Well that’s a coincidence, this CD turned up in a package alongside a new album by Nocturnal Breed and of course underground pop-pickers they have a song on their first album called… Frantic Aggressor. Further to this I see the two bands recently shared the same bill at Under The Black Sun festival. One can only wonder if the new artists in front of me took their name from the veteran’s repertoire and if perhaps there might be a little bit of hero worship going on? Despite their somewhat new status the German trio of Humiliation, Contempt and Discrimination not only show their feelings on their very sleeves as it were but are also somewhat frantic and aggressive with it, so we are off to a good start here. Having got their demo ‘Alpha Strike’ to do the carpet bombing 3 years ago we are now on a debut album and it has over the 10 songs included a feel that is not exactly polished but rough around the edges. That’s cool though as it suits the material which is uncouth black thrash just fine.
We start with a speech in German and there is also one at the half way mark (prefect for each side of tape or vinyl I would imagine). Not sure what they are going on about but seeing as they name the second of these Über Landminen and the following song ‘S.Mi.35’ is about said German military hardware, one could take a well-educated guess. Musically ‘Traces’ provides an explosive start with drums pummelling frantically, guitars scything and thick, raw and rasping vocals sticking their forked tongue in your ear and giving it a loving lick. There’s some very Scandinavian melodies mixed into things and showing the group’s allegiance to true black metal with its brackish mire coated atmospheres. Take the slow brooding build up on ‘Freedom.Power.Will’ as a prime example. On the whole though things are fast and furious and speed along at a cracking rate. One does get the feel of youthful exuberance going on here apart from the drummer having been in Essenz for a brief time they have no other credits to their names according to Metal Archives. Here you can tell they have crafted their music over a period and have been given the opportunity to literally shred it out in the studio and finally release it. This they have done with passion more than skill and there’s certainly a bit of a DIY feel about it all. Luckily this is the way a band should start off and after giving this half a dozen spins their convictions, the occasional death grunt and the frantic clamour of songs such as the stand out number ‘Amoeba’ pay off. There’s no moaning about production here either, it all sounds perfectly vicious and ballsy.
They do occasionally slow things down and you can imagine ‘The Wanderer’ minding his own business wandering as he will until suddenly there’s the sound of a click as he treads in exactly the wrong place and has time to ponder existence before landmine goes boom! Don’t tell me you haven’t wondered what you would do in that situation? Land Mine Logic is a fitting start for the military campaign to come and I note it is one continuing with a live show in support to my favourite practitioners of positive metal Vanhelga in Berlin in October. I bet that’s going to be a blast of a show!
(7/10 Pete Woods)
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