August 30, 2007 | , | 3.5

Hearse, In These Veins

With Hearse’s fourth studio album, Johan Liiva (ex-Arch Enemy) and crew have created an album full of infectious riffs, melodies, and vocals. Combining old school Entombed flavored riffs with towering, rock fueled solos, and thrash influenced drumming, In These Veins is sure to turn some heads toward the band’s brand of melodic death metal.

Johan Liiva’s vocals range from guttural growls to vocalizer affected choruses, creating a sense of chaos and melody. Maybe I’ve been listening to too much Entombed lately, but he even has a little L-G Petrov death n’ roll tinge to his vocals. Guitarist Mattias Ljung shifts from caustic, thrash riffs to towering solos with ease without breaking the groove the band has throughout this album. Max Thornell wraps up the trio with pummeling fills and blastbeats, as well as some of the more creative and fun drumming I’ve heard in quite some time.

House Of Love
“House Of Love” gets the disc started with some chugging, Entombed influenced riffs. A soulful solo quickly follows suit before devolving into jumbled sound clips and some nice melodic death metal. What a hell of a way to start off an album.

Corroding Armour
It’s going to be tough to top such a solid opening track, but Hearse actually surpass “House Of Love” with little effort. This track has one of the catchiest riff/hook combos that you’ll find on any release this year. Liiva shows his range on this one, even adding in a few vocal effects on the chorus for good measure.

Intoxication
Driving riffs and pounding drums accompany mid range vocals as “Intoxication” starts off quickly. I’m really impressed with Thornell’s creative drumming on this album thus far — it’s not forced or wildly out of control. Another solo shreds at the 1:33 mark.

The Naked Truth
I’m really getting into this album — Hearse certainly makes it difficult to dislike anything about it. A few nicely timed and placed growls give the vocals a layered and complete feel. Again, Thornell’s drumming is amazingly creative with several smooth tempo changes.

Crusade (Gonna Start a Fire)
Liiva let’s loose with a great scream to start off “Crusade.” There’s an excellent groove to this track, complimented by catchy riffing, layered chorus, and soul fraying solos.

Among the Forlorn
Hell yes! I love the guitar and drum opening to this track. “Among the Forlorn” is a pretty raw and rough sounding track — a nice change up from the more polished previous songs. It’s full of creative drumming and infectious hooks. I love the “Come on!” at the 2:36 mark that incites an insanely hellish solo.

Atrocious Recoil
“Atrocious Recoil” starts off with a great hook accompanied by melodic riffs. Softly spoken vocals are heard prior to a huge scream and driving drums. It’s not a bad song, but might be the weakest on the album.

Hearse
Big riffs and controlled drumming open up this instrumental. The lead hook definitely gets your attention. The band shifts deftly between powerful riffs and somewhat acoustic moments. There’s a soulful solo on this one, as well.

In These Veins
The final track on the disc ends strong, bringing the pace back up to speed. Liiva’s vocals are deep and a bit more guttural — complete with additional echoing added in production that creates an interesting layer of sound. There’s some nice black metal pieces thrown into this one for good measure.

~ ~ ~

If In These Veins is any indication of how Hearse have been performing through four albums, then I’m going to be kicking myself for a while for not hearing them sooner. Huge, melodic riffs create a catchy, groove filled melodic death metal album that’s already been played heavily in my rotation. This is certainly one of the better melodic death metal albums of 2007.

Favorite Tracks:
Corroding Armour
The Naked Truth
Crusade (Gonna Start a Fire)
Among the Forlorn

Additional Notes:
N/A