Fisthammer-Devour all you see

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
2012

So I am am rolling the band name and the album title around before playing this one.  I liked both, but read something in the description calling them melodic death metal. At first I began to frown because that isn't always one of my favorite styles. The reason for that is too often acts get caught up in the technical or melodic end and forget about the death metal part. Fortunately Fisthammer have an approach that appeals to me. They put the death metal elements into the forefront and work in technical parts into the twisting rhythms that are already assaulting yours senses. The brutality is present in their music and they don't cut on that aspect at all. At their heaviest they sound a bit like Amon Amarth. They also have enough control and the skill to slow things down without losing momentum or more importantly without losing the listener's attention. I'll address a few of the standout tracks on this albums. "Zombocalypse" spends the bulk of the time as a massive monster that tramples all in it's path yet the tempo changes and swirling riffs below the surface add to the overall texture of the song. "Bullet raped" rides in on a crushing riff and gradually builds into a multilevel attack with the transition all the while sounding very natural. "Kull the conqueror" feels like an epic song put into a four and a half (almost) minute time frame. By that I mean it has enough changes and build-up in the story that give it an epic feel yet they do it in a shorter frame. The result is a killer track that gets the intensity across right away. There are other bands like this, but Fisthammer have a plan and know how to carry it out.