Death metal has become a much smarter subgenre, not necessarily having to give way to knuckle-dragging antics or approaches that make you feel like you didn’t really need your brain while listening. Honestly, even the most ham-fisted of death metal still takes at least a modicum of talent and ability, so let’s not totally count it out. But sometimes the most ridiculous approaches are the most satisfying.
That leads us into Aussie death metal stranglers Werewolves, a band that never really spent a lot of time trying to get high marks from tastemakers and instead have gone full-bore into chaos and insanity. Their new record “My Enemies Look and Sound Like Me” continues to avoid being scholarly and instead goes sharpened-teeth-first for your throat, unleashing complete insanity and a level of terroristic fun that completely takes over your brain. The band—vocalist/bassist Sam Bean, guitarist Matt Wilcock, drummer David Haley—pours all their adrenaline, emotions, fire, and slathering venom into this fourth record in four years, and it’s not here to make you smarter. It’s here to make sure you have a good time, as it sounds like they did making it, and never fails on that end. It’s a fucking animal.
“Under The Ground” explodes with black metal fury, a snarling animal out of the gate, warping and sending fire screaming. Molten hell is launched as the attack gets more and more insane, leaving blood and bone behind. The title track is a berserker, bringing swampy guitars, contorting terror, and absolute ferocity that’s impossible to shake. Massive thrashing mounts a huge comeback, splattering as echoed howls singe nerve endings. “Bring to Me the Kill” stomps and encircles like a beast cornering its victim, savage and animalistic shouts increasing the anxiety even further. Black metal-style melodies fire as a break-neck pace is achieved, gurgly growls sounding like Beam is foaming at the mouth. “Brace for Impact” goes for the jugular, the guitars hitting the gas pedal and leaving it locked into place. Fast and violent, there are some mucky bodies of water encountered, and the guitars manage to hit a strange and complicated angle that fries your brain in your skull.
“Destroyer of Worlds” is steamy at first, and then the guitars add some chill, but not enough to avoid burning. The playing is mean and monstrous, the power fully hitting an apex as Bean wails, “I cannot make it clearer, I am not a hero,” as the track slams shut. “Neanderhell” slaughters as the growls are spat like poison, the savagery almost becoming too much to take. Deep growls curdle in your belly, and blind mangling increases your blood pressure before everything ends abruptly. “I Hate Therefore I Am” clobbers, stomps, grounds, and pounds, tricking you with violent thrashing that shakes your insides. Things gets uglier as the track goes on, the band seeking nothing but torment and pain to bring unconsciousness. “I Knew Nothing Then and I Know Less Now” erupts with growls strangling and an unforgiving pace that forces air from your lungs. Things turn uncharacteristically moody for a turn, disorienting and numbing before the punishment valve turns back on, knifing to a psychologically bloody end. “Do Not Hold Me Back” mercilessly ends things but not before the violence escalates yet again, scathing growls and electric horrors flowing freely. Racing and rampaging, the playing chugs with sinister fury, mashing bone and leaving only bile and piss behind.
“My Enemies Look and Sound Like Me” is a runaway car crash into a nuclear reactor into a shark into a volcano, and that’s probably putting it lightly. Werewolves say themselves they’re not here to deliver some cerebral vision and instead just want to piledrive you face-first into glass. This is a record that delivers just that, and when it’s over, you’ll need an extended mental break before taking another trip.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/werewolvesinhell
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/
Meat Mead Metal 