“The best extreme metal album of the year!” (Sonic Seducer: 8.5 out of 10)

“This album destroys your walls and kills your neighbours!” (Rock Hard Magazine: 8 out of 10)

“A compelling slice of vicious obdurate underground brutality” (Kerrang: 4 out of 5)

Buzz aside, I guess the going trend is for Black Metal bands and even some in the Death Metal camp to go back to basics, so to speak, and play Thrash. Well, mostly Thrash, anyway. Such is the case with Grimfist, if you ask me. Well, so you didn’t, didja? Who cares anyway ‘cause I’m writin’ this piece, not you. Read on as you like. Here’s a track-by-track dissection of the album.

1 – No intro needed, just a blistering blast beat and intense riffing with scratchy vocals somewhere between a Thrash and Death style; fluid lead guitars invoke Mustaine as does this song’s secondary sub-riff. Fast, faster, fastest.

2 – Following a very Fear Factory-sounding riff [think their virtually Death Metal debut album, not the latter era releases that turned your stomach] are serious shades of Chuck Billy and Testament from The Gathering in both the vocals and harmonizing leads. The slowed down chugga-chugga riffs replete with chime sound more like a Pantera groove than anything else, and then they blister you with speed riffing into yet another thick Dimebag groove. How could this not be taken seriously? Talent, pure and simple.

3 – After an opening riff that is pure Mustaine [i.e., from “Set the World Afire”] izzat Steev Esquivel from Skinlab doing vocals? At one point it sure sounds like it. Also, the clean vocals [á la those that appeared on Dimmu Borgir’s Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia] seem a bit out of place but are thankfully brief. Very Mustaine leads.

4 – The more Death Metal influenced Chuck Billy is back on vocals, or so it would sound. Well, if he performed with Illdisposed or Konkhra. The lead guitar work could easily have been on any late-80s Thrash album. Killer sound. Killer vibe.

5 – Are those Testament riffs? They could easily be. Or maybe Eric Peterson’s Black Metal side project, Dragonlord, produced such sonics. It’s the same guy, either way.

6 – The breakdown clearly hearkens back to The Haunted, as does the drumming near the song’s bookends, not that there’s anything wrong with that -- or anything on this album, really. Well, save the Angela Gossow-esque vocals on this song. This one could’ve had leads contributed by mid-era Slayer, actually.

7 – Peter Tägtgren [Black/Death Metal producer extraordinaire and front man for Hypocrisy and Pain] styled wails open the song with a very Megadeth-influenced riff that could’ve easily appeared on a Hypocrisy record. Horgh’s drumming is far less mechanical than he has been given credit for, especially on this track.

8 – Isn’t it fitting that the titular track is the most Black Metal sounding track on the album? ‘Cause it is. Kinda. It opens with crushing, mind-blowing speed all the while still being groovy. Then the speed settles out a bit giving way to more Megadeth styled riffs, among phantom ones a la The Haunted, too, perhaps of course. Solid. The final ~minute of the song is an Autopsyesque homage that would make Murder Squad proud.

9 – Speed Metal riffing opens the penultimate song with a bang. The vocals from Frediablo [of Deride, Gorelord, Wurdulak, and Necrophagia fame (?)] are more akin to old Venom than anything else on the album, but it’s killer. The riffs remind one of later-era Deicide at times and that’s fine by me, for sure.

10 – Call and answer guitar-drum parts open the final song from these sick Norwegians. And just who is this Ole Walaunet? Well, he’s the all-strings component of Grimfist and Deride and he does a fine job laying down all the guitars. His future should be very bright within the Black/Death Metal fields.

Bottom line: Sure the album is derivative, but a band that wears its influences on its sleeves is not to be shunned. At least not by me. Who said “everything influences everything else”? If no one in particular or famous can be pinpointed, I’m sure it has been said before. So it is with Grimfist’s debut album. While the demise of Immortal was not received well by some in the Metal community, Horgh soldiers on with Grimfist and now Hypocrisy, too. The hits keep coming! The more I listen, the more I like. Peter Tägtgren’s crystal clear production only helps matters. And to think, I thought this album was over-rated at one time. Maybe it is, but right now it’s a solid 9 outta 10.

written by Tony Belcher

Playing time: 39.17