A real winner in the christraping sweepstakes this be. Angelcorpse's third LP continues their blackened American death metal onslaught and picks up where their last record (Exterminate) left off. Morbid Angelcorpse references tend to be thrown around a lot whenever this band gets press - but, while corpulent guitarist Palubicki does show a strong Altars of Madness influence in his jagged, lightspeed riffage, Angelcorpse take a more rhythmic and straightforward approach to brutality. The Inexorable reminds me of the first Suffocation record in places drum-wise, and in the band's construction of individual segments. And the drumming deserves some special mention here, as skinsman Tony makes up for his shitty taste in sunglasses with some manic, fast as fuck blast / hyperblast. That leaves vocalist/bassist and main dude Pete, of Order from Chaos fame - his phlegmy rasp, maybe a cross between Jeff Walker of Carcass and Legion from Marduk, gives the band a lot of its character, and allows him to deliver his blasphemous Teutonic odes with unholy authority. ' Stormgods Unbound' and 'As Predator to Prey' stand out in particular, the latter ripping a verse from Nietzsche (read the liners to check out Pete's pitch for writings in his 'Philosophy of Ascension'). Angelcorpse express their vision with a delightful soundtrack for the next global holocaust that brings to mind images of Panzer divisions mowing down another 6 million Jews. Their attempts at a more Epic(tm) style - the slow Celtic Frost-ed riffing of 'Wolflust' and the melodic midsection in 'The Fall of the Idols of Flesh' - work well, and my hunch is that Pete & Co. will further expand and refine their assault on record #4. As of now, this is killer so do yourself a favour and pick it up.

© 2000 ibex erik