I have reviewed both of Hellmouth’s prior albums here. And the Detroit band showed great development from 2009s Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing to 2011s Gravestone Skylines, so I was really hoping for another leap in quality for album number three. And while the band seemed to have matured and toned things down a bit there, is still plenty of seething black/thrash/hardcore/punk/crossover vitriol contained on the aptly titled Oblivion.

When you open the CD version of Oblivion, you are greeting with the words “YOU ARE STILL FUCKED” in large gold letter, a sign of the times and a sign of the sonic contents within despite the 7 year wait between albums. My prior comparison of Uphill Battle and Black Flag stands true, even if the quartet appears to have found a little more commercial restraint amid their sound.

Longer tracks like”Coliseum Oblivio”, “Blood Fire” and  the duo of  “Blossoming in Blight” and Pathetic Bullshit” show a more controlled, brooding grittier almost Helmet styled crunch and groove that shows a band that isn’t no just content to rage and blaze with abandon. It’s an interesting development that superficially seems to show the band soften.

But then they drop short sharp, sneering, raging punk fueled numbers like “Fecal Parasite”, “Dead in the Dirt”, “Snakes of Change” thrashtastic “Fuck Your Gods” and furious  standout “Leaving us Empty” they show they can still bare their teeth and tear your face off, leaving you spitting blood and teeth.

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