Guided by limbs profaned the shard of boulder used to crush the skull and spill the brains of dead Finnish death metal band Vorum would shatter into flesh for Degial, revenge for Obnoxious Youth, hard rock ambitions for Begravningsentreprenörerna and now a rapacious conjuring of those smashed brains by way of 80’s death metal with this first blast of Concrete Winds. Pulling away from the spiraling madness of Vorum‘s ‘Current Mouth’ the duo responsible for ‘Primitive Force’ create a bloody-at-the-seams  war-like death metal Frankenstein that is unerring in its shifting curses, a brutal and punching garage-entombed evil speed metal barrage fit for a 1988 tape. Every moment of this piece is set askew by a blackened war metallic insanity thanks to Concrete Winds‘ gut reaction songwriting that’d conjure death noise from intense and perhaps intentionally underthought material, none of which is too far a cry from the higher brain of their past projects. The intent is bestial from every angle and in this sense ‘Primitive Force’ is a success.

Though I’m not entirely sure which two members of Vorum have planted this demonic seedling the result is a gnarled and monstrous form that pushes just to the edge of extremity with intention. Like a youth testing the limits of behavior Concrete Winds achieve maximum tension possible without venturing into poor taste and pointless non-musical excess. The goal is ultimately to make death music and perhaps not thoughtless death noise that’ll be forgotten a day later. In some respects ‘Primitive Force’ has many contemporaries but they all trace back to the 1987 ’til 1991 forms of bestial metal uprising across the globe where thrash, crust punk, and black metal addicted workhorses sought the most dangerous rhythms possible without abandoning their speed metal addicted hearts. At face value there is a grinding war metal fist shaking in the listener’s face throughout the 25 minutes of ‘Primitive Force’ but in the spirit of free-wheeling, do-anything, Satan worshiping maniacs like Blood Spill, Necrovore, Sarcófago and Morbid Scream; Of course they’ve cranked the speed to double and kept up with the level of musicianship found on Vorum‘s last release. The result is ecstatically dark, a razor’s edge of unbreakable tension and relentless brutality.

“Tyrant Pulse” was the first hint of cerebellum on the full listen with it’s incredible Coroner-meets-‘Abominations of Desolation’ speed metal riffed stomp that completely sold me on the full listen as a brilliant third dimension to the sheer brutality on display up to that point. The ‘Death After Death’ reminiscent riffs of “Volcanic Turmoil” and I’d say Degial-esque roar of the closer “Death Transmission” further highlight the full listen but the blur of it all means these moments phase in and out of interest as the album spins on repeat. What sticks deepest within the mind’s cavity is the energy and power of the album’s performances which feel abrupt and ruinous but never so self-satisfied or clever that Concrete Winds come across as precocious or pretentious.  Raw abandon is the only way to describe the inspired pure death metal riffing and black metal attack of ‘Primitive Force’ and the additional speed metal influences make for a heavily repeatable listen that is too frantic and jammed-thick with riffs to absorb in one cursory listen. I’d let it buzz by a few times with several moments catching my ear but it wasn’t until about the fourth listen where I began to uncontrollably move to the hits of the riffs, this is a rare feeling in 2019 and greatly appreciated inspiration. This debut comes highly recommended even if you’re scared off by the war metal looks and intentionally slapdash presentation, the riffs within should win you over quickly. For preview I’d suggest listening to “Tyrant Pulse” to start as it is an incredible mid-point on the album and then my favorite riffs otherwise occurred on “Sulphuric Upheaval” and “Angelic Laceration”.

<strong>Help Support Grizzly Butts’ goals with a donation:</strong>

Please consider donating directly to site costs and project funding using PayPal.

$1.00