Wojczech, Pulsus Letalis

It’s been a solid five years in the making and honed with relentless touring, but the latest from German grinders Wojczech is finally here. Pulsus Letalis sees the band just as nasty and abusive as ever, but there’s a bit more of a polish to their sound — it’s not quite as crusty and raw as past material.

Through the 12 blistering tracks on just their second full-length in band’s 15 year existence, your unfortunate skull will be bombarded with the excellent drum work of Stephan Gottwald, who has got to be part machine as he hauls off on blinding blasts and crushing d-beat rhythms all the while maintaining a sense of momentum and continuity. The rest of the guys (Kurth on guitars, Colosser on bass and lead growler Posselt) do their best to keep up with him — an effort that is both energetic and impressive.

The bruising album opener “Weltenfresser” starts off the album’s first half with a sound that is a bit more straight forward in terms of the band’s delivery. There’s not much in the way of exploration within the first few tracks, not that there really is a need for any. Plenty of dual vocal verbal assaults fill the air in “Battlestar” and stellar “Zitat” — a track that will pound your head into an unrecognizable pile of shit with tempo shifts galore.

At “Leitkultur” Wojczech starts to shift a bit in their song writing. The fairly faithful cover of Repulsion’s “Maggots In Your Coffin” aside, the second half of the album is a bit more daring. The guys throw all sorts of off-kilter shifts in tempo and a bit more experimental willingness in their guitar work. Songs like “Rausch” and the title track are two prime examples of the band stretching their writing chops a bit and incorporating a bit of groove into the mix.

The production on this disc is full and powerful, giving the band the much need oomph that only helps force feed their grinding madness down your awaiting gullet. Open wide.

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Additional Notes:
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