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
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
