Hail of Bullets – …of Frost and War

In the summer of 1990, all me and my friend Omer cared about was Consuming Impulse. The second album from Dutch death-thrashers, Pestilence was that good! Every track had at least five classic riffs and despite the music’s brutal nature, they still managed to craft memorable songs. That in itself is a feat that should not be ignored. But what really pulled me in were Martin van Drunen’s dry death metal growls. He sounded like he was dying with thirst and pleading for mercy. Unfortunately, the bassist/vocalist left the band and joined Asphyx who never lived up to the promise of their debut album, The Rack.

So here we are so many years later and van Drunen has joined forces with members of Gorefest, Houwitser and Thanatos to form Hail of Bullets. The combo is bonded by their love of death metal greats like Bolt Thrower and Autopsy. From the chugging attack of “Ordered Eastward” to the doom-stomp of “Berlin,” …of Frost and War is the kind of album that could have easily come out in 1991. Listening to Martin’s death grunts again is like being visited by an old friend. The guy has not lost a step in the in-between years!

Mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö, the Swedish death metal kingpin gives these tracks the kind of biting tone and crushing bottom end that was lacking in many of the records coming out during the genre’s heyday. Paul Baayens and Stephan Gebedi’s riffing patterns go from Scandinavian flavored runs to slower, sludge marches. Their solo runs also are full of character with enough whammy-bar drops and other nuances to keep you compelled throughout. It would have been great to find the band exploring their faster tendencies more but Hail of Bullets does not disappoint on this exciting debut.

Rating: 7.5/10
Label: Metal Blade Records
Website: www.metalblade.com

By Carlos Ramirez

(13 votes, average: 4.15 out of 5)

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