Asphyx - Deathhammer [2012]

Asphyx shakes the Earth with this colossal album!

They could build monuments to how brutal this band is. This album is, in short, "Death...the Brutal Way" on steroids; well... more steroids per say. If you are not immediately familiar with these guys, they are from the Netherlands, and play doom death heavy enough to cause tidal waves in Asia and upset lunar activity.

The album kicks off with the best kind of Asphyx riff right from the first second. Those crushing almost crusty power chord riffs match up perfectly with the old school death metal vocals! Another thing is that the first track also comes in with vocals right away, which is usually a dangerous tactic, but matches up perfectly. That really gives the album a strong start from the get go. And right when your neck starts to get sore its is time to mosh it up! A little after the one minute mark there is a bass break that goes into some down beat moshing death. "Into the Timewaste" is such a good song to start the album with. 

The other the option would be to start with the title track "Deathhammer". They really keep up the speed in this song and keep it up although it is a short track. This song is obviously written to be the crowd pleaser. If that thought doesn't cross your mind when the chorus hits with the single vocal line; the thirty second mark in this song will. There is a guitar break and the vocalist says something that is completely not part of any verse and sounds like something that should only be done live, it sounds he is saying "This is true death metal ya bastards!". And by the third track is when the mighty DOOOOOM kicks in.

From this point in the album it goes back an forth between fast and doom; or reg OSDM an doom death. The way things go back and forth here is actually pretty key because it would have been pretty awkward if one half of the album was doomy and the other faster. That would lead people to skip part of the album depending on what kind of mood they are in. And on the subject of doom, there is a song entitled "We Doom You To Death" on here that seems a little comical for a song title, but could not be more appropriate. When you listen to it; it goes from doom to upbeat mid tempo doom thrash, then back to doom. That is just such incredible song writing on their part. 

There is a very good reason these guys have made it as far as they have. This album is a new release of amazing old school doom death. It is hard to believe that it is just February and every release this year has been just magnificent. Deathhammer has really been the icing on the cake so far this year!

90%

Favorite Tracks: Deathhammer, Into the Timewaste, The Flood, We Doom You To Death

Deathhammer - Onward To The Pits [2012]

Deathhammer, alongside their fellow bastard countrymen in Nekromantheon, are yet another great thrash act that are being handed to us by Norway. This is a country that is ubiquitous with black metal acts, lots of them very generic, and conversely to what many may think, it is a country that is producing some of the best thrash metal around nowadays. Deathhammer don’t exactly bring anything new to the table, but when your music is this good, you really don’t have to.

The album kicks off with a typical thrash metal riff that will remind listeners of early Kreator and Sodom; hence the very old-school sound that they pull off. Along with the gritty guitars strumming their way along rapidly, the drums play a blast beat in the background. This is something that many may deem distasteful, especially ones with an aversion towards blast beats in thrash metal. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love it, but either way, have no fear; there aren’t many throughout. The guitars are easily the highlight on the album, and there’s little to no new-school riffing to be seen, it being dominated by old-school thrash; lot’s of them, however, are not one-hundred percent thrash. Heaps of the riffs on this record are actually very black/speed/thrash metal influenced, an obvious and undeniable Bathory sound being inducted as they gallop along and pleasantly surprise the listener.  Songs like “Fullmoon Sorcery,” especially in the intro, will remind the listener of the good ol’ days when Bathory played relentless black/speed metal, parallel to, mainly, their self-titled album.

Dissimilar to what Nekromantheon have done with their latest effort, Deathhammer are not as evil-sounding as them. They have a very old-school vibe to them, yes, but they are definitely not as evil nor sordid as the sound that Nekromantheon have introduced in their newest full-length. (Definitely more evil than retro-thrash in its entirety, though). This isn’t a bad thing either. Actually, it works for them in many ways. They pull off a more old-school sound, and at the same time they may even bring to mind the latest work that Midnight have accomplished; their riffing is very catchy, and that definitely works to augment the quality of their thrash. Aside from their pervasive black/speed metal sound, there are some riffs here and there that are more doomy; such as in the intro of “Emperor of Sin,” causing the listener to envisage the monster on the cover to be lurking along a graveyard, seeking out human flesh. The vocals are high-pitched, piercing shrieks, somewhat similar to Nekromantheon, more to early Kreator and Bathory, however. The drums always pummel along viciously, primarily making use of thrash beats; with d-beats thrown in occasionally, as well. The production is dirty and completely agrees with the style of old-school thrash that Deathhammer have pulled off.

All in all, “Onward To The Pits” is a very solid effort, and one most likely on its path to be regarded as one of the best thrash metal releases of 2012. It beats most other current thrash acts to the ground, cuts their faces to bloody pulps, parting shame to their ridiculously overrated, dull, uninspired sound. The guitars are always fast and voracious, lots of riffs very catchy, the vocals malevolent in their sheer intensity, the drums loud and furious. A thrash release that is sure to impress even the most elitist of metalheads; a statement shouting that they will not give in to the current quality of thrash releases, showing that they will, amongst endless crowds of boring bands, prove that thrash can be as great as ever; you just have to look in the right places. Look for some Deathhammer, now.

88/100

-SmithMetal84