Tuesday 13 August 2019

ALBUM REVIEW: Entombed AD, "Bowels of Earth"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 30/08/2019
Label: Century Media Records



“Bowels of Earth” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.Torment Remains
2.Elimination
3.Hell Is My Home
4.Bowels Of Earth
5.Bourbon Nightmare
6.Fit For A King
7.Worlds Apart
8.Through The Eyes Of The Gods
9.I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
10.To Eternal Night

The Review:

Three years on from “Dead Dawn” and Entombed AD have returned. As noted at the time, “Dead Dawn” was much better and heavier than “Back to the Front”, which in itself was OK- but little more. Pleasingly, “Bowels of Earth” is heavier and more ferocious again! Thankfully the band seem to perhaps be repeating the trajectory of the original Entombed in the late 90s into the 2000; from the feeble “Same Difference”, through the aggressive “Uprising” and on to the excellent “Morning Star”.

“Torment Remains” is aggressive and heavy, a great opener and “Elimination” is also aggressive and heavy. The production and mix is better this time around, too- the bass rumbles, the guitars grate like a chainsaw, the leads cut through and LG Petrov's trademark bark is firmly in place.

The pace continues into “Hell Is My Home” and I was left thinking, on first listen, that this is everything that “Back to the Front” should have been, but never was: aggressive, fast, feral and hard rocking. The pace change down the back stretch feels great, the riff excellent. The band are firing on all cylinders. The title track rolls out of the speakers full of swagger and is another winner. At this point, the album is really shaping up to be a return to Petrov's glory days of two decades ago.

“Bourbon Nightmare” ratchets up the death and roll factor nicely- pure Motorhead worship and it works really well. AT the halfway point it can be finally said that Entombed AD have ARRIVED. This is leagues ahead of their debut and has built on the much improved “Dead Dawn” with vigour.

The second half of the record is just as good. “Fit For A King” opens things up with a breakneck thrashing pace and straight-ahead riffing. Entombed AD keep things tight and lean with song lengths not going too far beyond what is necessary. That breakneck pace is continued through “Worlds Apart” while one of the best tracks on the album is delivered in “Through The Eyes of The Gods”- which is a real throwback to Entombed's early work and “Wolverine Blues”. It's nasty and mean and would be a great track to pick out if you wanted to hear a snapshot of what the album has to offer.

The two minutes of “I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” is a rollicking rocker that acts as the last burst of speed before the band delivers a doom laden epic in the form of “To Eternal Night”. Over the course of the ten tracks it is an absolute pleasure to hear the band rev their engines and play like they mean it. This is light years ahead of Entombed AD's first album and much better than their sophomore effort as well. This is most likely the best Entombed related record since the aforementioned “Morning Star”. It is better than “Inferno” (which was good) and certainly better than “Serpent Saints” as well. Of course, Entombed AD are not Entombed- but this album is a cracker and one that would fit right into Entombed's discography with no issues whatsoever. Recommended.

“Bowels of Earth” is available HERE


Band info: facebook