Philistine - Seranim. To be brutally honest, I didn't want to review this album. The band is made up of two life long friends, one of them being a distant relative (who also happens to be party responsible for me getting into metal in the first place) Too much at stake. what if I didn't like it? What if it didn't align with my personal taste? What if it sucked!? After a week or two of procrastinating I eventually put the album on. Not knowing what to expect... but having liked the previous two singles I was pretty optimistic yet nervously cautious at the same time. The Melodic, doomy opener (Seranim) set a perfect tone for what would turn out to be the biggest and most beautiful sonic surprise of the last few years!! "Blue train" moers you right between the eyes then "black mamba, Leviticus, spade head and Slag yster" takes you on an 18 wheeler juggernaut journey through trenches of mud with brilliantly written mid paced, doom laden solid slabs of grimy traditional heavy metal. Swimsong totally took me by surprise! Nick Cave(esque) old school goth feel with clever pop sensibilities perfect for late night radio play. (please make this the next single, okes!) brilliant track. THEN along comes the bands namesake and "8 Ball" which are probably my two favourite songs on the album. It's at this moment when you realise that 35+ years of experience can't be bought and true feeling and emotion can't be taught. This kind of magic is only possible when two legendary pioneers and God father's of SA metal join forces. The album closes with industrial tinged Carrion and a surprise cover of the 1969 Exordium & Terminus classic "In the year 2525" Dean's guitar work is absolutely stellar. The tone, the power, the aggression is just so honest and pure. Marqs vocals are raw and so well controlled. In your face gravel and syrup. Beauty and darkness! Production is top notch. Not sure which one of the two gets the writing credits, but full marks awarded for brilliant song writing and composition. It's so refreshing to hear a band take advantage of their own well written choruses, repeated over and over creating ear worms that last for life. A long lost art form sadly overlooked my most "modern" metal bands. I am honoured to call Dean and Marq friends and family and I am so thrilled that they pulled off this masterpiece. Old school... The only school! Lank zorba Make a bane Death to false metal.
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