My second Soundcloud death metal promo in the matter of a week? Seems time is moving backward as I slowly devolve into a knuckle-dragging proto-man with outmoded tech. Turn of the Tide, the debut by French act Infern isn’t the worst soundtrack for a Neanderthal revival as it’s heavily inspired by none other than the mighty Bolt Thrower. Bands taking inspiration from the original War Masters are plentiful, but when that core sound is repurposed, good things can happen no matter how many times you’ve heard the formula before. Can Infern keep things on the safe side of the DMZ and avoid the landmines of rote imitation and generic cloning? The way through is forward, so let’s take a step into the bloody mud and hope we don’t hear a little clicking sound.
Opener “Undertow” is guaranteed to light up the battlefield for most death fanciers. It’s a rallying point for all the beloved tropes of the aforementioned iconic U.K. band and Infern know their stuff. The riffs channel the same grinding, unstoppable Panzer division momentum, the heaviness is oppressive and the use of force is excessive. This could have appeared on Those Once Loyal and nothing would seem amiss. It’s imitation sure, but a very good one. Tracks like “Gaining Ground” keep the assault moving ever forward, blasting and crushing all resistance with massive riffs and deadly violence. “State Puppet Theater” also rides the tank coat-tails and delivers many an armor-piercing riff even as they spice things up with interesting melodic guitar flourishes at points. “Gaining Ground” follows suit with simple but effective latch-tossing leads and driving, propulsive energy. None of this material approaches new or original, but it’s done well enough to make an impression.
Lest Infern stamp themselves as a mere clone of their main muse, efforts are made to add a bit of their unique identity to the proceedings. “Phineas Case” isn’t too far afield from their chief influence but the guitar work is different enough to push it beyond mere homage. “Archetype of Brutal Aggressor” offers massive mid-paced crush grooves and also features blackened elements, segments that reek of Deicide’s stench of redemption as well as Slayer’s time-share in the abyss. Closer “Buried Alive” weaves melancholic, doomy harmonies into the fog of war, making for a moody denouement to the carnage. A few songs fall a bit short of the best moments, with “To the Extreme” being the least effective, but overall the material runs from good to better than good. At a concise 39-plus minute and with most songs in the 3-4 minute frame, things move along like a souped-up half-track and there are no issues with bloat.
Jean-Marie Grövel and Pierre-Loup Corvez follow the Bolt Thrower field manual often enough to show where their loyalty lies, but deviate enough to keep things from getting too predictable, imparting outside influences to shake up the recipe. They’re adept at crafting concrete-dusting grooves and remorselessly wargrinding power chugs and the occasional melodic solo is a welcome shift, as are the subtle blackened and thrash elements. These suggest there might be more depth to Infern than what this batch of tunes demonstrates. Julien Edwood’s vocals are very much of the Karl Willetts school of death roars, not the most extreme gurgler out there but he gets the point across effectively and then some.
Turn of the Tide is a solid if not exceptional debut by a band that clearly has a crush on a death metal legend. Since there are plenty of bands out there doing the “we have Bolt Thrower at home” thing, they’ll need to move further away from limitation to get ahead in the scene. That said, I’m the exact demographic for what they love doing and eat this shit up like frosted ape cake. You likely will too if you have refined tastes like yours Steely. Well worth a spin for your fallen homies.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: FUCKING Soundcloud
Label: Dolorem Records
Websites: infern.bandcamp.com/album | facebook.com/inferndeathmetal | instagram.com/infern_deathmetal
Releases Worldwide: October 4th, 202
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