Rating: 7.7

Country: Sweden

Release Date: 2007

Record Label: Power It Up

Track list:
1. Intro
2. Born into This
3. Patent Pa Godhet
4. Downfall
5. Resigned
6. Accept the War
7. Dodens Utstrackta Hand
8. Religion of the Lost
9. Another Choice
10. Stasilakejer
11. Sunrise - Cash In/Cash Out
12. Freedom
13. Evighetens Hjul

Band Website: Bombstrike

Bombstrike - Born Into This

Kraister - self-pity and bullshit propaganda
Chris - bass / guitar
Johan - guitar / bass
Fredick - drums
Martin - guitar / bass

Hailing from Sweden, Bombstrike play music that pretty much lives up to their name. Post-war grind/hard/crustcore is what I would like to call it, for the music perfectly captures the atmosphere of the resulting all round devastation and carnage. Born Into This is an extremely pessimistic album where feelings of frustration, anger, and despair are given expression through the medium of music. The vocalist in particular, with his hysterical shouts and wails, simultaneously laments and mocks the irrevocable degradation of living standards. Unlike other faceless growling/screaming vocalists of this genre, Kraister is able to convey strong feelings through his painfully delivered vocals, which sound like a cross between the tormented ones used in black metal and that of the Unholy Grave vocalist if one were to tone down his ridiculous hysterics with the insinuation of some very depressive thoughts and facts.

Musically, Bombstrike sounds like a crusty mixture of Skitsystem, Disfear, and Misery. Their rabid grinding music may not strike you as something particularly trailblazing, but the band's song writing skills are definitely above average. In that, the songs are more structured than usual and are actually distinguishable from each other, unlike many bands in this genre whose albums seem to comprise of just one song that is played over and over again for the length of half an hour. Feverishly played, Bombstrike music has sufficient variations in the form of short flying leads, dirgeful parts, and lurching pace changes to render it monotonous, but that is not enough for the band to get complacent. Even though a panic-stricken urgency to make amends is undertaken, there exists a nagging sense of susceptibility within the music, as though whatever they do won't prove to be nearly enough to save them from a second deadly strike. Backed by a good (but not too powerful) sound, they are able to sustain their exasperating post-holocaust atmosphere convincingly well. The guitars for instance, though not as painfully fuzzy or sharp as some, still sound wonderfully crude and effective; like a worn-out claw of an excavator rummaging through the huge debris of concrete and metal - while the thing itself moves stiffly over the uneven war-ravaged terrain at an inconstant speed, propelled by desperate blasts and D-beats.

Bombstrike might not be the ideal choice for those of you who prefer vicious grinding chaos, blistering speed, or explosive heaviness, but it is very unlikely that you will be disappointed with their level of competence. Born Into This in fact makes more sense as the album does not sound as mindlessly repetitive as that of some of the band's peers, and seldom does this kind of music have depth and atmosphere to it. Nothing beats musical chaos along with the resulting anguish.

February 14th, 2008