In Battle

The fact that Otto Wiklund (R.I.P.) played the drums on this album should be enough to know what to expect: fast, relentless, aggressive Black Metal - blast beats after blast beats after blast beats, some few mid-tempo parts with machine-gun doublebass and then more blast-beats again… unfortunately, the sound of the snare-drum is so in the background that it is hardly audible at times, and this mars a lot of the ‘fun’ for speed-freaks. The guitars rip through countless raging but rather unmemorable riffs, the bass got lost somewhere in the mix (of course…), and the vocals are standard at best. Some tracks remind me of ‘Battles in the North’-era Immortal, especially ‘Enchant me’ and ‘Helhorde‘. But, of course, In battle never even come close to Immortals quality-standard. Speed and aggression are the main aspects in In battles sound and that puts them in line with other swedish bands such as Setherial (with whom they shared some members) and Dark Funeral that have the same incentives for their music. If you like this kind of bands you will love this album. Unfortunately, this style gets a bit repetitive and maybe even boring, as the tracks sound very much alike for the most part. This is not an album to listen to every three days or you will soon get tired of it. Some variation and more depth would have lifted this album up a lot. But now to its positive sides: In battle have a concept based on war and norse mythology that is more elaborate and mature than the childish kindergarten-satanism preached by the two bands that I mentioned before - you are saved from hearing the word ‘Saaataaaaan!!!!’ screamed every 10 seconds (I perceive that as quite irritating, and I am certainly not a Christian…). There are a few good guitar-leads to be found among the inferno that add a little bit of melody to it. All in all, In battle appear more competent in performing their technically demanding style than most of the other bands playing this kind of Black Metal. In spite of the hellish speed, the music stays structured and never slips into chaos. One should also remember that this was the bands debut, and therefore some weaknesses in the songwriting might be excused. When in the right mood, ‘In battles’ energy and aggression can capture you and carry you along. I have eye-witnessed people (among them a man whose english translation of his nickname simply is ‘the mace’) going berserk under the influence of this album (combined with alcohol), so I think that In battle achieved their goal pretty well.

If you are looking for (Viking) Black Metal that is the perfect soundtrack to crushing skulls with a club, then ‘In battle’ should be your choice (nevertheless, make sure to get Allegiances ‘Blodörnsoffer’ first!).