Calling yourself Ferocity is a risk, because if you’re going to give your band such a powerful name, you better make damn sure you bring the goods.  Luckily Danish death metal band Ferocity has done just that.  If you’ve followed the Danish death scene, there have been a number of heavy-as-hell acts coming out of there, namely standouts Dawn of Demise.  They actually pull A LOT from their style, so if you’re a fan of DoD, then you’ll find a lot to like here as well.

They actually start out with what is one of the more interesting intros, which from what I can tell is a sample of what it would sound like when someone is breathing inside a gas mask.  It’s that rare intro that actually works, and is fortunately kept very short before the band starts bringing out the artillery.  The first 2 tracks (and the whole album) sport the trademark Danish crunch, with a solid production and a beefy bottom end to add to their imposing band name.  But then you get the 2 best tracks on the album, “Human Game” and “Son of Sam”, with the latter being my personal favorite.  Bouncing between nasty grooves to a touch of melody (just a touch) to good old blast beat backed riffs, they are easily the stars of this show.

Things are broken up by poorly placed instrumental “Abrupt Desolation”, but overall fans of death metal in general really can’t go wrong here.   Vocalist Kasper Wendelboe sounds very similar to DoD frontman Scott Jensen, with that almost digital sounding edge to their death growl.  The vocals don’t vary much, which is fine when they’re done this well.  Drummer Nikolaj Kjærgaard changes speeds with ease and adds the backing punch to their powerful sound.

The album clocks in a little over 40 minutes, so most of the songs are longer and overall well done.  I haven’t checked out their first full-length, “Cocoon of Denial”, but from what I read this sophomore effort is a much heavier and focused output.  It would be nice to see them expound their style or take some chances, but definitely a band to keep an eye on and one that can no doubt continue the Danish beatings courtesy of your stereo speakers.

[Visit the band's website]

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