Monday, May 29, 2017

Indemnity - "Bloody Minded Bullet Headed" (Art Gates Records, 2017)

Band: Indemnity
Title: Bloody Minded Bullet Headed
Genre: Thrashcore
Year: 28th April 2017
Time: 21 min
Rating: 72/100













As you some of you knows, sometimes I have fun to do series of reviews focused, for example, on a specific genre. In this way, I can understand the differences between two or more bands, and just this happens today with the Belgian quintet Indemnity, very different from the previous band I reviewed, the Finns Foreseen, despite both plays the same genre, the thrashcore. But I need to write this review also because it is the first time, after some years, that I'll tell you again about an album released by the Spanish label Art Gates Records, once a regular fixture on these pages (please click on the tag relating to this label, if you want to know more). But the strange thing is that, despite Indemnity were born on 2005, they are a band so very little prolific that even they joked about this posting a self-deprecating meme on their FB page! In fact, before their now very fresh "Bloody Minded Bullet Headed", they have realized only two demos and a debut album in 2013 but considered by Metal-Archives as a third demo. But now stop with these bullshits and see what Indemnity have to offers to us this time!


Well, compared with Foreseen, Indemnity plays a thrashcore decisively more oriented to punk/HC. This is widely shown in every way, starting to the predilection by Indemnity for short and impact songs since many of them lasts only one minute (as yet the opening track "Never Hold Back") to the double vocals by Arne Daelman and the bassplayer Ken Koeckelberghs that alternate vitriolic HC screams with a lower and dog-like voice. In addition of this, we are in presence of an album composed of 12 tracks only per 21 minutes, a lenght very short for every metal full-lenght album but enough common in the instinctive world of punk/HC. Then, although Indemnity loves undoubtedly the speed also due to a drummer like Matthias Debaets able to spew forth even some blast-beats (as yet in the second track "Slavery"), they have many slow breakdowns close to the NY HC of bands like Cro-Mags and Youth of Today, especially in the numbers "Drowning at the Gates of Fortress Europe" (where there is the one of the few guitar solos of the album) and "Religion Means War" (that has a long instrumental finale).

As every thrashcore band worthy of this name, also Indemnity show a good imagination in order to vary their formula. So, the band is able to range from the HC razor-cut of 50 seconds named "Controlled" to the speedcore anthem with a Motörhead vibe "Eye of the Storm" (complete of a rocking riffing and gang choruses), or from "What You Think" (considered by me like THE better track of the album) to the ultra-blasting thrashcore onslaught à la Cryptic Slaughter/Wehrmacht known as "Onward to Destruction", totally perfect to close this album due to its 46 seconds of total fury where is protagonist also a third voice so to create a vocal intensity of rare proportions thanks to the guest Stijn, singer of the Belgian hardcore punk band Reproach...and, in fact, "Onward to Destruction" IS a Reproach cover! But the same "What You Think" deserves a better deepening because, throughout its 2 minutes and 50 seconds, it present a more metallic and developed approach strong of fantastic duets between bass and drums, very angry passages with a riffing even close to death metal and a nice guitar solo longer than the usual.

But WHAT DO YOU THINK? Well, I think that "Bloody Minded Bullet Headed" is a good album that keeps high the now 30-year tradition of thrashcore, especially in very intense songs like "What You Think" and "Onward to Destruction". Then, I prefer Indemnity when they go fast while they are a bit underwhelming in the slower songs like "Religion Means War". But I think that "Bloody Minded Bullet Headed" needed a longer lenght also because, incredibly to say, the previous album by Indemnity had the same identical lenght of this new effort, yet I am sure that Indemnity are very ready to release an album more consistent and longer. Now, my readers...WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Tracklist:

1 - Never Hold Back
2 - Slavery
3 - You Fucking Disgust Me
4 - Drowning at the Gates of Fortress Europe
5 - Religion Means War
6 - Controlled
7 - Eye of the Storm
8 - Violence Has Never Done Me Wrong
9 - Rotting Away
10 - Left for Dead
11 - What You Think
12 - Onward to Destruction (Reproach cover)

Line-up:

Arne Daelman - vocals
Stijn Vanchaze (guest) - vocals ("Onward to Destruction")
Ken Koeckelberghs - vocals/bass
Tomas Herremans - rhythm guitar/vocals
Matthias De Boitselier - lead guitar/vocals
Matthias Debaets - drums

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Indemnityband
Art Gates Records: http://www.artgatesrecords.com/

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