Album
Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 18/7/2014
Label:
FDA Recotz/7Degree Records
‘The Last
Defence’ CD/DD/LP track listing:
01). Bellum Indicere 01:36
02). Exist To Destroy 01:00
03). This Is The Only Solution 02:47
04). Forever War 03:17
05). Marching Forward To Victory 03:35
06). The Last Defence 03:10
07). Next Offensive 02:46
08). We Are The Serpents Of Doom 02:12
09). Fleshcrawl 04:20
10). Todgeweiht 01:10
11). Glorious Dead 03:21
12). Ausgelöscht 01:45
13). Crusade 03:38
14). ... Before Annihilation 01:58
02). Exist To Destroy 01:00
03). This Is The Only Solution 02:47
04). Forever War 03:17
05). Marching Forward To Victory 03:35
06). The Last Defence 03:10
07). Next Offensive 02:46
08). We Are The Serpents Of Doom 02:12
09). Fleshcrawl 04:20
10). Todgeweiht 01:10
11). Glorious Dead 03:21
12). Ausgelöscht 01:45
13). Crusade 03:38
14). ... Before Annihilation 01:58
The Band
Christian Silva Chaco | vocals
Nicolai Hinse | guitar
Michael Dölle | guitar
Simon Venig | bass
Tim Terhechte | drums
Nicolai Hinse | guitar
Michael Dölle | guitar
Simon Venig | bass
Tim Terhechte | drums
Review:
German
death/grind destroyers Keitzer return with fourteen tracks of brutal carnage.
The boxes are all ticked: instrumental to start, then straight into some speedy
and expertly played grind with ‘Exist
To Destroy’. ‘This is The Only Solution’ keeps energy levels high
and pedal mostly to the metal before the rather unexpected acoustic intro of
‘Forever War’. Normal
blasting duty resumes and the band play like Bolt Thrower on amphetamine.
‘Marching Forward To Victory’ starts with a
rather foreboding riff and the band push for glory with time changes and double
bass drums aplenty thereafter. The production is nice- boxy and compressed and
heavier than that description makes it sound!
‘The Last Defence’ continues the war-like themes.
Blasts contribute to a veritable maelstrom of noise before a classic breakdown
rears its head. An excellent passage of guitar work follows and you can imagine
the damage this assault would do to a live audience.
Overall,
the tracks are relatively short and sweet- lots of ideas in each, mind and ‘Next Offensive’ is no exception.
Different pacing means that the whole record is not just mired in hyper speed. ‘We Are The Serpents of Doom’ is not doom.
It is very fast. It is also quite catchy and the riffing is excellent.
‘Fleshcrawl’ is the album's epic at 4.20 and
delivers lots of changes and skull rattling bass in that time. ‘Todgeweiht’
is just over a minute of aural bullying before ‘Glorious Dead’ brings an
unusual ¾ feel to the riff. ‘Ausgeloscht’ is furious but not all
fast with nice guitar interplay in the middle section.
‘Crusade’ follows with a cool opening
riff and that bass tone underpinning it all. The drums are very well played
throughout- fast and accurate- which is no mean feat with this type of
material. The dryness of the drum sound would have exposed lesser players'
sloppiness- but there are no such problems here. Indeed, the closing ‘...Before Annihilation’ positively
motors along with accurate and speedy blasts and picking the order of the day.
If
you like this genre, you cannot fail to enjoy this record. Great sound, great
riffs and a tight band playing at the top of their game, Keitzer is the real
deal. If you enjoy anything from Bolt Thrower to Nails, you will find much up
your strasse to like.
Words by: Richard Maw
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