Thursday 3 April 2014

Iron Walrus - Insidious Black Sea - Album Review

Iron Walrus - Insidious Black Sea - LP

Album Type:Album
Date Released: April 11th 2014
Label: Redfield Records

Insidious Black Sea track listing:

01 Sleep
02 Get Murdered
03 Erdbeermund
04 Minds
05 You
06 Missing Times
07 Heat

Bio:

On their debut-album “Insidious Black Sea” IRON WALRUS present themselves as an incarnated Doom-/Sludge-/Noise-/Rock-Monster that can’t and doesn’t want deny its musical foster-fathers ST. VITUS, UNSANE, EYEHATEGOD, GOATSNAKE, HELMET and QUICKSAND. But at the same time the band shows proof that music “that raises hell” not necessarily has to originate from America or Scandinavia. Brutal riffing, banging bass-hooks, driving drums and aggressive shouting – that is IRON WALRUS.

Only started in May 2013 and consisting of current members of DAMPFMASCHINE, BROTHER LOVE KAIN, AGGRESSIVE AGE, ATOMIC PEAT, PANZERHÖLLE, it was not the plan of the young team of old professionals to approach things in a calm and relaxed way. After just a short time, two demos appeared on Reverbnation, getting a considerable amount of clicks and when the band shared the stage with TORCHE and BIOHAZARD on their first show, it had everything except a small and intimate atmosphere.

In October 2013 IRON WALRUS had already enough songs written and arranged to be able to enter the studio with Robin Völkert (DEAN DIRG, UNION OF SLEEP, THE NOW DENIAL) and record “Insidious Black Sea”. A couple of weeks and one album-recording later in November, the band was back on stage with PENTAGRAM and UNION OF SLEEP to play a couple of shows.

It doesn’t have to be mentioned that such a racy and confident appearance remains hidden for long and so it’s no wonder that M.A.D. Tourbooking (NAPALM DEATH, CROWBAR, SICK OF IT ALL), a reliable partner for the live-sector, was as quickly found as the established label Redfield Records.
On this fundament, the story of IRON WALRUS can be continued in 2014, like it has begun in 2013: The debut-album “Insidious Black Sea” will be released on April 11 and shows with CROWBAR are booked along with an appearance on the legendary Rotormania Festival. No one should miss this, because you can be assured: “Everyone who has seen us live, definitely left the show with a diabolical smile on his face.”

We’re looking forward to a “sick-nasty” 2014!

The Band Members

"Aufi" - Vocals
"Schnalli" - Drums
"Bene" - Gitarre I
"Rudi Milatz Schenker" - Gitarre II
"Der Schmidt" - Bass

Review:

Now here is one lean, mean and pissed off album drenched in ultra heavy sludge/doom noise laiden riffage. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to Iron Walrus. A band influenced by some pretty legendary bands such as Saint Vitus, EYEHATEGOD and Unsane, so you know you're in for a wild and dangerous ride.

First track – Sleep – feels like a grenade going off in your hand. Deadly, explosive and all round dangerous. It's a loud blast of intense riffs that doesn't fuck about in re-writing the rule book of dark and twisted Sludge Metal. It's a song with lead vocalist – Aufi – telling you what to do with your sad and pathetic life. And you will take notice. Though it's the heavy riffs that keeps you transfixed on the music.

Second Track – Get Murdered – is a short 2:20 minute punk hardcore blast of fast paced Sludge riffs to get you into the mood. Don't expect any slow paced moments as that isn't Iron Walrus style. The fury and anger of the band are played at full force that makes it very hard not to resist.

Though it's the sinister and creepy as fuck 3rd track – Erdbeermund – that will provide you with enough dark visions to last a lifetime. Damn this voice-over is creepy as hell and Iron Walrus have expertly blended it with some of the albums heaviest and best sludge/doom based riffs. This song will leave you an emotional wreck as the band crank up the tension with some eerie overtones that comes from a sinister horror movie.

It's back to less terrifying business with superbly played 4th track – Minds – which starts off rather slowly and quietly before Iron Walrus unleash the pain once again with some terrific crunching and pounding riffs. It may bring back memories of early EYEHATEGOD but that is no bad thing in my book. Iron Walrus add more creepy sound-bytes amongst Aufi's tortured vocals.

The album has 3 tracks left and they are superb hard-hitting tracks in their own right but they can't match the intensity and horrifying vision of the first half of the album. Though the later tracks show that Iron Walrus know how to write a lean, mean sludge based head-banging track that would go down a storm with the moshpit crowd.

All in all, Insidious Black Sea is blast from start to finish. Embrace these dark riffsters with open arms and you will be in for one hell of a wild time.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Christian from Redfield Records for sending us a promo to review. Insidious Black Sea will be available to buy on CD and Vinyl from April 11th 2014.

Check The Band From Links Below


Written by Steve Howe