Fémforgács
This year’s line-up is brutally strong for me, not only in terms of gigs but also in terms of releases. However, despite this, I can say without a sob that the most anticipated album of 2025 for me was the new album by the Norwegian Purified In Blood. Nothing says it better than the fact that I haven’t written a record review in a thousand years, but I put pen to paper and keyboard to keyboard for them.
The band formed in Stavanger in 2003, and shortly afterwards released their first demo and the chatty Last Leaves of a Poisoned Tree EP. The members of this environmentally-minded outfit initially all lived a straight edge lifestyle. Although not everyone has followed the same direction since, as far as I know, the ethos hasn’t changed much. The very impulsive performance and the great sound carriers found their target audience and the band’s profile grew. The lucky ones (including my wife) even caught the band at home in 2011 with Darkest Hour, Protest The Hero and Born Of Osiris. Sadly, the band died shortly after their third album Flight of the Dying Sun, released in 2012. I was very sorry to hear that, as all three albums were excellent in their own right. For me, my favourite of them all is still the second one Under Black Skies. Songs like Thunderheads, Under den svarte himmel or Beneath the Pyre are still my secret favourites from the metalcore line.
If I want to really classify what the band plays, I’d label them metalcore, but that would be very superficial. It’s true that there is hardcore fury in the band, and they can’t deny their love of Cro-Mags or Earth Crisis, but on top of that they have a very diverse metal cast, which can be almost anything. Doom, death, black, heavy, thrash, it doesn’t matter to them. This band has taken everything and shaped it in their own image and then thrown it at the listener. I really like bands like this, where nothing is obvious, there are always surprises.
In that respect, there are a lot of similarities with Kvelertak, also from Stavanger. I can imagine these guys listening to Judas Priest, Maiden and Cro-Mags and a bunch of other stuff together and creatively conjuring up something new out of this diverse mix of influences (I’ll have an interview with the band soon, I hope to find out more). The connection between the two bands, by the way, is a given on several fronts, as drummer Anders Mosness, previously held the same position in Kvelertak (I remember him holding the drumstick at the first home Kvelertak party before Converge, although according to internet research he wasn’t in the band then). And one of the „models” of their merch stuff is none other than Marvin Nygaard.
I don’t deny that the nostalgia factor probably plays a part in my extreme sympathy for the team, as we experienced the influences and the cavalcade of styles in a similar way back then. We couldn’t stand the style nazis. It was easy for us to play Exploited or Immortal after Maiden and then throw in a Smashing Pumpkins or The Cure record. We kept the styles down, as they apparently did, and there was no fault in the cohesion.
After a long time, the ice was broken in 2022, when they released the single Myra. Although the release of the song gave me cause for optimism, I wouldn’t have bet big on a new album under the sun. But lo and behold, the activity remained, although they took their time. Then, in the second half of last year, they broke the silence and announced that a new album was indeed in the works.Following four singles and the Key and Stone EP released in February this year, the new album, Primal Pulse Thunder, arrived in mid-March on Indie Recordings. Although I really liked the previews, I didn’t know what to expect after 12 years. A lot has changed since then, and that’s also true of my musical tastes in some respects. A lot of my old favourites disappoint me with their more recent releases, which isn’t necessarily their fault, we just haven’t changed together.
But that’s not going to be the case with this team, I knew that after the first few listens. After an intro that lasts just over a minute, the title track is everything I love about this band! The first half of the song is filled with brilliant massages, before a change of tempo and a genius guitar theme dispel any doubts that the band’s shine hasn’t been dimmed in over ten years. Krater then picks up where the previous track left off. After a slow grind, this track picks up speed.
Unlike Jernbur, which kicks into high gear at the beginning and then builds up to one of the strongest movements on the album. This song will be a concert favourite, that’s for sure! I can just see Hallgeir Skretting leaping off the stage and screaming the lines, which are laced with anger, despair, yet power, in the audience’s face.
Ascend no Nothing starts off like Amon Amarth, only to switch back to punchy metalcore with ease. The slowdown at the end of the track is a great preparation for Spiritual Thirst, whose opening and throaty shamanistic section reminded me of Soulfly‘s brilliant Moses track, the group’s equally brilliant Dark Ages album, and YOB. This song is the second longest on the album, running almost eight minutes. Nevertheless, it remains enjoyable throughout.
Key and Stone is again a more traditional song, compared to Purified In Blood. As well as the simpler stuff from Mastodon, the brilliant Testament from The Gathering came to mind. I’d highlight it here, but it’s typical of the whole album that the guitarists have put together some very strong themes. Myra, which comes last but one, is the second longest track on the album. The song starts off with a cool riff before turning into an energy bomb. The opening of the album closer The Portal, with its wicked riff, would suit The Haunted, and the melodic part is pure genius. At over 11 minutes, it is also the longest song on the album. A fitting end to an excellent album. A fitting end to an excellent album.
I feel a little short for this scant half hour, but apart from that I can’t fault the material. This is the most varied and best album of the group. I still have two wishes for the band. One is that there shouldn’t be a sequel in 12 years’ time, and the other is that they should come closer to us in terms of gigs. Record of the year in March?
