With releases that arrive through the Blackstar foundation you can guarantee two things – firstly that they will be as heavy as a planet imploding and secondly that they will be exquisitely packaged with a care an attention that so few labels care to invest in their artists. That is certainly the case here with Yersinia, a Swedish band who are unhelpfully labelled metalcore by the press release but who are so, so much better than any band with that tag that I’ve come across to date.
Yersinia instantly get points because they sing in their native Swedish rather than English, a brave move that will see the band ostracized by closed-minded xenophobes unable to cope with anything other than generic nonsense with puerile lyrics in English that, in most cases, you wish you couldn’t understand. Astonishingly this well-crafted disc is the band’s debut full-length album (preceded by two well-received EPs) although you’d never know it from the precision with which the band attack their songs and there’s no doubt that Yersinia are well-honed professionals.
Opening with ‘Den sista gang jag skriver till dig’, Yersinia hit the ground running with a riff that could shatter concrete. This is seriously heavy stuff and the monumentally brutal vocals, sung entirely in their native Swedish, are gloriously raw throated with none of the irritating clean vocal choruses that bands like Killswitch Engage have inserted into every damn song to ruin the flow of the music. This is raw, uncompromising stuff that will wreck the muscles in your neck after only a few moments – a strong recommendation if you’re in any doubt – and leave you speechless with admiration for a band capable of such unbridled aggression and musical invention. ‘Det vi gav till havet’ offers up a more punky sound, although the band don’t take their foot off the pedal for a moment, and the sound is still unashamedly metal in implementation. ‘Barlast, jag’ is a vicious highlight that will convince anyone of the metallic worth of this band as chugging guitars collide with heavy drumming and vocals so bloody you can see chunks of throat hit the mic stand.
However, Yersinia’s strong point is also a weakness – although the band are consistently brutal and utterly tight, there is little in the way of variation and while the music is of an exquisitely tight standard it would be good to have more dynamic in there to break up the brutal grind. However, it must be remembered that this is a metal album and as a pure adrenalin rush Yersinia certainly succeed – violent, exciting and filled with vitriol. What the band need to develop now is a touch of subtlety to temper their fire and Brimstone approach which will help to strengthen the heavy passages and develop their sound.
Overall this is a crushing debut with no obvious weak point but with no standout track either. While yersinia are certainly an exciting shot of adrenalin in a genre obsessed with irritating clean choruses, and they are surely a riot live, it would be good to hear more variation and depth in their sound the next time out. Nonetheless, this is an undeniably successful record which should attract a great deal of attention and deservedly so.
