Helmsplitter - Enraptured by Suffering (2014) [Gorgatz]

Helmsplitter - Enraptured by Suffering (2014) [Gorgatz]



- I N F O -

I love the whole “for fans of-” thing that gets sent out with press releases. For these guys it mentions Crowbar in the same sentence as Gorgoroth, so when I read that I had a bit of a WTF? moment, because that’s comparing apples to oranges in a major way. However, in this case it works out pretty well.
Helmsplitter play an interesting amalgamation of genres, at times crammed into one song which can make listening a bit confusing. Some rage along at blistering speed like opener Tyrants from Blood, while others sludge along like Summon the Leeches, or just totally enter Black Sabbath territory like Burden of Our Existence and The Ground Bleeds Sorrow. The Black Metal shines through on Panzram, one of the best titles ever because I picture a Panzer tank welded with a Trans Am body and that would just look hilarious. But anyway.
Sound wise, what we have here is a thick Sludge guitar tone that lends itself to the more Bluesy workouts but also makes the Death Metal and Black Metal parts even beefier. Drummer Nate Boyd is fucking amazing. To be able to keep pace with the myriad of time changes that Helmsplitter go through requires a lot of skill and he keeps things interesting with every roll and fill. This is a production that would make 90′s Floridian Death Metal proud.

I tried really hard to find something wrong with this album. So as far as something that I just did not like was the intro to Dance of the Heretic. It is fucking stupid, and sounds incredibly sloppy. The rest of the song is fine, straightforward Death Metal, but that intro just makes me want to punch babies. Ok, there’s my gripe.I like the genre bending that went into this release and I think that that is what keeps it from being just another bog standard Brutal Death Metal album. There is a high level of creativity on display here which, at times can make it a challenging listen, but if you can get into it and just be taken by the music you won’t come back disappointed.

- T R A C K L I S T -

01. Tyrants from Blood
02. Panzram
03. Aura Of Suicide
04. Burden Of Our Existence
05. Dance Of The Heretic
06. World So Wicked
07. Portrait Of Scars
08. The Ground Bleeds Sorrow
09. Forged In Fire
10. Days Of Loathing
11. Summon The Leeches

Format: 320 mp3
Genre: Thrash Metal
Sub Genre: Death Metal
Size: 97.50 MB