Merciless Death

From Hell

Thrashing Madness 2010

Polish deathrash legends return with their first album in over 17 years.  What we find here is an album of primal death, tempered and focused by maturity.  I am Death seethes with anger yet falls into moments of calm reflection when rumbling bass drums accentuate a masterful guitar solo.  However most of its moments are spent in intense violence with a nod to Brazilian underground thrash.  Muscular death metal riffs chug forward On Buried During Life.  On this track Grzegorz vocals are dry and almost awkward, reminding me of Tom G. Warrior in some ways.  Then a quick burst of frenzied speed surges and froths while a series of guitar solos breed on one another.  The bewitching guitar and bass work at the beginning of Satanic Slut mask the primitive bestiality that lurks within this beast of a song.  A total rhythmic beast of South American savagery and Germanic energy is unleashed as the song develops and remains the album's highlight for me.  A more intricate song structure that shifts constantly between slower, more progressive moments and frantic explosions of energy and tempo serve to give Soul Eater a stop/start pace.  There is a repetitive utilization somber melodies that sound as if they were lifted off of Darkthrone's Soulside Journey, lending an almost epic feel the track.  That is until the throbbing menace of Eden Seemingly Lost let's fly a salvo of crunchy thrash.  The song quickly delves into another bout of tempo shifting madness.  From Hell closes out with a Holy Death cover and a second, earlier version of Satanic Slut.  Tomasz's bass guitar work on this album is truly inspired.  It will be even better when they get a real drummer.  Merciless Death have returned and are older and wiser but still as full of youthful energy as they when they first roamed the catacombs of Poland's underground.  From Hell is an exploration of both side's of their personality, mature complexity and savage ferocity.