Indestructible Noise Command – ‘Heaven Sent… Hellbound’ Album Review

A band of near-mythic proportions, the return of Indestructible Noise Command (henceforth shortened to INC) to the fray after a lengthy absence caused many metal fans to celebrate. With a sound that will be instantly familiar to fans of bands such as Pantera and Lamb of God, INC split in 1990 after a mere two albums, only to leap back into action in 2010 with the EP ‘bleed the line’ which was released to mixed reviews. Now teamed up with Rising Records, INC unleashed ‘Heaven sent, Hellbound’ on May 24^th and if you haven’t already caught up with it, then you’re liable to be in for a pleasantly brutal surprise.

Opening with the militaristic thud of marching feet, ‘Jackboot thugbots’ sets the tone nicely with an atmosphere of foreboding that is overlaid with harmonised guitar lines before the band launch into ‘fist of fascista’, a storming melee of chugging riffs, pounding percussion and Dennis Gergeley’s Phil Anselmo-esque vocal approach. With a strong Pantera groove to the track, INC are bound to draw comparisons – somewhat ironic bearing in mind Pantera used to open for them but it’s not all about mid-nineties groove – INC clearly have their own identity and that appears more than anywhere else in the band’s idiosyncratic lead guitar lines and Dennis’ multiple personality vocals which see him veer between guttural screams and a more typical bellow depending upon the requirements of the track. While ‘Fascista’ may recall Pantera to a large degree, the full-throttle approach of ‘God loves violence’ is enough to please any hardcore thrash fan and the band’s sound here is closer to the Testament end of the spectrum, all hyper-speed guitar and monstrous percussion courtesy of Dennis Leeflang.  Uncompromisingly heavy, the band tear into the track with a certain amount of joy and vigour and you can imagine this being a monstrous whirlwind of violence in the mosh-pit. ‘Bleed the line’ is an enjoyable, adrenalin-soaked blast in the style of Slayer with a disturbingly dark underbelly that will leave you squirming while the riff on the chorus is satisfyingly huge, rendering it one of the best tracks on the record. Equally dark, but with a huge greasy riff at its heart, is ‘swallowed’ – an epic seven minute blast that showcases the band’s abilities via a series of chugging, earth-shattering riffs and an enthralling mid section that is better heard than described. An effortlessly intriguing track, it’s worth the price of admission alone and will undoubtedly appeal to metal heads thrilled by the recent resurgence of thrash popularity, particularly when the solo comes rippling out of the speakers with a devilish dexterity that will have many a fan breaking out the air guitar.

A m ore mid-tempo belter, ‘the good bones stay down’ has a solid central riff and strong percussion but it returns to the Pantera vibe established on the opening track and as such doesn’t quite complete with the majesty of the tracks that immediately precede it. The raging venom of ‘full metal jacket’, on the other hand, sees the band descend to the depths amidst a clattering shock-assault of punkish, fast-paced riffs for another stunning display of full-on metal aggression. Better yet is the staccato attack of ‘rain’ followed by the raging torrent of ‘Audio erotic asphyxiation’ the latter combining elements of both Slayer and Pantera to create a track of blistering intensity. The final three tracks see the band unleash an appallingly brutal groove on ‘it’s coming’, a slowed down, apocalyptic assault on album highlight ‘if I were president’ and the final, syncopated rhythms of ‘fuelled by regret’, drawing a line under the album and leaving you in no doubt that INC have more than enough depth and precision to cut it in today’s cluttered music market-place.

Overall this is a solid come back from a much-missed band, although it would benefit from greater emphasis on Erik Barath and Tony Fabrizi’s excellent, but often restrained guitar solos. It is, perhaps, arguable that the album is two songs too long, with a couple of tracks lacking the intensity that is generally present throughout the record, but for those looking for a fix of powerful, well played and intense thrash metal this is an undeniably exhilarating attack of sonic pleasure. Well worth checking out.