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BY RYAN MAVITY
I suppose if you want the musical equivalent to the Battle of the Bulge, the appropriately named In Battle is it. Kingdom of Fear is loud, aggressive and brutal. Usually that’s a great thing for a metal band, though a little of In Battle’s skull-crushing sound can go a long way.
The album gets off to a solid start with the title track and “The Multitude.” Drummer Nils Fjellstrom pops off blast beats like a machine gunner in a foxhole, while vocalist Ostlund-Sandin shouts about death and burning flesh. These two songs follow a similar pattern: relentless double kick drums for the verses, slowed-down thrash for the choruses. No doubt Fjellstrom is down for the challenge, he’s so busy back there on the kit you fear he may go all Mick Shrimpton on us and spontaneously combust or at the least choke on someone else’s vomit. A slower song like “Follow the Allfather” should be considered a break for him.
Actually, the best moments from Kingdom of Fear are the slower ones, like the rampaging “Allfather.” During these songs the band truly comes across like pillaging marauders, ready to decimate a village, rape the women and waste the men. I also like when the band changes speeds like going from a steamroller to a Ferrari on “Tyr.”
Unfortunately, the band’s attack becomes a little monotonous, mostly because we figure out just about every trick they have. Sure, the band is skilled at what they do, but songs like “The Curse” and “I Kamp” could have been on about any one of the 10,000 Candlelight releases this year. I guess in that way, In Battle is the first metal band that has ever reminded me of eating large quantities of chocolate. Mmmm, chocolate. |
