God Among Insects
tend to get to the punch early with each of these nine songs. Led by the howling, primal, and guttural vocals of
Magus Emperor Caligula
, the group rips into
"Legions of Darkness"
sounding like a mix of
GWAR
,
Sum 41
, and
Sepultura
, combining
hard rock
with
metal
lines that wind around the chorus.
"A Gush of Blood"
is almost like a
hardcore punk
tune starting off, but goes into a darker and seedier sound thanks to guitarist
Lord K. Philipson
.
"Headless Nun Whore"
is a full-throttle attack of
death metal
that sounds like
Slipknot
on high-speed dubbing. Both
Philipson
and bassist
Tomas Elofsson
are quite tight on this song, both sounding like buzzsaws humming throughout. If there was a radio-friendly
number it might be the fist-pumping, devil-horn salute that seems to come from
"Wretched Hatching,"
one of the record's strongest tracks. The highlight is without question the
industrial
-tinged
"Purified in Carnage,"
which continues to soar from the start, resembling a cross between
Nine Inch Nails
and any hard
band worth its salt. The bridge is the key, as it mixes old styles and new to bring more intensity to the tune. Another surprise might be how well the murky
"Severe Facial Reconstruction"
comes off, changing gears as
Caligula
utters some of his deepest growls. ~ Jason MacNeil