Asinhell - Hour of the Wicked

2023-09-25 07:00:34

During the recording of the latest Volbeat record, Michael Poulsen discovered various old effects pedals, including a Boss HM-2, and then wrote a lot of death metal riffs that were not used by the main band. Inspired by his late good friend LG Petrov (Entombed), he turned these ideas into his own project. It was created together with Marc Grewe (ex-Morgoth, now Insidious Disease and Deimos’ Dawn), with whom he always wanted to work, and Raunchy drummer Morten Toft Hansen Asinhell. The first album together “Hour of the Wicked” sounds like a tour through an old-school sawmill of the Nordic death metal school.

The opening “Fall Of The Loyal Warrior” knows how to entertain and carries the old school energy with all its force. Poulsen shakes out one strong riff after another, Hansen has been thrashing with increasing enthusiasm since Kit, and Grewe’s iconic vocals are beyond any doubt. The sum of the individual parts fits together damn well, spitting out a rancid track that is in tune with the times. The tempo varies cleverly and reaches boldly at the right moment. Something similar is achieved in “Desert Of Doom”, whose heaviness collides with somewhat newer death thrash ideas – not dominant enough to deviate from the old course, but ideal for adding occasional splashes of color.

In the long tracks Asinhell brings out all the qualities. The title song “Impii Hora” is courageous, smells putrid and occasionally brings a grueling mid-tempo stomper to the stage, the sheer force of which makes hearing and seeing go by. “Inner Sancticide” even hints at some death-doom action for a few moments, but then quickly finds its groove. Grewe sounds manic at times, overturns, fighting despair with anger. The bite of “Wolfpack Laws” is also fun. Here the trio goes forward uncompromisingly, letting the neck rotor rotate, only to unpack melodic undertones out of nowhere. And they actually work great.

There are no surprises and no musical revolution. Instead, on “Impii Hora” you get exactly what you could expect given the people involved and the mission statement – non-stop Death Metal. Poulsen uses this playground to realize his old-school visions, to pay tribute to a companion, to get something going with friends. And it works great, because Asinhell take the essence of an entire era and put their own stamp on it – rugged, angular, brutal and yet somehow wholesome. Continuation more than desired.

Rating: 8/10

Available from: September 29, 2023
Available via: Metal Blade (Sony Music)

Website: asinhell.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AsinhellMusic