No idea if it’s just lockdown psychosis but I find myself wondering on lots of inanities these days; like how many albums there are with a variation on the philosophical standpoint of ‘no mercy’ with or without profanity. Yep, stir crazy I guess.

The plus side is that even if the band name didn’t tip you off, the album title would. No frills, teeth bared noisy as fuck metal.

I enjoyed their previous album, Commandments Of War And Necromancy so here we are. The cover is…well, a lot more primitive than the last and, in truth as the title says the album as a whole for me reflects that. It’s not by any means a backwards step, just a slight twist on the attack, even more feral than the previous. ‘Steel & Spell’ just hits out with a sound familiar from their last album; old school mix of black, thrash and raging metal with a compelling sound to the driving riff. It’s a sound pulled up from the primitive roots of all this; Venom, Bathory, Blasphemy. All those good things. Yet this UK band have once again managed to keep their own sound strong here. ‘Midnight Graves’ follows on with a pure Celtic Frost-y bounce to the riff before stepping up a gear and dragging their chains through the muck with the odd ruffle of basic keyboards. Again; the basic and raw nature here never overshadows the neat song and the tight, tempo twisting performance. ‘The Depths Of Empty Space’ drips a little more death into the mix and a whole load more black metal, finds a riff that goes right through you and single-mindedly drives it on from start to finish. ‘Scarred Ashen Planet’ is what you find at the end – some neat bass work, the simple but effective keyboards once more and a touch of guitar melody as the mid-paced riff opens up a bleak landscape and on into an epic ten-minute track of tempo changes and relentless passages… Have to admit not sure this is the best way the band works. Not that it is dull, but the length seems to work a little against it somehow.

The title track though is just a blast; borderline black ‘n’ roll, revving punk infused thrash. The vocals are, as throughout the album, deceptively varied which really, really helps keep the brain hooked too. Fantastic belligerent music. ‘Pyromancer’ adds a little black groove to things, another nice change of rhythm whilst still in the album’s frame – a little Hellhammer here and there but a more modern quality.  ‘Dust & Smoke’ and ‘Dominion Extinguished’ wrap things up in nicely violent style too.

It’s a solid second album, a nice ‘n’ nasty slab of old school, deftness and intelligence. It revels in being raw and unrelenting and perhaps a little less melodic than the debut. I admit that ‘Scarred Ashen Planet’ loses me a little, and ‘Dust & Smoke’ seems a little weak compared to its brethren, but it simply shows the quality on show here when that is only by comparison. I’m still hugely enthusiastic about this band and what they are doing now, and what they may be working towards. This is dark, raw, violent and yet precise in how it rages without succumbing to a technical, headache inducing sound.

Give it serious respect and give them a listen. You won’t regret it.

Oh, and with an expanded lineup when the godz of chaoz hand us back the world maybe we’ll get to see them live too which would be excellent.

(8/10 Gizmo)

https://www.facebook.com/arrogantdestruktor

https://voidwandererproductions.bandcamp.com/album/no-fucking-mercy