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Fog Of War

United States Country of Origin: United States

Fog Of War
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Type: Full-Length
Release Date: 2005
Label: Elegy Records
Genre: Death, Thrash
1. Intro
2. Downward Discipline
3. March To Your Death
4. Heap Of Wretchedness
5. Hellkind
6. Vermicular
7. Nailed To Iniquity
8. Level Of Containment
9. Bleed Divine
10. Dead Shall Rise
1. Moment Of Violence
2. Kill The Enemy
3. Ressurected From The Past
4. Generations Of Mutations
5. Shot In The Head
6. Plague Of Vermin
7. Defcon 1
8. Fog Of War
9. Suicide Soldiers


Review by Carl on February 27, 2023.

The Reckoning is the continuation of the black metal band Infernal Legion, an act that I mostly remember from a not that memorable full length. Next to that, I also have encountered them live once, horribly out of place opening for Extreme Noise Terror. From that show I only remember an Exumer cover and a deafening silence from the audience. For some reason I can't explain, the name change and shift in musical direction some years later wasn't that big of a surprise, really. On their debut as The Reckoning they certainly showed that they had their shit together better, and this album, their second, is a logical continuation of that.

Build on a sturdy foundation of varied death metal with thrash and black metal elements, the band reminds me of acts like Behemoth, Zyklon and Belphegor, with Vader not far off. Blazing death metal with excellent Morbid Angel-tinged riffing and hoarse, shouty vocals, propelled forward by percussion alternating blasting frenzy with thrashing beats and double kick drive. The main focus is primarily on uptempo death metal, but at times the band allows for slower parts to come in. It is in these moments that a twisted sense of melody and atmospheric touches creep in, supplying the music with some well placed variation. Their black metal roots shine through in a subtle manner, and work well with the death and thrash metal riffing they have on offer. And while the music is pretty cool, I'm not that awed by the vocals, which is a matter of personal taste, I'll admit. I would not have minded a gruffer approach there.

Another area that could have used a gruffer approach is the production. The horrible triggered drums ruin quite a lot of the general atmosphere the music has build up. In no way a bad effort by drummer Morbid for sure, but the plastic and terribly clinical sound manages to gut the overall atmosphere of what the band has on offer. Even worse, this clicking and clacking drum mix has the unfortunate side effect to even neuter a lot of the riffs and general sound. It is a production very of its time, but I never cared for it, and here it becomes very clear why. While the music is cool, precise and pretty energetic, it's all too bad that the production sucks out a lot of the atmosphere of this offering. A gruffer, more earthy approach to the overall sound would have benefitted the band in a huge amount, I'm sure.

It's one of those releases that is not bad at all, but because of the details mentioned only seldom makes it off the shelf and into the CD-player.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

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Review by JD on January 19, 2009.

Ah... Belgian metal, some of my favourite albums have come out of this small nation's obsession for heaviness and brutality in music. With that said... Belgian metal is just like a two sided sword. It is either cutting edge good and cuts into you with the slightest beat, or it just dulled and very lifeless music begging for to be put out of its misery. Which will it be for The Reckoning?

First off, this band have been around since 1993 (Originally named Infernal Legion) and they have had two demos, a full album and a mini album under this moniker. From what I remember of them, they were raw and quite brutal Black Metal. Now as they are called The Reckoning (with one LP under the name already) they seemed to have evolved into a tight melodic mixture of Black, Death and Thrash Metal that is leaps and bounds past their original sounds.

Simply put... this outfit (Three regular members, one guest bassist, they have found a new bassist now.) blasts out some of the most furious and demonically angry music. The blast away with great speed, but they show that there is great amounts of melody to go with it. Their riffs can be almost described as being catchy... because they are memorable as they are brutal.

Lyrics are growled out with the acridness of sulphuric acid, honed to a sharp perfection that spews darkness and the grotesque indignance toward pitiful human life. The song lyrics are short, but man they are massively good with what they use. Songs like 'Heap Of Wretchedness' and 'Hellkind' show both utter heaviness and speed that is matched up perfectly with this great sense of pure musicality as well.

The Reckoning are a force that is hard to ignore, yet they do not establish anything close to new here for the Black Metal world ... but they do create amazing metal that suits them. All of what is on the album seems points out the fact that they are evolving into a great band all on their own... and that is more than enough for me to enjoy them.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Review by Carl on October 15, 2024.

While I'm typing this, there's an elephant impatiently tapping me on the shoulder, so let's just get it out of the way right now: guitarist Pist Kris (calling himself Rev. Slavehunter Ph.D. here) used to be in the infamous and highly controversial hatecore band Angry Aryans. But where his previous endeavor sounded as if Madball had a bout of the flu on a boring Sunday afternoon, Nocturnal Fear slaps the listener around with a veritable smorgasbord of riffs, solos, and heaps upon heaps of metal power.

The band shoves us a fast thrashing, highly volatile dose of metal through our collective throats. The main attention grabber here is Pist Kris (I'm not calling him Rev. and so forth), launching fast-played riffs, licks, and a veritable crossfire of solos at the listener, sonically citing Kreator and Sodom throughout, while being backed by a gruff vocalist, a solid bassist, and a drummer who fills up any hole left in the music. The music is brought with a nervous, twitchy energy that barely leaves any room to take a breather. At times the band does take the foot off the gas to plow ahead with a solid dose of midtempo stomp, and in a track such as "Resurrected from the Past", there's even room for some melodic touches. At times the band goes that extra step further, by making room for some acoustic guitar to seep through, most notably in the middle section of "Generations of Mutations", and the intro to "Moment of Violence", which brings to mind Candlemass or Savatage. It has to be said, that the band put thought and effort into creating this album, there's no denying that. Maybe even a bit too much, because there is happening so much, and at such an intense level, it has the tendency to get somewhat tiring towards the end. The way Pist Kris scatters the notes, licks, and solos around, at times reminds me somewhat of the first album by The Great Kat, with the difference being that he's the technically better one.

I would call the production on here pretty decent, but certainly not stellar. The guitars, that are the main attraction here, could've been up louder in the mix, and the vocals less so, kinda hampering the band in displaying their true power. It's not a disaster, though, because everything is more or less in balance, and I especially appreciate the drum mix. This sounds clear, pretty natural, and absolutely balanced out, giving the drummer's performance the right amount of space to shine because the man hands in an excellent performance.

Nocturnal Fear reminds me of bands such as Gammacide, Holocross, Devastation (TX), Anialator, Burnt Offering, and the US Insanity, the ones who did "Death After Death", bands that played powerful thrash, with added death metal elements. Too bad the production somewhat stumps the band by kinda hindering the power to come out to the fullest. The remorseless delivery can work a bit tiring towards the end as well, but that is just a small gripe, made up by the great thrash/death metal the band simply seems to ooze.

You can say whatever you want about Pist Kris, but the dude knows his way around his guitar, just as his band knows their way around solid thrash with death metal elements.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

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