Rating: 7.3

Country: Sweden

Genre: Death Metal

Record Label: Pulverised Records

Release Date: 2007

Track list:
1. In the Name of...
2. ... Violence [mp3]
3. Art of Chaos
4. Greed Spreader [mp3]
5. Die Dead Gone
6. Hate will Prevail
7. Hope Fades
8. Perfect Hell
9. Despair
10. Kill or Blood
11. Man-Made Misery
12. Surprise You're Dead
13. Killing at Will
14. Where Apathy Dwells [mp3]
15. Self Pollution
16. Quid Pro Quo
17. 5 Infernal Years
18. Retaliation

Band Website: 21 Lucifers

21 Lucifers - In the Name of...

Erik Skoglund - Vocals
Tobbe Ols - Guitar
Nicklas Lindh - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Per Eriksson - Bass
Olle Ferner - Drums

Averaging less than two minutes per song, it would seem that 21 Lucifers have a grind mentality. Aside from a brief explosion of Nasum-like rage in "Hope Fades", this would be an incorrect assumption. Frown not grindheads, for the sound is very powerful nonetheless, balancing buzz, crunch and meat in a superbly mixed cocktail of death delivered in toxic sips (thumbs up to Scar Symmetry's Jonas Kjellgren for the superb production). In the Name of... is an addictive combination of Vader and Swedish death metal. Sometimes the Swedish elements are classic (with "Killing at Will" and "Where Apathy Dwells" expressing Dismember character) but more often they are Gothenburg-rooted.

"...Violence", the first proper track, is a totally appropriate taster of things to come. It is a manifesto of energy, viscerality and controlled density. Olle Ferner changes personality from Doc to Erlandsson on a coin flip, in accordance with the alternation between catchiness and menace (with some simple but effective syncopation). Screams, shrieks and growls are also well-matched to the riffs. There are some drop-outs for dynamics, harmonised parts, hacking triplets and grooves all together with competent no-frills leadwork. "Art of Chaos" is total Vader worship and "Greed Spreader" incorporates that Polish darkness in slower passages with pummelling kicks that hark back to De Profundis. "Die Dead Gone" has a stronger punk vibe. "Perfect Hell" has the most memorable riff of the album, a juggernaut with a technical Anata-like aspect. "Despair" is the sound of 21 Lucifers going the whole hog with melody and harmony; it sounds pleasant enough in this small interlude but they're sensible enough to realise that a whole album of stuff like this would have been surplus to requirements years ago.

The twelth track is a Faith No More cover. What is notable about this is how seamlessly it is made to blend in with the bulk. For a moment there it had me thinking that maybe guitarist Jim Martin was an early archetype of jaunty Swedish thrash. Covers are usually painful and pointless but this one slipped through the net. It is such a shame that In the Name of... didn't finish on "Quid Pro Quo". It is strongly At The Gates and moves along apace and with class. The remaining few minutes have little merit and actually spoil the aftertaste.

Nothing planet-quaking in originality but an impressive attempt to augment Swedish familiarity with a central-European grit that appeals on the most fundamental level - I'll bet absolutely no-one keeps still during their live sets.

September 25th, 2008