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PESTILENCE
Hadeon

Hammerheart (2018)
Rating: 9/10

Five years have passed since Dutch thrashing tech-deathsters Pestilence blasted our ears with 2013’s Obsideo. However, the combo most certainly hasn’t been idle with numerous singles and compilations having been released during that time.

A new full-length studio release from these guys is always an event in my book, and Hadeon comes racing out of the blocks like some alien spacecraft shot from its cosmic portal and whizzing to Earth.

This is Pestilence combining the thrashier death aspects of their earlier material with the now expected jarring segments, but vocal demon Patrick Mameli has never sounded so guttural; his gnarly vocal hoarseness taking on a lower tone as he rancidly rasps his way through the opening thrash masterclass ‘Non Physical Existent’. This is a blistering construction of hammering percussion and sizzling guitar which leaks from the album’s intro of ‘Unholy Transcript’.

‘Non Physical Existent’ is a track that immediately sets the stall out for what is to follow. This is a well-orchestrated, thinking man’s slab of technical death, but focusing less on the extra-terrestrial designs and instead stabbing, cavorting and fitting in the right places rather than bamboozling throughout. For me, this is classic Pestilence; effortlessly combining intricate thought patterns whereby leads toy with tumbling, and seemingly awkward percussion, only to weave themselves into greater architectural thrash structures.

But before the death metal purists begin whinging, let me tell you this. What we have here isn’t the jazzed up, avant-garde prowess which some of Pestilence’s mid-to-late career works presented. Instead, this is a record that boasts accessible construction hinting at those nostalgic climes of the first three records, more so 1991’s Testimony Of The Ancients where the combo had begun to branch out with cosmic and occult experimentation.

‘Multi Dimensional’ is proof of this intriguing marrying, and variety comes thrashing in spasmodic fashion. The mix of deathly chugging and twisted chords leave me flabbergasted before the outfit goes all out thrash upon the foundation of drummer Septimiu Hărşan’s septic hammering. It’s a blistering outburst of immense proportions, but with only traces of jarring intricacy which play second fiddle to the backbone of brutality.

‘Oversoul’ begins with a mid-tempo thud. The juddering bass lines accompany the menacing plod of the riffage before eventually the swirling leads ease their way through the fizzing atmosphere, and yet the track retains its hardened, suspenseful spine as Mameli growls with malevolence.

The pace quickens again with ‘Materialization’, which is another rampant frenzy of flailing percussion and smoking death-thrash exercising. In a sense, it’s a rather no frills affair which only gets its tech-groove on towards the end. But as the thrashing yet decidedly alien ‘Astral Projection’ – complete with weird, robotic vocal effects – melts into the frothing ‘Disincarnate Entity’, we soon become accustomed to what is essentially an abundance of short, sharp Pestilence outbursts. These occasionally contain what could be considered progressive streaks, as one would expect from an outfit that has naturally evolved this way.

Tracks such as ‘Manifestations’ are rather simple by design; straight up pacey expressions with little to distract the listener. Indeed, any die-hard but rather purist Pestilence fan should get along with this opus just fine, and will find little in the way when it comes to cosmic tinkering.

‘Timeless’ is another speedy thrasher with a catchy groove woven in, while ‘Ultra Demons’ and ‘Layers Of reality’ are similarly manufactured. The former hints at a Cynic-style of execution, especially with those unusual vocal effects, but both remain hasty death-thrashers. Finally, album closer ‘Electro Magnetic’ is another scientific experiment conducted with speedy precision and bolstered by Mameli’s intense bellows.

What is most important with this album, is the band’s ability to fuse together that almost vintage style of head-crushing, bone-breaking death / thrash with their already progressive flecks, and flecks which never interrupt the flow of this superbly crafted, busy, scurrying, fast-paced and yet gleaming disc.

Hadeon contains all the essential oils which made Pestilence so wondrous in the first place. But as expected, it is still a machine run with efficiency and intelligence, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. The aliens have landed.

Neil Arnold

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