A recent attendee at Bloodstock, Outergods express turbulence through death metal, black metal and grindcore, quoting Morbid Angel and Strapping Young Lad as influencers. This is the band’s debut album following a couple of singles which are both here.

The ice having been broken with the harsh and eerie “Nocturnal Death”, it’s onto the dirty blackened death rampage “Into the Howling Void”. It’s direct. The highlight for me is the growly guitar work, which develops into distortion. All hell then breaks loose as “Faceless Entities” flies into our face. It’s not subtle. Sparks fly. “Tangled in the Cogs of the Nightmare Machine” leaves us well and truly shredded and mangled as its title suggests. It ends with sirens and pounding drums. From this danger zone we pass through a discordant void which goes by the evocative title “Abandoned at the Centre of a Celestial Hell” on our way to the explosive and furious “Nothing but a Fetid Worm”. Walls, cities, worlds tumble and crash around us. Outergods do pulverising potency. Guitars howl, the vocalist screams and while it’s one helluva racket, there’s purpose in the music. Horrific scenes are evoked at the start of “Catacombs of Madness” before the hammering horde return to concentrating on bashing our brains in with due ferocity. “Flesh Prison” puts us through the mill once more, before the job is completed with the title song. It begins with a leaden-heavy sound accompanied by the instrumental equivalent of chainsaws. This one is dark and imposing. The attack comes from a different direction. Outergods now seem to be grinding us down with this imperious and murky assault. It’s overwhelming and relentless.

“A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven” is an album of dark and unrelenting intensity. There are no compromises here. Its ostensible lack of subtlety is a function of the blockbuster style. Structurally it holds together well even though the ultimate aim seems to be total destruction. This powerful package is something to appreciate.

(8/10 Andrew Doherty)

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