War and death metal have been ingrained within each other since the genre first started. And it seems a certain style of death metal has been associated with war. Sure there’s a few black metal acts and so called ‘war metal’ acts that that do the whole war thing, but I think most would agree the template laid down by the likes of Bolt Thrower, Hail of Bullets, Invasion, Jungle Rot and such is simply the most fitting visage for war and metal.And its this template the New Jersey duo Entrenched follow; pummeling mid paced, chunky death metal that’s burly, simple and effective.

With titles like “Bred to Kill”, “ICBM”, “Burnt and Destroyed” and “Dropping the Tsar Bomb” and ample use of appropriately war-ish samples (Air raid sirens-of course, machine gun fire, tanks, etc), Entrenched make no bones of their primary theme. Musically though, while certainly a style of death metal that’s perfect for the war theme, there’s nothing really too special or attention getting here. its all pretty solid, run of the run death metal, but if Jungle Rot with a few blast beats is your cup of tea, you’ll enjoy this.

None of the songs really jumped out at me, and frankly some of the samples (i.e the spoken word and piano that starts “ICBM”, “Anesthetic Death”) held my interest more than some of the riffs. But the album’s 35 minute run time is listenable in a simple, throwback sort of way. The production is OK, but never comes close to Bolt Thrower or Hail of Bullets like salvos, having more of a thrash hue. Still, songs like “Landbrecher 666”, “Frenzied Amputation” and  “Tooth and Nail” are all solid numbers all show a energetic and blue collar, self released effort from a duo that has some promise should they continue down their chosen path.

 

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