Hatchend : "Summer of 69"

This is the debut from a band that deals in thrashing Hardcore with a death metal slant to its hyper-aggressive attack. This blend of sounds is not the most typical thing you expect from Sweden, but here we are. These guys are from bands like Birdflesh and Deranged, so this is not their first time trying their hand at extreme metal. They know how to write songs, so this is not just a bunch of razor-sharp riffs getting thrown at you with reckless abandon. "Who's the Foe Today" might not find the riffs as hooky as the opening, but there is still an investment and a touch of rock n roll somewhere in the musical DNA. Sometimes this feels a little rushed when the speed is poured on. 

The only problem with not letting up on the speed is that in three songs things begin to take on a uniform sound due to the lack of dynamics The drumming to "Bloodthirsty Degenerate" works of a stiff pounding of the snare that is more typical of punk, and even then it's one of my least favorite drum beats. There is more of a Motorhead sound to "Scapegoat". At least you can hear the effort being put into making this a song rather than just thrashing with no direction for the sake of it. I can tell right now this album is not something that is going to be in regular rotation for me, as it's a little too straightforward. But there is an audience for it. 

Then there are moments when the momentum gets the best of them and the results are less inspired like "Feirce Scapel Menace". ''Feed this Emptiness" snarls in a pretty one-dimensional manner, that is almost punk in its simple thrashing. I know plenty of metal heads who would tell you Motorhead is the most melodic band they listen to, so this sort of thing is going to appeal to them. At this point, I had already begun to get bored with this album and was forcing myself through it."Fascist By Design' has one cool riff in it but the song largely blows by in a blur. 

"First Blood" has a little more nuance, but that little bit is pretty marginal, as it blasts by with a fit of uniform anger the bulk of the album has displayed. I will give this album a 7.5 , I appreciate the enthusiasm and the album gets off to a good start the momentum carries it away into a murky morass of riffage, But there are some people who are going to be into it, I am not one of them. 

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