Living HellFirst off I would like to start off this review by saying a big fuck you to all the faggot ass haters that have been mouthing off about this album like a bunch of cock stuffed assholes. If you don't like Integrity or any Holy Terror hardcore for that matter just get the fuck out of this review. I hope Dwid comes to you in your sleep and shoves a crucifix down your throat. Now that I'm done with that, these guys are from Boston or places around that area, New England and shit like that. I did a review for their self-titled 7" on A389 Records (which was titled "Pavor Nocturnis" on the CD format). If you haven't read the review I'll give you a summary: it fucking ruled.
As you probably already inferred from my reference to Holy Terror and Integrity in the above paragraph, these guys definitely love the two and it shines through heavily on this album, as well as other notable Clevo acts. There's plenty of meaty, chug laden riffing with loads of slick breakdowns and plenty of dope leads and solos sprinkled throughout.
The album contains 12 tracks, two of which were the two stand out songs from their 7" so I was pleased to see them make their way on here. The songs tend to hang around the 2 minute mark with the longest song being 3:02 and the shortest 1:16. Outside of the intro part of "The Resurrection", which lasts 27 seconds and the droning outro of "King of Kings", both of which were done by Dwid, this thing constantly keeps things moving. But back to those noise tracks by Dwid, honestly, this are the two biggest elements of this release that I could do without, at least the outro one because it is much longer and doesn't add anything to the song. Outside of that, the riffs are awesome, the solos and leads kick my ass. The biggest difference between the 7" and this are the style of vocals that Craig uses. It's not as gruff and burly as the bands earlier material, rather more Dwid-esque, which isn't a bad thing but I actually preferred the old style a bit more.
The lyrics are exactly what you would expect from a holy terror/Integrity influenced. Expect blood soaked imagery, contempt for "believers", apocalyptic visions etc,. It almost seems like Dwid and Craig sat down with one another and wrote this shit. I love it!
I have no idea where this thing was recorded but I'm guessing perhaps it was where they recorded the 7", Atomic Studios. Well anyway, everything sounds good. The guitar tone is perfect with all things considered, the vocals have supreme placement with no effects, the drums sound crisp. The tone of the bass is good but I wish it had just a bit more presence.
The layout which was done by Dwid and Michael Howland is fucking titties. The front cover drawing of a man with his entrails ripped out by the hand of a beast is vicious as shit. The booklet was well designed and consists of 6 pages with 2 songs worth of lyrics on each page. All very easy to read and slickly laid out for the reader. In the middle of the booklet is a two page spread of vocalist Craig wearing a In My Eyes shirt (awesome band!). On the last two pages there is a cool drawing of some huge dude with some d-bo ass hands and the credits/thanks you's are on the other.
Rating: 4.5/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Parable of a Madman, King of Kings and Malleus Dei
Synopsis: Damn when listening to "Malleus Dei" I just can't help but to think of Integrity and damn do these guys do it well. Obviously Dwid gives his stamp of approval. I cannot think of one reason why your ass shouldn't cope this. Shit if it wasn't for the unnecessary intro/outro parts this would've gotten a 5/5. I'll end this like I started it; haters, fuck off!