Hammer of Intransigence

Heresiarch were founded in 2008 in New Zealand, a country which entered the map of extreme music especially the last few years with bands like Witchrist and Diocletian. This EP does not deviate from the musical direction one would expect, offering 22 minutes of brute black/death violence.

In the one-minute intro, some distant cries can be heard and also a siren of emergency, warning the listener about the sonic attack that is about to follow. The tracks that succed it are very fast, with sharp riffs that pierce the brain and create an atmosphere of lurking danger. The structure is very tight, while the drums sound infallible and set the tempo with military discipline. The only exception is the last track that is characterized by longer mid-tempo parts and an outburst in the middle, proving that Heresiarch can perform as well in less bpm.

The accuracy of the musical performance is impressive and a token of great skill, while the vocals complete perfectly the audio havoc. Production is much clearer than anyone could expect, but this was the only way of obtaining a comprehensible output. Regarding the lyrics, they are available only for "Intransigent" and aesthetically complement the image I created for the musical content. I could liken it to a wounded beast, which destroys everything in its path, spreading pain and despair.

Although during the first listen I felt a little confused by the power and the chaotic nature of the release, gradually the scenery began to clear up. "Hammer of Intransigence" is one of the most dynamic releases I have heard lately but despite its proven cruelty, some ideas were uninspired and repetitive. Surely it is a decent effort, but I wanted something more. Nevertheless, I await with interest their next steps in order to see if they will follow the same pathway or try a different musical approach.

Originally written for: The Lair of Storfeth

If audible chaos is what you’re after, Hammer of Intransigence will definitely satisfy that primordial hunger. Hailing from New Zealand, Heresiarch spews fourth a raw mix of violent blackened death metal, just as their barbaric countrymen Diocletian, Vassafor and Witchrist. Actually in fact there are two member of Diocletian present in Heresiarch so with that knowledge you should only expect an absolute pulverizing experience. And that Hammer of Intransigence delivers.

The music is apocalyptic. From the howling shrieks and torturous sneers, to the bombarding artillery strike drumming and the furious riffing, all creates are barrage of chaos which fits perfectly with the intensity of the style. But just like many other bestial blackend death acts Heresiarch can become repetitive sounding. Providentially by weaving some doom section like at the end of Carnivore keeps you enthralled. These almost ritualistic doom sections offer relief to the restless frenzy and try evoking an atmosphere of dread. Sporadic solos like in Thunorad also keep you griped .

The ambiance on this album is very fitting to the chaotic vibe. Abominations the opening song uses the sounds of war sirens, marching and twisting steel to paint images of a hellish wasteland where war rules supreme; while at the end of Conflagration the distant haunting echo of chanting monks is heard. By demonstrating a solid understanding of the blacked death blue-print merely on their second release, they’re no doubts Heresiarch will continue expanding on their already deadly aptitude.

Originally posted at http://beyondthecrypt666.blogspot.com.au/

Torrid storms of punishing, golf ball sized hail and the sonic screams of victimized demons being raped in Hell is all one can expect from Heresiarch’s debut EP, Hammer of Intransigence, a title which would be almost hilariously appropriate for the product on display if it weren’t so painful. The weak and the lame shall be obliterated under the heel, and the strong will merely live long enough to suffer for their endurance and foolish hope for survival. Blood will pool underneath your shapeless, mushy remains, and your final thoughts will be of pain.

Too bad Hammer of Intransigence isn’t more fun.

While no non-sense brutality is always a nice thing, New Zealand’s Heresiarch are a force of massive destruction that leaves no actual room for anything else but frankly ridiculous chaos. Hammer of Intransigence is a mostly unoriginal piece of dime-a-dozen death metal, drawing from Deeds of Flesh, Angelcorpse and Bolt Thrower without grabbing any charm along the way. Points must be given for not ripping off Incantation, but merely exceeding an already sad expectation will not win anyone any medals. For all of its Hell fire and brute strength, Hammer of Intransigence cannot break free from the chains of conceptual inadequacy.

There are certainly some redeeming qualities on display here: the band are tight, know what they want and play with a clear zeal for Sadism, and the spectacle this album makes of mass annihilation is something to behold. But unlike the bands this group clearly idolize, or even unlike the bands that sired Heresiarch(fellow New Zealander’s Witchrist and Diocletian), this group just can’t help but destroying themselves along with everything else around them.

Rating: 6/10

originally posted at: http://curseofthegreatwhiteelephant.blogspot.com/

The production on this record is surprisingly crisp, which makes it easy to hear everything that's going on. It's also ultra-heavy -- between the bass, kick-drum, and filthy belched vocals, there's plenty of low-end here, and the guitars have a convincing amount of crunch. The high snarled vox and cymbals cut through the mix with precision, providing just the right amount of counterpoint.

The songwriting on Hammer of Intransigence is chaotic and furious, with an emphasis on blasting, raging passages. "Iconoclasm" is a perfect example, with its snarled vocals and grinding guitars. The latter half of the song is like a storm of non-stop riffs and pickslides! "Carnivore" reappears from their demo, and sounds fifty times better here (the opener to this one is simply monolithic, as is that slow middle section -- this was the perfect choice to open the album proper!) "Thunorrad" has a bit more rhythm to it, but still threatens to rip your head off throughout. The solos here are particularly unhinged! Those who enjoyed the doom sections on Heresiarch's demo will be pleased with this record, too: "Conflagration" and "Intransigent" are crushing, especially the latter -- its ponderous, rumbling bass lines and insane leads had me banging my head before the end. It also makes an attention-getting contrast with the short-but-swift opener, "Abomination", making Hammer of Intransigence perfect for leaving on repeat.

This record strikes a good balance between fury and depth; it'll knock you over with non-stop riffs, but if you stick with it plenty of detail will emerge, especially if you pay proper attention to the drumming. Judging by this EP, Heresiarch is a worthy successor to Diocletian, Conqueror, and even Bolt Thrower -- a bit more variety might not be amiss, but Hammer... is so damn ferocious I hardly care. Highly recommended.

Standout tracks: "Iconoclasm", "Thunorrad", "Intransigent"

Review by vorfeed: http;//www.vorfeed.net

If in Heresiarch you hope to find a band pushing the envelope of originality you may be left sorely disappointed. Innovation is clearly not aspired to, nor is novelty an aim, but what Heresiarch set out to do they undeniably excel at.

This is an EP of post-apocalyptic war metal at its finest, reminiscent of Conqueror and animated not by progression but the spirit of regression, driven as much by a manifesto of return to man's most primal aggression as the pounding of its unrelenting drums. This is not music, this is an aural assault - guitars that grind, drums that pummel, guttural grunts and cries of war in place of vocals.

The production found here is also worthy of praise, possessing a crisp but not over-polished sound - striking a balance between quality and the abrasive atmosphere this kind of music commands; one that many bands of a similar nature simply fail to achieve.

Heresiarch have without a doubt proven with this EP to be both a band to be watched closely and a force to be reckoned with.

Heresiarch is a New Zealand act involving a few of the Diocletian guys and a few who work exclusively within this project. Hammer of Intransigence is their second release, following a brief demo earlier in the year, and I was immediately struck by the excellent cover art and, hell, the use of the word 'intransigence'. I'm a bit of a vocabulary whore, and this is the sort of thing I like seeing, but I must admit to being dismayed when I listened through the actual music of the EP. Not that it's necessarily a bad recording: the band fuses a lot of carnal snarls and blunt gutturals into a standard lattice of grinding guitars that seem targeted at advocates for the most primitive forms of the black and death metal genres. I heard a bit of Beherit, perhaps, or old Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, and not unlike the faster paced, mindless grinding or bludgeon-grooves of Australians Blood Duster or disEmbowelment.

My issue is primarily with the guitars, which almost unanimously fail to evoke anything but the most basic and familiar velocity of chords that all feel as if they'd been beaten to death. The low, churning tone is relatively appealing, but it's not conducive to striking note progressions. Then there is also the fact that they generally use only one, forced blasting pace which is barely broken up except for a few doom-like segments as in "Carnivore" or the entirety of the molasses maneuver that is the closing, titular "Intransigent". Interestingly enough, whenever the New Zealanders concentrate on ambiance or atmosphere, like the intro "Abomination" or the lead sequences threaded through a few cuts, it begins to take on a more dramatic dimension of debauchery which I frankly would have liked to hear more of. Unfortunately, these elements are in the clear minority upon Hammer of Intransigence, and the remainder, while punishing, can admittedly grow dull.

If you're in the market for a churning, pounding headache akin to shoving your noggin into a meatgrinder, I fail to see how 21+ minutes of this would seem out of place. The vocals function along the axis of Carcass duality, often in conjunction but separated into their own hostile threads, and the guitars bristle and rip like a less dissonant Portal. If only the latter didn't feel like the guys had spent so little time composing them, but rather muscling out the first, most basal patterns that came to mind, they'd come off a lot more compelling. In the end, Hammer of Intransigence too rarely feels as menacing as the pile of skulls or chaos wheel on its cover. It's meaty and crushing everything in its path, but leaves little to the memory. That is very likely the aim, but it's a goal which has been accomplished hundreds if not thousands of times in the past with better writing.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com