Punishment” which is the best Megadeth song that Sodom never wrote.
“Death By The Cleansing Fire” is my absolute stand out on the album though with its “load of autistic wasps in a biscuit tin” guitar sound, “supermarket trolley full of rocks dropped down an elevator shaft” frankly insane drumming and fist banging chorus. Fucking love it!!!! And you will too unless your idea of fun is sitting in a dark room listening to Opeth on headphones and cry-wanking yourself to sleep! This is metal…… proper metal for proper METAL guys & girls! Metal for people who don’t mind waking up in a skip surrounded by Special Brew cans and bits of goat carcass. METAL TO THE FUCKING BONE!!!
And speaking of “Metal To The Bone”, Warfist’s previous album I also really enjoyed, the step up in song writing and production is really noticeable here. Also this is a loose concept album based on the dark history of the band’s hometown of Grunberg & Zielona Gora.
That’s enough grown up analysis….back to the METAL!
Mihu – Vokills / Stringripper (formerly known as Hell Vomit) and Pavulon – Skullcrusher (formerly known as Infernal Deflorator) play out of their skins throughout the whole record. The two Poles fucking nail it on every single track. These are not kids either…… they’re old enough to know better but thankfully they don’t. Check out the title track “Grunberger (Drinking With The Devil)” – seriously if this song doesn’t part your eyebrows, blow your skirt up and make you wanna neck a bottle of Jack then you’re dead to me!
The album comes to an all too soon end with the most progressive & longest track on the record “March Of Death” and the war-metal hyper-blast of “Atrocious Saviour”.
As you can see….. I love this record. I’ve played it back to back about eight times since the CD landed on my mat and it keeps getting better. If you have even the slightest affection for old school speed metal or heavy metal in general….. BUY THIS FUCKING RECORD!!!
If I could give it 20/10 I bloody well would!
(10/10 Mark Eve)
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