I Become Death

Croatia is not a country, which would be filled with known and respected metal bands. I sincerely cannot think of any names of recommendable acts from there. So, here's one, which is finally putting this country on the map - Hereza. "I Become Death" is their second album, recently released through Godz ov War Productions. I have no idea what was their debut CD like, but this newest effort is pretty damn cool, in my opinion.

All in all Hereza performs death metal that is highly infected with the Swedish sound. They have the Swedish groove, the Swedish brutality and feeling, a couple of songs provide also the melody that is so characteristic for the Scandinavian country... and finally the guitar tone, vocals sound - they all sound like Swedish bands do. Once again then I have to underline that I don't care if Hereza sounds unoriginal and for some people it's laughable that a band from Croatia sounds like Swedish bands. If the music is great and the listening experience is only positive, why I would bother about anything else? Why would it matter? From the very first seconds of "I Become Death" Hereza offers sheer aggression, ferociousness and death metal malignancy. Quite simplistic, but insanely powerful and vicious music, straight forward type of playing, which will rip your fuckin guts out. That simplicity gives more groove and aggressive character, but that's what I like about Hereza. Even when they come up with more melodic death metal in "Full Moon Slaughter", it still sounds like Hereza was going to damage not only your neck, but also hearing - cause you will play this CD loud and you will bang your skull like crazy! Such "Neplodna jama" and "Pošast" has almost punkish / crusty vibe, but when it's played the punching death metal way, it always sounds incredibly awesome.

Yeah, definitely Hereza came up with pretty good album and I enjoyed listening to it, even if I cannot say that it's the best release ever. If you're into Unleashed, Dismember, Entombed and Bombs of Hades plus a handful of similar new bands, then Hereza is for you. For me it was a nice surprise, because I didn't think that Croatian band could be that good... From the first spin I got convinced that it's better than I would ever imagine, soooo... It may not the most spectacular release in this style of death metal, but it's good enough for my taste.

Standout tracks: "In the Name of God", "Tombcrawler", "I Become Death"
Final rate: 70/100

When you think about Croatia, the first thing that comes to your mind is holidays and the Sun. You think of Split, Dubrovnik or Rijeka. You think of beautiful lakes and charming beaches. Forget all that! Forget all prosperity and peace of mind! Hereza is here! After the absolutely crushing 2015 debut album, Misanthrope, the band is coming back with some more murderous music. I Become Death is to see the light of day through Godz Ov War Productions. Now close your eyes, think about Croatia and discard all you have known about the country...
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Before having a first listen to I Become Death, I wanted to quickly make myself familiar with Hereza's debut album. Oh, it turned out not to be a quick acquaintance as I couldn't stop listening to the album for at least several hours. With that in mind I played this year's offering from Hereza. Okay, I always try not to exaggerate but I'm being honest now - after the first track, the title song, I had to get some fresh air as it absolutely crushed me to pieces. It's been a while since I heard so much aggression and belligerence in music! Needless to say, I dropped everything, ready to get some more awesomeness from Hereza.
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But in all seriousness... The Croatian duo has managed to capture something so full of skill and charisma that it's hard to imagine. Each song has got this 'wow' factor and each part of the album is capable of surprising you with something. I Become Death loses a little bit of the punk overtones in comparison to Misanthrope but this is in favour of the extra charge of violence. Songs like Jebem Vas u Usta Ladna, Uništi Pali Ruši or Torn From the Death's Bed are saturated with confidence and absurdly strong vocals which give the whole album a very, very solid character.
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It has also been a while since the last time when an album was able to make my neck hurt. Honestly, I Become Death is packed with those fantastic rhythmic riffs which make your head go up and down automatically. Its speed and agility is also Hereza's trademark and the drumming velocity and technique can leave you breathless. Literally.
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All the songs have also got this weird feistiness which certainly appeals to me. Combining so much aggression with something that is actually so engaging and captivating is a difficult job and I think that Hereza managed to master that skill. I Become Death is a highlight of what I mean about something so easy to get involved in. Absolutely perfect and immaculate!
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I think that I Become Death will change my perspective and the way of thinking about Croatia. And oh yeah, we definitely have the first full-length album of 2017 that already has its place in my annual summary! I feel, however, a bit sorry for Hereza because they have set a bar incredibly high for themselves and I really, really can't wait to see if they don't lose that trademark aggression on future releases.

Originally written for The Goat Tavern:
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