Axis Powers, Marching Towards Destruction
Old. School. Swedish. Death. Metal. Those five words alone should be enough to make you want to pick up the latest from Axis Powers. Featuring nearly all of Suicidal Winds, this group throws down some seriously retro death metal in the vein of early Entombed, Bloodbath and more.
Thick guitar tones with plenty of texture dominate as even thicker bass and drum work lay the foundation for the war themed destruction on Marching Towards Destruction. Some of the riffing on this album will throw you head first back into the early days of Entombed as they began developing their signature sound.
While Axis Powers take on characteristics of past entities, their sound has its own idiosyncrasies, never rehashing what’s been done before. When all is said and done, the band may not have produced anything revolutionary here, but what they have accomplished rivals most of the stuff we’re holding them to as a standard. This album is just hellish fun to listen to.
Marching Towards Destruction (from San Francisco to Stockholm)
The instrumental opening track does more than set the mood for the album. The guitar work after the dive bombing sound clip reeks of Entombed while a thick bass line throws a curve ball that is wholly the band’s own. Evil and awesome this opening is more than apt at getting you ready to tear some spinal tendons with some serious head banging.
War Of Attrition
“War of Attrition” launches into full death metal mode with a big scream and thick bass work. The guitars are appropriately buzzed as the thundering drums lay waste to all in the bands path. The vocals are quick, deep and guttural — fitting the song perfectly. There is so much fuzz to the overall tone of the guitars that you’re often left wondering if you’ve blown a speaker. I’m loving it!
Brutal War
“Brutal War” opens with some seriously slick and memorable guitar work as the band builds up a devastating pace. The bass work really shines through on this song, as well. This song is unrelenting and bludgeoning to a fault, complete with a punk vibe to the guitars around the 2:45 mark. The off-kilter time shifts toward the latter half of the song also add to it’s overall appeal.
Outbreak Of The Blitz
Massive riffing and thick bass get “Outbreak of the Blitz” on a roll as the drumming comes in along with some seriously evil vocals. Man, I totally forgot what I was going to write for this song. I was too damned busy slamming around the home office with this thing on full blast. It’s easily one of my favorite songs on the album. Thick tones, great groove, and old school feel — what more could you want.
Mankind Dead And Raped
Another set of great riffs and nicely timed drum work open up this next song before a big scream and furious guitar work gets going full throttle. The aggression and tone throughout this track compliment each other perfectly. This is another great homage to the old school stuff these guys grew up on.
Slowly To Decay
The opening few bass lines before the riffing comes in is simple yet infectious. The vocals throughout this song continue with the deep guttural delivery but seem to have some more urgency to them this time around. Perhaps it’s the thick bass laying down the groove or the unrelenting drums, but the vocal delivery is killer in “Slowly to Decay.”
Another Onslaught
“Another Onslaught” explodes out of the gate like a thoroughbred all jacked up on steroids. Thundering drums pummel relentlessly as the deep vocals roar the band’s message of destruction and mayhem. The guitars at 1:40 are freakin’ awesome, filled with more groove than you could wish for, but enjoy it while it lasts. After that catchy bit of guitar work, the band descends into a furious pit of madness with pile driving rhythms and driving guitars.
Forward March
After the brief quiet that ends out the previous track, Axis Powers once again rupture the sound barrier with immediate vocals and bruising rhythms (the bass in particular rocks). This is yet another cut of raw, no frills old school death metal that’ll have you salivating like Pavlov’s dog at the ring of a bell. There are some sweet tempo shifts throughout, as well.
Artillery Pointing West
The final track, “Artillery Pointing West” fades in slowly with the same cadence and guitar tones that ended out the previous song then abruptly shift into a slick lead before joining ranks with the marching hordes of hell. There is some of the album’s best guitar work within this song, particularly before the 4 minute mark.
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Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A