Time Signature Chains of metal...

Genre: death metal

Good things come in small packages. That's certainly true of this mini-album by death metallers Hell Strike. The band's four members are death metal veterans and that shows in all six tracks on the mini-album.

The release explodes into the uptempo tremolo-picked madness that is 'Cadaveric Requiem' which eventually slows down and takes on a more Death-like character. This track is followed up by the heavy and doom-laden 'Chains of Frost' and the equally heavy and slightly dissonant 'First Born of Fire' which morphs into a super fast black metal affair towards the end. 'Morbid Abnormality of the Ages' reeks of old school death metal chaos and heaviness while 'Re-Abortion' is another instance of uptempo aggressive tremolo madness. The mini-album concludes with a dark and melancholic doomy instrumental in the form of the truly haunting 'Transylvanian Funeral'.

We are dealing with strong musicianship here and very solid songwriting. The tracks are relatively short, but there are still enough changes and details that the listener gets that musical-journey feeling. The production is unpolished but not completely raw and suits the aggressive music very well. One thing that is a bit grating to my ears, but I totally get why they do it, is the reverbiness of the vocals which generates an atmosphere slightly reminiscent of black metal, thus adding a blackened element to the style as well. So, while it doesn't necessarily appeal to me, it still works in the service of the mini-album as such.

Overall, this is a damn good death metal release. Fans of death metal, in particular old school death metal and blackened death metal, are bound to enjoy Hell Strike's "Hellstrike".