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FORCHRISTSAKE
Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror

Roxx (2014)
Rating: 8/10

Belfast death metallers ForChristSake are hoping to spread the word of their lord via an interesting blend of melody and brutality. The quartet formed back in 2001 but Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror is their long-awaited debut full-length, emerging four years after their four-track Death Is But A Breath Away EP. ForChristSake consists of Ben (vocals / guitar), Simon (guitar / backing vocals), Mark (bass) and Ignatios (drums / backing vocals).

Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror is a meaty opus that boasts 16 tracks, beginning with the muddy strains of instrumental ‘Blackened Lands’; a thrashy introduction of twinkling orchestration and rumbling guitars which brings to mind the cosmic rumble of old school death metal legends Nocturnus.

Considering the amount of American death metal bands who clearly influence these guys, I was initially surprised to find that they hail from Northern Ireland. But I tell you what guys, ForChristSake are a good little band who like to dabble in a bit of old school death metal drudgery, the result being a thick layer of dense, often mid-tempo guitars and booming guitars with a stodgy doom-laden edge.

As well as the Floridian influence I can’t help but bring up Carcass, because some of the grooves here really do remind me of the Liverpudlian gore hounds. ‘The Hollow Way Of Thinking’ somehow manages to melt together Carcass, via Symphonies Of Sickness (1989), with say Bolt Thrower and Nocturnus. The lyrics are belched with gore-soaked aplomb, and the drums and bass work in cohorts, providing a wire-mesh from which the guitars emerge with sludge-infested arrogance – exhibiting some really great, catchy hooks, which once again have the billowing nature of British grindcore and death metal.

With tracks such as the muddy ‘Leech’, the crusty, squalid sneer of ‘Last Call’ and the grey, war-torn gothic slop of ‘Red Moon’, I can’t help but head off under grim skies and wait for another bout of heavy acid rain. Anyone who may recall a Dutch band called Sempiternal Deathreign or UK thrashers Energetic Krusher may enjoy this record, because it’s one that evokes images of mid to late 80s in a sordid sort of fashion.

ForChristSake have opted for more variety here, something that was bereft from the EP, and there are some nice touches of crossover (‘Serpent Rising’) which sit comfortably alongside the more brutal segments of the record (‘Necronemesis’). The band are a force at whatever pace they play but when they do slow things down, ForChristSake become a real foetid quagmire of dank solos and cloudy drums – imagine a sloppier, grubbier Cerebral Fix weighed down by doomier crust.

This is a record that’s hard to fault if you like your metal ashen, sludgy, putrid and above all heavy. Yes, it’s a tad over long but then again it would be nigh on impossible to remove some of the tracks, so I suggest you don your gas mask and head forth into this toxic alleyway of filth. Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror suggests that the years 1992-2014 never happened and that ForChristSake have merely carried on from the mucky plateau that we now like to call “old school” death metal.

Neil Arnold

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