Review by JD on January 16, 2012.

Post Metal/Rock is one Sub-Genre in the metal tree that I disagree should be incuded wholeheartedly. All it is a style of metal that has a little gothic and alternative music that is mixed in with a melodic metal bedrock- the result is music that is on the surface very bold, yet seems go nowhere in the long run.

Australian Post Instrumental/Instrumental band Heirs seem to be at the forefront of this oddball offshoot of metal, and not only is it in their native country. Heirs seem to be showing a knack for writing some strong melodies and dark feelings that are very impressive. With all of this talent, something within the framework of the music seems to quickly falter, then starts to stall and in the end dies as the music goes nowhere fast.

Three songs grace the disk and all three tracks end up suffering the same fate. Starting off strong with great melodies weaving through, each song never defines the direction it wants to go to. Frustrating as it is, this group of very talented musicians seem to be oblivious to any of this... and puts out a product with great potential that is never realized or let to develop.

It pains me that a band like this would not see what is befalling their own music. If I was the band, I would retool everything and forget this sad and very disappointing release in its entirety. Metal is suppose to move the soul and raise the horns. This just confuse, bores and makes us all realize mistakes can happen at any moment.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 3.5
Production: 5
Originality:4
Overall: 3

Rating: 4.9 out of 10

Review by JD on January 16, 2012.

Post Metal/Rock is one Sub-Genre in the metal tree that I disagree should be incuded wholeheartedly. All it is a style of metal that has a little gothic and alternative music that is mixed in with a melodic metal bedrock- the result is music that is on the surface very bold, yet seems go nowhere in the long run.

Australian Post Instrumental/Instrumental band Heirs seem to be at the forefront of this oddball offshoot of metal, and not only is it in their native country. Heirs seem to be showing a knack for writing some strong melodies and dark feelings that are very impressive. With all of this talent, something within the framework of the music seems to quickly falter, then starts to stall and in the end dies as the music goes nowhere fast.

Three songs grace the disk and all three tracks end up suffering the same fate. Starting off strong with great melodies weaving through, each song never defines the direction it wants to go to. Frustrating as it is, this group of very talented musicians seem to be oblivious to any of this... and puts out a product with great potential that is never realized or let to develop.

It pains me that a band like this would not see what is befalling their own music. If I was the band, I would retool everything and forget this sad and very disappointing release in its entirety. Metal is suppose to move the soul and raise the horns. This just confuse, bores and makes us all realize mistakes can happen at any moment.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 3.5
Production: 5
Originality:4
Overall: 3

Rating: 4.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 2, 2019.

To be quite clear from the outset: Violentor are immune against melodies, technical subtlety and any form of progress. Imagine the archaeopteryx (this crude bastard between a dinosaur and a bird) of punk-infused metal and you know how Violentor sound. The minimalistic approach is totally focused on the essentials. Okay, the intro thought it would be a part of a horror movie soundtrack, but now the atmospheric piano tones ended up in the gutter. The rest consists only of hoarse vocals, swift guitars, stoic drumming and simple patterns. Tempo changes or breaks are useless bullshit for academic eggheads, Violentor still "like to thank NO ONE" and this attitude is exactly embodied by the music. Is this kind of metal predictable? Yes. But it also releases a great amount of energy and that's a good reason to enjoy it.

Do Italians suffer from a collective inferiority complex? Bulldozer called themselves "f**king Italians", Violentor sing about "Italian Bastards". Furthermore, one song on Maniacs is called "The Great Deceiver", but to my surprise, this is no cover version of the eponymous song from the debut of Bulldozer. Both formations rely on the classic three-piece line-up and their music spreads similar "f**k off" vibes, but there are no further similarities. Violentor just put the pedal to the metal and that's it. Ultimately, this means that everything stands or falls with the quality of the riffs. Fortunately, they work. Does Dan Lilker know this album? Guess he would love it, because the guitar work is not too far away from the early Nuclear Assault vinyls which offered some crossover elements as well. The metallic songs of The Exploited may also serve as a point of reference. Violentor feel comfortable between these legendary formations and their integrity is beyond doubt. I don't think one can offer songs of this quality without being a fan of this style, because it can't be great fun to play this rather primitive, limited and sometimes pretty repetitive music if you do not like to perform exactly this form of metal.

Those of you who like it easy and direct will bang your head, because most tracks hail primitiveness in a competent manner. Although the first regular song suffers from an ill-defined, ineffective riff, the album as a whole does not lack strength. Already the directly following pieces hit the mark. Despite their comparatively long playtime and their lean compositional formulas, both "The Power of Lust" and "The Great Deceiver" do not bore the listener. The fury and the drive of these songs blow the listener away. This can also be said about the further pieces. Especially "The Sign of the Cut" fascinates in view of its restlessness and, surprise, catchiness. Efficient song-writing meets a bone-dry and humorless mix - I have not much to gripe. Of course, Violentor will never be everybody's darling and they don't care. But the trio has a clear idea of its sound and it is able to execute this idea. So, who the hell needs technical tricks, egocentric solos or epic scenarios? Everything is fine as long as this Italian fossil does not change its style.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 2, 2019.

To be quite clear from the outset: Violentor are immune against melodies, technical subtlety and any form of progress. Imagine the archaeopteryx (this crude bastard between a dinosaur and a bird) of punk-infused metal and you know how Violentor sound. The minimalistic approach is totally focused on the essentials. Okay, the intro thought it would be a part of a horror movie soundtrack, but now the atmospheric piano tones ended up in the gutter. The rest consists only of hoarse vocals, swift guitars, stoic drumming and simple patterns. Tempo changes or breaks are useless bullshit for academic eggheads, Violentor still "like to thank NO ONE" and this attitude is exactly embodied by the music. Is this kind of metal predictable? Yes. But it also releases a great amount of energy and that's a good reason to enjoy it.

Do Italians suffer from a collective inferiority complex? Bulldozer called themselves "f**king Italians", Violentor sing about "Italian Bastards". Furthermore, one song on Maniacs is called "The Great Deceiver", but to my surprise, this is no cover version of the eponymous song from the debut of Bulldozer. Both formations rely on the classic three-piece line-up and their music spreads similar "f**k off" vibes, but there are no further similarities. Violentor just put the pedal to the metal and that's it. Ultimately, this means that everything stands or falls with the quality of the riffs. Fortunately, they work. Does Dan Lilker know this album? Guess he would love it, because the guitar work is not too far away from the early Nuclear Assault vinyls which offered some crossover elements as well. The metallic songs of The Exploited may also serve as a point of reference. Violentor feel comfortable between these legendary formations and their integrity is beyond doubt. I don't think one can offer songs of this quality without being a fan of this style, because it can't be great fun to play this rather primitive, limited and sometimes pretty repetitive music if you do not like to perform exactly this form of metal.

Those of you who like it easy and direct will bang your head, because most tracks hail primitiveness in a competent manner. Although the first regular song suffers from an ill-defined, ineffective riff, the album as a whole does not lack strength. Already the directly following pieces hit the mark. Despite their comparatively long playtime and their lean compositional formulas, both "The Power of Lust" and "The Great Deceiver" do not bore the listener. The fury and the drive of these songs blow the listener away. This can also be said about the further pieces. Especially "The Sign of the Cut" fascinates in view of its restlessness and, surprise, catchiness. Efficient song-writing meets a bone-dry and humorless mix - I have not much to gripe. Of course, Violentor will never be everybody's darling and they don't care. But the trio has a clear idea of its sound and it is able to execute this idea. So, who the hell needs technical tricks, egocentric solos or epic scenarios? Everything is fine as long as this Italian fossil does not change its style.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Greg on April 13, 2023.

Heralded by yet another of Paolo Girardi's unmistakably bleak artworks, Inferno XXXIII is the latest LP by Italian ensemble Ulvedharr. Diving into it with no prior knowledge of the band, the listener is greeted by ~35 minutes of bombastic, hateful deathrash à la Legion Of The Damned and similar acts, before a tranquil, smooth outro rounds the whole thing off. Sounds like a pretty intense experience, doesn't it?

Well, it is, indeed. With a formula based on frontal aggression more than anything, Ulvedharr sure come across as angry enough to be convincing. Nothing for the ages, but songs like 'A Full Reload Of Fear', 'Revenge Loop' and my personal favourite 'Their Game' are distillates of pure, vitriolic rage, emphasized by the explosive production. Axemen Jack Draven and Magnus Frost offer a more than solid performance in the riffing department, and the frequent tempo changes no doubt escape the impression of a band playing it safe. Inferno XXXIII sure shows a trick or two to remain enjoyable enough despite not nearly reinventing the wheel, as a multifaceted track such as 'Wasteland', or the somewhat hard 'n' heavy leanings of 'Master Liar' and 'Eternal Attack', clearly underline. That's something I'd like to say for Ark's vocals as well, but unfortunately it's the total opposite. His coarse, hardcore-tinged yelling is a constant that permeates the album and knows no deviation nor (apparently) any necessity to catch breath, virtually never shutting up, except when the criminally scarce guitar solos show up. Advance single 'Dagon' suffers a bit from it, but I don't think directionless tracks like 'The Edge' and 'A New God' could have fared better with another man at the mic.

At its core, what Inferno XXXIII offers is simply hard to dislike, but at the same time it's a style that requires remarkable chops to be nailed successfully and to stand out from the pack. Ulvedharr are somewhat caught in the middle in this regard, bringing you a generous dose of riffs and testosterone that will suffice for a while, but lacking a bit in the memorability/lasting impression department, especially for a rather seasoned band which is now at their 5th major effort. In any case, if this is their physical limit, there's a lot worse around, and it's surely worth some spins from time to time.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10