Originally written by Jon Eardley
This band has consistently released some of the grimmest and most morbid sounding music to hit the metal air waves within the past decade. But I was a bit taken aback when I first listened to this new release by this corpse paint wearing act from Norway fully expecting them to continue doing what they do best only to find they’ve decided to put together a record that sounds a bit more listener friendly. Whether intentional or not this is a fast growing trend that many black metal purists feel has taken its toll on the black metal scene in recent years and might ultimately destroy it in the years to come. That being said I’m not a black metal purist and this is a pretty solid album with some great sounding riffs and a better sounding production than displayed on past releases.
The strongest aspect of this album is that of the guitar riffs. They’ve brought the guitars up in the mix and made them almost the main focal point of the songs blending both the thrash and speed metal styles with an almost punk sound at times. The end result is a catchier and almost throwback to the 80’s sounding vibe that may disappoint long time fans of the band, but what it does in my opinion is it gives this band a fresher sound than that of the typical black metal that has become very stagnant as of late. While the drums are there and not all that outstanding they do fit well. One of my major complaints is that the bass is pretty much lost in the mix which is really too bad because it definitely could have given the overall sound some much needed heft. Where this band hasn’t changed is in the vocal department or the lyrical content. The gut rot growls and vomit stricken shrieks spewed forth are still spine tingling and the lyrics stack up with some of the sickest and evilest out there. But at the end of the day can we still take these lyrical themes seriously? Well, maybe we were never supposed to.
Standout hate filled tracks on the album would include “Submit to Satan!!!”, without a doubt one of my favorites featuring some King/Hanneman like riffage from start to finish. Another would be “Start Up the Incinerator, Here Comes Another Useless Soul”. It’s at right about the 2:13 mark where this one hits stride with a pure neck breaker of a riff and some of the best vocals throughout the entire ride. “Everyday I Must Suffer” is a bit too rocky and rolly for me and “Evil Egocentrical Existence” never really seems to go anywhere. The rest of the songs are mediocre at best but could certainly pass for solid filler. At the end of the day Fuck You All!!!!! would definitely be a fun listen after a few cocktails with the boys, but long time fans should know that this is not the same sounding band as in years past.
