Iron Harvest – Iron Harvest

This Dutch band may be new but all the personnel are in other bands as either permanent or live members of acts such as Verval, Weltschmerz, Grafjammer and Nevel to name just a few. My initial research into this band came up with that this is a death metal band but listening to this album it simply isn’t just a death metal album it has tenets of other genres going on which might raise a few eyebrows with readers and may even vex the band when they read my review which isn’t my intention as I listen to a massive range of music in life and not just metal like a lot of you out there.

What strikes you first when 'Enter The Void' starts the album is how ferocious the album is, it is unequivocally violent, chaotic and murderous it is dispassionately deranged at times especially as the opener switches guises from the death metal riffing of its opening rolling blast sequences into something more akin to post hardcore pandemonium. There is no gap between the songs either as 'May The Earth Open Up And Consume My Body' blasts into life with no warning and has borderline math grind quality such is the blurring velocity with the vocals dementedly spat out. The dissonant guitar hook slashes at the listener whilst the song savages remorselessly until relenting for a slower passage again hinting at that post hardcore guise again especially with the spoken vocals which are incredibly tormented.

'The Perfect Storm' is utterly mental, the drum work is crazily intense as the track pushes into grind territory again and the vocals are as barbaric as you can possibly get. There is kaleidoscopic song writing at work here as the track shifts effortlessly into death metal and morphs from one genre to another as the track brandishes a brilliant bass flurry yet retaining that maniacal structure at all times. What do you think a song called 'Make A Change… Fuck Yourself' is going to be like'? Yes you’d be right it is hyper fast with a blistering riff to start, the blast beat is insane but even here the transient speed changes are subtle as spoken vocals are used to great effect.

I especially liked 'Rave Like It’s The Third World' which has the most death metal like start on the album beginning with a much slower riff and formidable double bass roll that you can feel escalating sequentially to something, but you just don’t know what. The turbulent nature of the song, and the album as a whole, is what makes the track so engaging, the unpredictability as the abrupt blast beat is annihilating and obliterating. Even here the ever-evolving track decreases the tempo into an eerie bass hook as the song ends with a spoken word piece and contrasts massively with the thrash riff that adorns 'Rape The World'.

This is a caustic album, packed with fluxing genres, insanely fast yet intensely melodic the album is apocalyptic sonic devastation.

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  1. Enter The Void
  2. May The Earth Open Up And Consume My Body
  3. The Holy Mountain
  4. The Perfect Storm
  5. Make A Change... Fuck Yourself
  6. The Beast I Worship
  7. Rave Like It´s The Third World
  8. Rape The World
  9. A Hound-And-Horny Look Of Evil


Self released
Reviewer: twansibon
Jun 17, 2018

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