Review by Felix on January 1, 2023.

When considering the total population, Sweden is probably the most creative country in terms of metal. Suicidal Winds belongs to the grim hordes of this beautiful land. The band unites all types of extreme metal so that you are confronted with a bastard of black thrashing death metal. Because of this combination, the usual ingredients of Swedish death metal do not appear. Neither extremely low tuned guitars nor deep growling characterise the music on this album. The lead vocalist prefers an appropriate mixture of vicious nagging and hoarse screaming. Aggressiveness is the engine of his performance. The same applies to the contribution of his comrades. The guitars sound powerful and brutal while being accompanied by a very present bass. The mix also does not neglect the permanently hammering drums. This ensures that the high speed drumming reveals its full effect. All these factors lead to a dense and fairly dark sound.

Suicidal Winds presents hectic segments, for example during the slightly chaotic opener, as well as rarely surfacing atmospheric sections. Here I refer to the instrumental middle-part of the best track called "Storms of Hell". Wind comes up, a bell is ringing; this is nothing exceptional, but always effective. Nevertheless, the songs barrel along like German tanks during the first two years of World War II. While being not interested in epic tunes, the band celebrates eleven sonic battles. The restless Swedes keep an eye on vigorous guitar lines and wuthering riffs. They do not create an unique mix of extreme metal elements. But this does not matter at all. The music leaves its mark, not least because of the rigorous stubbornness of the musicians who only know one direction. Complicated rhythms or fashionable guitar gimmicks do not show up. A stupid approach? I do not think so. The band just sees no sense in delivering technical knickknack. But this is almost a matter of course in view of the here presented style. It is, however, also correct that the band does not follow the one-riff-per-song formula.

The stereotyped lyrics deal with the usual nonsense and the songs do not differ significantly from each other. If you know one track, you know them all. And if you like one of them, you will like them all. Due to this situation, the record falls under the category "love it or hate it". I choose the first alternative, because the full-length possesses a couple of captivating songs. For example, "Morbid Temptation" shines with its vibrant chorus. The same goes for "Lord of Abyss" which also delivers a stormy ending. The list could be continued. To make a long story short, we must survive ten violent outbursts before the cautious final number heralds the end of an album that should not be ignored.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10