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In Battle > Kingdom of Fear > Reviews
In Battle - Kingdom of Fear

I really wanted to like this - 51%

The_Boss, April 13th, 2008

In Battle has a general theme and idea that is awesome and great in theory, but somehow it’s managed to not excel like it should with their latest release Kingdom Of Fear. Vikings, death metal, battles, and their name. All of this works in the imagery sense, reminding me of an Amon Amarth replica or something similar to an actual Viking metal album. Looking at the song titles, cover art, logo, and everything around this signifies it to be something awesome; but it doesn’t exactly work out that way.

Having almost a commercialized approach of death metal with a theme of Vikings and such, In Battle takes a hyper speed approach of something similar to Decapitated’s rhythm section and drumming patterns with ultra fast blast beats and guitar riffs and mixes it with something similar to a less good Behemoth mixed again with a less good Vader. I was hoping to like this, hell I truly wanted to like this because I love everything about this band OTHER than their actual music. I mean it’s not completely terrible and not utter shit, there are some fun moments with decent riffing and the drums are fun to listen to despite lacking variety. The vocalist seems to go for a semi death growl that’s low and raspy but still understandable; I find him not as bad as others will say, he’s enjoyable but could probably step it up a notch. It’s almost a black metal approach but stuck somewhere in the middle, as if he forgot he was supposed to be in a death metal band. The musicianship in theory again isn’t terrible, but they don’t seem to have what it takes to make a memorable song, structures don’t shift from the norm at all with little memorability. The drummer here is very talented and can play very fast and technical but it seems that’s all he has going for him. The guitarists don’t solo often but in the few occasions it’s either very fast and goes away right as it started leaving you with nothing.

Some songs on here are actually somewhat enjoyable, like The Wandering One has a fun opening and awesome drumming with some brutal vocals that make me wonder why they can’t use the ability to create one or two awesome songs amongst such filler and boring tracks. Having one or two decent tracks amongst feces and filler isn’t something I like to see because I don’t want to have to sift around trying to find good songs in a block of bland songs. Riffs and structures like the one in Follow the Allfather are just plain dull and I could find songs much more memorable in other death metal bands.

In Battle seem to have such a good theme and idea going for them but don’t exactly execute it well enough to make a decent album. Kingdom of Fear is my first introduction with them and it wasn’t the best, all I have here is a rather dull Viking themed, one dimensional death metal offering. There are some fun drum patterns that are highly enjoyable, some awesome riffs here and there, and even some decent vocal parts, but in the end it fails as an album because it isn’t very memorable nor does stray off the path and become unique. I’d rather stick with Amon Amarth for Viking themed melodic death metal, or Dismember and Behemoth for solid death metal that’s memorable. But for the few decent tracks, check out Tyr, The Wandering One or the main riff in Raven Calls where I actually do enjoy what I’m hearing.

When Down Syndrome And Vikings Collide - 1%

GuntherTheUndying, November 15th, 2007

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the worst attempts at death metal ever: In Battle’s “Kingdom of Fear.” Never has anything so uninspired passed my ears after years of listening to death metal; it’s definitely an album I truly hate with every binding thread in my soul. To understand how bad this record is, one must try to envision the exact opposite of clever brutality with fantastic musicianship. Forget what you know about intelligence or originality in death metal, because In Battle has completely trashed the ideas of dignity in metal with “Kingdom of Fear.”

There isn't much to say about this CD beside it defines generic bullshit with predictable riffs, mindless blastbeats, and horrible pseudo-growls. Is anything original? Nope, just pick a few easy chords at calculable intervals and toss foreseen percussion patterns over it; that's "Kingdom of Fear" in a can. Is there any energy? Nein Danke! With John Sandin's one-toned voice, all you can expect is constant barking for forty-five minutes with no variation between high and low growls; that's "Kingdom of Fear" in a pot. Add in horrible production with stupid lyrics, and stir the disgusting soup of foreseeable feces into a bowl of redundancy. Now prepare for the worst case of diarrhea imaginable; that's "Kingdom of Fear" stinking up your fucking toilet.

Contributing to the woes is In Battle's unacceptable copy-paste writing methods that once again display no exotic elements at all. Every offensive composition is built upon the same pattern of performing a select musical formation for one to two minutes, and then switching to something different for the same amount of time before ending at around four minutes. Why is this bad? Because the sum amount of tracks change tempos at identical intervals, which the listener will soon pick up on. The record’s total duration is forty-four minutes, which is spread amongst eleven tunes; ironically, doing a little math shows there’s an even average of four minutes per song. I guess paying attention to that bitch in 3rd grade really paid off!

Basically, In Battle is using the same song eleven times with different music and calling it an album. I, for one, appreciate variety in my music, and I find it very vague when hearing the same texture again and again without any change in structural foundations. No epic crushers or any attempt at change; just four minutes of boring death metal under the same sun. Sure In Battle think they’re all smart and cool for playing in a death metal band, but Odin would kick their poser-Viking asses off the battlefields of Ragnarok once he got wind of this atrocity.

Whether you're dissecting the watered-down riffs, the dull vocals, the nasty writing job, or whatever else I missed; you'll find the same thing: shit. Honestly, I've never heard such a bland and generic attempt at death metal after years of listening to countless groups and CDs. If I had the authority to present a trophy to the worst death metal record ever, I'd definitely give it to "Kingdom of Fear" and let the chimps of In Battle bask in glory with the only award they'll ever have. This one's having lunch with the furnace, baby!