November 7, 2007 | , | 3.5

Havoc Unit, h.IV+

With h.IV+, Havoc Unit have concocted a brutal and corrosive blend of Max Cavalera’s Nailbomb project and the caustic punk/noise band Buzzov-en. The overall sound on this album varies from track to track, but maintains a consistency that spans the entire album, telling personal tales and psychotic rants through a variety of methods.

Spawned from the remains of the industrial black metal pioneers …And Oceans, Havoc Unit continues where the previous incarnation left off, but takes it that much deeper into the industrial sludge that they experimented with in the past. Mixing tortured vocals with cleanly sung, catchy choruses from track to track, as well as heavy electronic influences, the band has created one hell of a listening experience.

Track 1
Industrial sludge and noise, along with some Arabic sound clips gets this one going. As the sound clip fades industrial drumming and static filled riffs accompany a near indecipherable vocal delivery. It just sounds raw and evil as hell. In between crucial blasts from the band, sound clips and synth work invade the listener’s ears.

I.esus
A distorted psycho circus tune similar to White Zombie’s is quickly engulfed by abrasive noise and riffs. The vocals are shrouded in industrial sludge as drums destroy in the background. There are times on this disc that the drumming has to be produced by a machine as they are just impossibly fast, as heard on portions of this track.

When Snuff Is No Longer Enough
After the overbearing, industrial noise of the previous two tracks, it’s nice to finally break out of it into a track that could have easily been found on the first Nailbomb album. The vocals are dark and calculating. The last minute and half of the track is an anti-Christianity rant from a movie perhaps.

Gen.eration Gen.ocide
“Gen.eration Gen.ocide” starts off strong with heavy drumming and noise fueled riffing. There’s some nicely layered percussion affects throughout this one to accompany the core drumming.

Viremia
This one starts off a bit slower with longer, darker riffing and a slew of static noise giving of the stench of chaos. The vocals are evil as hell and slowly presented to the listener. The group break up the monotonous industrial dirge with moments of synth beats and sound clips. This is probably the darkest, most disturbing track on the album.

Kyrie Eleison
An interesting beat accompanies slow riffing under a static haze as “Kyrie Eleison” gets going. Chaos dominates this droning track, as momentum builds through its 4:25. After the brief sound clip scream at the 2:40 mark the band erupts a bit into a chugging nightmare of evil riffing and pounding drums.

Nihil
The interlude track “Nihil” starts off slowly with a good bit of clean atmospheric noise that builds through synth affected sound clips to the end as it shifts to “Man vs Flesh.”

Man vs. Flesh
Fear Factory like riffs and drumming get this one going. This is probably the catchiest, head-bangingest track on the album. The strictly timed blasts join heavy riffs and vocals with a great cadence. This is probably my favorite song on the album.

Ignoratio Elenchi
“Ignoratio Elenchi” is an interesting track. After eight songs essentially of industrial metal it comes out of no where with cleanly sung vocals and relatively noise-free riffing. It initially feels out of place, but is actually a great song to play as loud as your ears can handle.

Kill All Nations
After that last song the band dips back into the Nailbomb bag for this industrial masterpiece. Synth beats get it going as big riffs jump in and out of the track. Hell, the group even throws in some heavy bass for those of you with cranking systems before keyboards and the vocals kick in. There’s a great part of this song that’s just the gruff vocals over this poppy, techno like beat.

Kristallnacht
A bit of piano starts off “Kristallnacht” in complete contrast to the events from which this song takes its name. Industrial noise begins to leak into the song at the one minute mark as the piano continues. The brief insturmental track ends after just 1:36.

Klan Korps
The noise that was building toward the end of “Kristallnacht” explodes on this next track with pummeling drums and an evil vocal delivery. There are a couple of different vocalists on this track which gives it another layer to go with the industrial din that runs through a majority of the album.

Rape Scene Act I
The last song on this trip through dark, post apocalyptic warehouses starts off with some memorable riffing and more noise. As with the vocals toward the end of “Klan Korps” the vocals are altered with synth effects and production trickery. This is a dark story that’s quite personal and frightening.

~ ~ ~

I don’t know what else to tell you about this album. It’s an industrially warped mind fuck of a listening experience full of caustic riffing, tortured vocals and enough industrial sludge that makes Chernobyl look like a sunny walk in the park. If that’s your thing or you’re looking for something a bit different from your every day ho-hum metal, I highly recommend this first album from the reincarnated …And Oceans crew.

Favorite Tracks:
I.esus
When Snuff Is No Longer Enough
Gen.eration Gen.ocide
Kyrie Eleison
Man vs. Flesh
Ignoratio Elenchi
Kill All Nations

Additional Notes:
n/a