Beissert-Darkness: Devil: Death

Agonia Records
2013

There's a real primeval vibe you get when listening to Germany's Beissert. By that I mean both the band and the man for which it is named. Formed in 2005, and fronted by Beissert (ie Richard Beissert ex-Gorilla Monsoon,  ex-Trojan), the band has released three albums so far in their young career. "Darkness: Devil: Death" might sound like some sort of sinister black metal album, but this band is more groovy them grisly.  At times they reminded me of a dirtier Valiant Thorr while other times it's the sound of long-lost garage grunge I hear. Making raw, punk/metal sludge sound groovy isn't as easy as it sounds so I do give these guys credit for that. It's not all happy-go-lucky though as a track like "My Path Shall Be Your Wrath" sounds like a head-on car crash between S.O.D. and High On Fire. If you can get past the "Man, I know I heard that melody before" or "Where have I heard singing like that?" moments then Beissert might be the right kind of head trip you need. If there's one flaw to be found (other then knowing that I heard a song like "Perm Trias" before (or at least the style of singing throughout it) and just can't pin-point it!) it's the fact that the album is a tad generic. That might sounds strange when you consider the fact that these guys toss anything/everything into the fire (thrash, doom, metalcore, nu metal, etc.), but the album tends to blur together after repeating listens. So, yeah it is cool garage/punk/thrash/doom/groove/sludge, but it misses the mark when it comes to long-lasting impression.