Asomvel - Knuckle Duster

Asomvel are the epitome of genuine heavy metal attitude, even the sad loss of one of their founding members and frontman Jay Jay Winter to a car accident in 2010 could not hold them back. If 2009’s ‘Kamikaze’ was an indication of their power, then ‘Knuckle Duster’ takes that energy and channels it forward with a big metal middle finger in the face of adversity. The energy from the opener ‘Dead Set On Livin’, especially the tempo and the drumming, really sets the tone for this release. ‘Cash Whore’ features lyrics that were partly penned by their fallen frontman and continues the journey through the darkest corners of the world, hiding in the shadows and releasing a tirade of aggression through the amplifier stacks. A lot of the songs were written “off the cuff” in quick succession, the material does not suffer in the slightest, in fact it sounds more natural, there are no overdubs or any studio tricks employed on ‘Knuckle Duster’, it does what it says on the tin, bam!

The whole release exhumes energy and a gritty determination that will batter your eardrums, although one track ‘Waster’ is a bit slower, the remainder of the album has bluesy rock n roll that very much reminds you of anything Motorhead has done with a slight filthy offspring of some Venom, mainly for the attitude rather than direct musical comparison. ‘Trash Talker’, ‘Hangman’s Rope’…whichever track you pick you will gain a real sense of enjoyment. It’s very simple music, but wholly effective like being kicked into the dirt when you are already down, this has serious attitude, you won’t keep this band down. Asomvel have a no frills and no nonsense approach and it certainly transpires into a cool honest listening experience.

This is filthy primal savagery for pure hell raisers only; all pretenders will have their balls blown off when listening to this album. This is great high octane gritty metal rock n roll, turn it up to eleven, open a can of special brew, light a smoke and enjoy.


  1. Dead Set On Livin’
  2. Cash Whore
  3. Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing
  4. Trash Talker
  5. Waster
  6. Shoot Ya Down
  7. Wrecking Ball
  8. Knuckle Duster
  9. Final Hour
  10. Strangehold
  11. Hangman’s Rope


Reviewer: twansibon
Sep 21, 2013

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