Review by Felix on August 16, 2020.

I remember that I was disappointed after the first Primal Massacre listening sessions. From my point of view, Vomitory had created three of the best death metal albums of all times. Both Redemption and Revelation Nausea had triggered gargantuan blasts – and Blood Rapture even topped those masterpieces. Due to this background and in view of the fact that stylistic modifications were simply unimaginable, I thought Primal Massacre would be the next apocalyptic weapon.

On the one hand, it’s still a mystery to me why I do not like the album as much as its predecessors. Indeed, Vomitory deliver more of the same without any compositional experiment – and that’s actually a good thing. The output sounds energetic, the production is on an equal footing with those of the album’s predecessors and the authenticity of the band is beyond doubt. On the other hand, my disappointment (that I still feel, even 16 years after the release of Primal Massacre) is easy to explain. I miss outstanding songs that are able to challenge the excellent detonations of the former albums. The first, the last and only track that comes near to classics such as 'Under Clouds of Blood' or 'Eternity Appears' is 'Retaliation'. It shines with a great flow which is based on a simple, easily comprehensible riff and a profound “melody” during the mid-part. A minimum of tempo shifts ensures a dynamic appearance. A great song, but it fills less than three minutes of the album.

Music is a matter of taste. Sorry for this empty phrase. I just fall back on it in order to underline: the general frame of Primal Massacre does not differ from the previous works of the Swedes. You have some blast beats attacks, ultra-heavy mid-tempo sequences, raw, pretty low-tuned guitars, guttural, deep vocals and any other death metal aesthetics you love to experience. Everything is based on the strong, powerful and dense production – as mentioned above, in technical terms Primal Massacre does not need to fear any comparison. The mix can be described with the title of the above-average closer; the album appears as the soundtrack of a 'Chainsaw Surgery'. Its high degree of vehemence conveys the typical intensity of extreme metal – nonetheless, the quality of the riffs is good, but not unmatchable. Moreover, tracks like 'Eternity Appears' had proven evidence that it is possible to combine even wildest death metal with a catchy touch that highlighted single parts. Here the listener is buried by a wave of violence that mainly destroys the sight on individual aspects. It took some time until I realized the nice morbidity of the slow part of 'Gore Apocalypse'.

Well, time to stop grumbling. The fifth work of Vomitory presents songs that show the pure essence of the deadly subgenre without suffering from severe mistakes. It stands in the shadow of the previous outputs, but in its own right, it’s an album worth listening and it reflects the band’s unbroken joy of playing. I just regret that Vomitory began to make their monument crumble by releasing these songs.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

I like the straight, punk-affine aggression of crustcore. Breaking traditions from and with Driller Killer is absolutely fantastic. But Wolfbastard aren’t Driller Killer. Lo and behold, they do not even originate from Sweden, the role model country in terms of crust. These English dudes rumble along the avenue of slaughtered virtue in a pretty stereotype manner. They offer the genre-typical riffing, the hateful shouting does not separate them from other bands and the song patterns are ordinary. Of course, crust must be simple. It has not been invented to increase the joy of life of poets, flower artists or esotericists. Moreover, we don’t want to be too narrow-minded. Therefore I have no problem to say that Hammer The Bastards does not lack a proper (but not outstanding) degree of energy. It also holds a little quantum of filth in order to attract curious black thrash metal freaks. Nevertheless, the song material is almost painfully homogeneous. A certain degree of monotony cannot be ignored. Wolfbastard have a dictatorial approach. They do not allow their single songs the smallest iota of individuality. Surprising twists and turns? Feel invited to look for them, but don't point at me if you remain unsuccessful.

The production is okay, no more, no less, and to give honour to the truth: Wolfbastard avoid any form of major mistake in terms of their acoustic offering. They understand their main business up to a certain degree. By contrast, the violence-glorifying artwork sucks and song titles like 'Morbid F**King Hell' or 'Pissing On The Sacred Ground' appear quite silly. But well, no one expected a particularly subtle expression.

I cannot identify songs that I would call highlights. Those who like it direct, fast and without any frills can lend an ear, but usually I belong to this kind of music consumers and sorry, Wolfbastard did not fully convince me. No doubt, some good riffs have been integrated, but I miss some catchy moments that make it easier for me to find access to the material. As much as I regret it, there is nothing that keeps sticking in my ears, brain or heart and therefore the acceptable album needs binoculars to see the upper end of the rating scale. Perhaps the guys will score the next time with more elaborate songs, because I do not think that they fundamentally lack talent.

Rating: 6 out of 10