Rating: 9.0

Country: Germany

Release Date: 2005

Track list:
1. Evoke
2. Backfire
3. Pain Will Come [mp3]
4. Subjection [mp3]
5. Various Forms Of Defence
6. Eclipse Of Light
7. False Prophet
8. Minority
9. Deadly Load
10. Abyss
11. Delicacy Of Flesh

Band Website: Fearer

Fearer - Backfire

Tom Zorn - Guitar, Vocals
Carsten Kleen - Bass
Michael Borchers - Lead Guitar
Alf Kluge - Drums

My immensely crowded world shattered around me like a porcelain jar of mango pickle preserved for decades by my family when I came to know about the break up of Germany's unsung death metal heroes, Anasarca. I tried to scream but the sound was too heavy with shock and grief for it to come up my throat; it eventually sank and expressed itself through the other opening of my body. In their reverence, I heard their swan song ‘Dying' and I almost died. Sadly, it was Anasarca who really did. My life lost whatever purpose it had in store for me and my world plunged into utter darkness without any of the family members switching off the lights. Out on the streets I wandered aimlessly with a bottle in my hand, until the kids pelted me with stones and drove me back home. This fairly regular routine of mine came to an end one fine morning when a death metal band called Fearer, obviously German, walked into my life.

Actually Fearer didn't walk into my life, it crashed into it. It tore down the walls of my home and caught me with my pants down. This time I managed to scream the right way and taking cue from that, people living in the opposite building screamed. Hasty slamming of windows and drawing of curtains followed soon after. Fearer had arrived, taking the form of a massive wrecking ball suspended from a towering crane. Albeit a bit late, for this is their fourth full-length album (I was too busy sulking to discover them earlier) but with their smashing entry, they not only brought glorious light into my life, but also dust, flies and derision. So who is this Fearer? Well, Fearer is the stepbrother of Anasarca, both of which were fathered by Vomiting Corpses, although the whereabouts of their mother is unknown, even to the father. I think it's better if you divert your curiosity to their music, the revelation of which is far more important and gainful.

To call Fearer's brand of death metal heavy, will be a terrible understatement. Let me just say that a foolish friend of mine took them lightly and he got his head crushed like a light bulb under the mighty boot of Fearer. However it's not with their incredible heaviness, but the riffs with which Fearer makes a powerful, lasting statement. They produce the best quality riffs in the business, produce them one after the other, riff upon riff, as if their pop owns a fucking riff factory or something. But an abundance of high quality riffs doesn't make them technical; it makes them good, real good. Playing riffs of all kinds, Fearer show a special liking towards the ones by Vomitory, Malevolent Creation, Anasarca and Vader. But instead of screaming and running all over the place, Fearer, like early Grave, trudge steadily with aplomb and phenomenal strength. During the occasional old school moments Unleashed also make their presence felt.

What makes ‘Backfire' so captivating is the fact that they mix it all up. Without compromising on their style and sound (however unoriginal), most of their songs are distinguishable from the rest and that helps you retain your interest throughout the album. Allow me to cite a few instances highlighting that. The first thing that Fearer does in ‘Backfire' is lull you out of the closet with a sweet short instrumental and by the time you come out, the title track initiates and straightaway you are assailed with a vicious riff from Immortal' ‘Blizzard Beasts'. After slashing at you enough to make you resemble a window blind, they do quite a lot of stuff before they bring on a plodding Panzerchrist riff accompanied by a similar nice and emotive lead. “Eclipse of Light” opens with a beauuuutiful, entrancing riff that sounds like it was taken from Malevolent Creation' ‘Eternal'. The riff is played the way it should be played, slowly and painstakingly, giving you the chance to derive the most out of it. Some dishes are meant to be savoured, not devoured. The song however picks up pace after that and it then keeps alternating between the slower and faster parts, making your blood pressure fluctuate with it. In between all that they manage to insert such a lovely solo that you are sure to fall unconscious, you can take only so much. “Minority” starts off with an asphyxiating riff from Immolation' ‘Here In After' but it soon liberates itself and dives into the Vomitory stream. Some Panzerchrist plodding and chugging follows it, but it's the dirgeful Immolation inspired lead that entraps your soul again. “Various Forms Of Defence” is an ineffable song if you ask me. Just put your head against my heart if you want to know what it does to me. It makes my heart beat like a drum machine and the melodic undertone of that endearing main riff squeezes my heart like a sponge and drains out all the blood.

You read that right; some songs in ‘Backfire' do have tenuous strains of melody in them. Don't you dare get the wrong thoughts here, you pessimistic bastard! Think what the melodic bits did to Anasarca' ‘Godmachine' or ‘Dying' as opposed to the unmitigated aggressiveness of their no-frills death metal album ‘Moribund'. Yes sir, I'm talking about that kind of melody, one which assists the music like a cute, saccharine nurse assisting a grumpy, rude doc. Hypocrisy' ‘Osculum Obscenum' flashes in my mind quite brightly here. Accentuating all that are outstanding vocals of Tom Zorn, who bawls out *exactly* like Obituary' John Tardy. This kind of bawling is done opportunely, only to emphasise the point the riffs are trying to make. The last time I heard these rarefied vocals, they were on the album ‘Butt Mud' by another German band Morsgatt. Man, I fucking love it. Were it a girl doing such vocals, I swear would've leapt towards her and locked my lips on her violently contorting mouth. Tom Zorn's main style of vocals and rightly so, are the growled ones, which are excellent as well. Like most German death metal vocalists, he too has a strong voice and sounds like he's growling with a mouthful of food; you've gotta take cover, unless you want your face adorned with chunks of meat flying out of his mouth. And while doing that, he amazingly seems to emote a bit according to the music, or perhaps it's just my imagination. The production is impeccable. Alf Kluge the drummer is quite an industrious chap; he's usually just glad to comply with the music but when the need arises, he can effortlessly get into the machinegun mode.

If you've been reading this review from the start, it's needless to say that ‘Backfire' is a terrific album, one that truly caught me unaware. I'm really hard pressed to find faults with it; I think my only qualm is that some songs aren't as great as the others. That, and it's not too original, but I can live with it. With their latest output, Fearer have vehemently proved that it is they, who are the rightful successors to the legacy of Anasarca. I thus proclaim ‘Backfire' to be one of the best albums of 2005 and it is imperative that you BUY it. The overhanging wrecking ball is waiting outside for you to do just that.

July 30th, 2006