(written by Islander)
In December 2021 we premiered and reviewed Husqwarnah‘s debut album Front Toward Enemy. I also put one of the songs from that album (“Ignoto1”) on our list of 2021’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs (here), a recognition of how hook-laden and compulsive the music was — in addition to it being tank-like, ravaging, fire-breathing, and morbid.
Today we see what these Italian death metal marauders have been up to since then, as we again host a full stream of Husqwarnah‘s newest album, Purification Through Sacrifice, which is set for release on September 16th by the distinctive Time To Kill Records.
For this new album the band’s lineup has remain little-changed from the group that created Front Toward Enemy, with only the addition of new guitarist Emanuele Biondi joining four others responsible for that previous full-length. And the band’s musical approach is still anchored in the traditions of such bands as Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, and Benediction, though as you’ll see, they haven’t stood stock still. They’ve commented as follows:
“Purification Through Sacrifice is a title that reflects the band’s intent to musically evolve. Compared to our previous record, which was mainly produced during the Covid lockdowns, we had more time to refine the music in the studio with the support of producer Carlo Altobelli (Toxic Basement studio). This time the sound is more technical and even more violent, while still remaining true to the main old school death metal canvas.
“As in the previous chapter, the songs’ lyrics deal with several different topics, ranging from our passion for cinema to current world news and visionary and bloody stories.
“We are confident that the new songs will have a strong live impact and we will definitely enjoy playing them in the live setting. During the composition process, we thought a lot about how the songs would work on stage and we are looking forward to testing them live”.
photo by Pasquale Maresca
The new album begins with a chilling intro track, ringing and wailing and simultaneously creating an atmosphere of tension and encroaching peril (and they do something similar again at album’s end).
The peril arrives in full force on “To Protect and Severe“, and it is indeed a violent, take-no-prisoners assault. Propelled by thundering drums and fronted by rabid screams and gruesome roars, the riffing stabs, groans, and convulses in displays of boiling madness, well calculated to whip a mosh pit into a roiling collision of bodies.
From there, the band use a slithering and utterly morbid lead to open up another war-charge of murder and malice, otherwise known as “Wheel of Torture“. But in that song the band also pound like sledgehammers, launch into a punkish gallop as the backdrop for a screaming guitar solo, and deploy riffing that slashes like blades and seethes with tremolo-picked poison.
Across the following seven tracks, almost all of which are in the 3-5 minute range, Husqwarnah continue to fashion assaults of dynamic barbarity, inflicting thuggish hammer-blows, igniting bursts of gutting and galvanizing fury, and maniacally spinning like tornadoes of fire, with occasional clarion-clear guitar solos deliriously spiraling toward the rafters.
The band also continually find places (sometimes in the very midst of their marauding tirades) for morbid melodies telling tales of horror and agony, with “Mass Grave“, “Soldier 039“, and “Tower of Suicide” being prime examples, and they also allow room for nimble and nuanced bass-lines to make their presence known, and for one interlude of acoustic and ambient instrumentation that creates an otherworldly atmosphere.
They’ve also not forgotten since their last album how to embed their songs with insidious hooks, or how to carve grooves in their listeners’ skulls as big as canyons. For proof of that, look no further than the spectacular “Reincarnation Of Sin Pt. II“, a song that also benefits from the barbaric guest appearance of Enrico Di Lorenzo from the great Hideous Divinity.
Husqwarnah do shift their gears within the songs, but it should be acknowledged that for the most part the new album stays in the high-octane fast lane and keeps adrenaline levels high. They still enjoy going to war, though they also create visions of the ruin of body and mind left in their wake.
So now, take some deep breaths and dive into all the mayhem and misery below:
LINE-UP:
Maurizio Caverzan – Vocals
Lorenzo Corno – Bass/Backing Vocals
JP Lisi – Guitar
Emanuele Biondi – Guitar
Riccardo Rjillo – Drums
Time To Kill will release the album on black vinyl LP, CD, and digital formats. They recommend it for fans of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Morbid Angel, Unleashed, and Benediction.
PRE-ORDER:
https://timetokillrecords.com/collections/husqwarnah
https://husqwarnah.bandcamp.com/album/purification-through-sacrifice
HUSQWARNAH:
https://www.facebook.com/HusqwarnaH
https://instagram.com/husqwarnah