For a start, Berzerker Legion’s music has a very fresh, modern, and distinctive sound and elements taken from the Swedish Gothenburg style of death metal, the sophomore effort employs tons of galloping melodeath riffs. Stately melodic, the majority of the tracks have plenty of blazing riffs, which is the driving force showing how the dynamic percussion gears towards aggression in the opening track “Chaos Will Reign”. Taking inspiration from Swedish melodic death metal bands like Hypocrisy, and Amon Amarth, the pacing of the songs is laden with catchy guitar rhythm. Each of these segments from the pounding chugging guitars, and the monster cookie death metal vocals takes you on a rollercoaster ride.
The opening of “Choirs of Anguish” blends brutal riffing, catchy growls, and superb drumming fills which fits with the galloping style of the band. The rhythm guitars are infectious and almost have an epic song structure that showcases the talent of the quintet. The overall mood of the songs is very crushing and veers towards brutal drumming stomps, the music flows through galloping rhythms and catchy choruses that make each moment memorable and brimming with hail of blazing melodies.
Berzerker Legion strides in brutal tempos, and this probably gives the sophomore a diverse mix of ferocity and melodic hooks. Though the riffing seamlessly brings out the most aggression in tracks like “Nihilism Over Empathy” the track also contains some blast beats. The dual guitars inject a variety of chugging rhythms and the full oomph of superb drumming blasts thundering through the swirling melodies, and there seems to be a great amount of technicality and crunchy riffs in tracks like “Towards Oblivion”. The melodic inclination of the band is fortified by an impressive performance, with the catchy rhythms blazing along the brutal drumming patterns.
The whole atmosphere of the album is studded with glorious mid-tempo paces on songs like “This Is The End” and the melodic riffing that is very reminiscent of Hypocrisy‘s album “The Final Chapter”. In its breadth of glorious and epic chunky riffs and fiery aggression that affirms those elements in one grandiose package of Swedish melodeath, Berzerker Legion validates its own signature sound. With the feral growling and hooky guitar melodies summing up the swagger of Tomas Elofsson and Alwin Zuur they bring together plenty of catchy moments, and electrifying energy to the ferocious epic quality.
The guitar chugging in the track “Damnation” brings forth an unrelenting onslaught, however, Berzerker Legion shows what tricks they have up their sleeve. Especially in the drumming capabilities that demolish the skulls with the grinding double bass and the focused delivery that is absolutely intense.
The slow atmospheric intro of the track “Eternal Void” veers into scathing blast beats and the faster tempo here hints at Swedish melodic black metal, with the tremolos fully emphasized and imbuing grandiose quality. “Chaos Will Reign” is well-written and feels more focused on diversity, the versatility from one track to another features a wide range of different styles where the band combines a plethora of incredible catchy melodies.
“Worship All That Is Dead” and “Shepherds of War” follow the same formula that gallops into a heavy and crushing mid-section, and the kind of thundering riffs that are bolstered by demonic snarls and explosions of percussive bombardments that are simply powerful. While the later track features some snarls, the whole focus is directed at the thundering performance of James Stewart, visceral intensity adding depth to the rhythm guitars and hooking you to the sheer aggression.
The epic intro of “From The Darkness Inside” offers a great vocal delivery of Jonny Pettersson, as the scorching melodies resonate throughout the heavy percussion and the varying tempos that inject chugging riffs. The final track “War Chant” fuses vicious riffs and the choral sections are the highlight, the track concentrates upon the atmospheric riffing and the furious charge of the mid-tempo. The intense and melodic standards of the band outshine their musical intelligence by the sheer magnitude of the intensity.
REVIEW SCORE
8.2 | The sophomore from the International outfit Berzerker Legion comes with a real swagger that has made a great effort in wielding an epic and bombastic style of melodeath metal. |
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