Indestructible Noise Command –
Black Hearse Serenade
Ferocious, 2014
8/10
Reactivated 80s
thrash band INC has made up for their disappointing initial reunion releases
(2010’s Bleed The Line EP and 2012’s Heaven Sent… Hellbound) with a
devastating new album that takes the intensity of their music to new heights.
If you’re familiar with the band’s first two albums from 1987 and 1988, Razorback and The Visitor, prepare yourself to be shocked at how different INC
sounds today. Twenty-odd years have passed since those minor classics so it’s
not unreasonable for the band to change their sound. INC still seemed to be
finding their way into their new sound on Bleed
The Line and Heaven Sent…, but
their persistence has paid off as things coalesce into a focused, cohesive
statement on Black Hearse Serenade. Opening
track “Stirring The Flock” hits like a sledgehammer with tight, heavy riffing
and double-bass drumming that leaves no doubt about the extreme leanings of the
album. Vocalist Dennis Gergely has dropped his distinctive, quirky vocal style
for a tough-guy approach more akin to what you’d expect on a metalcore album.
“Sainted Sinners” settles down the speed, but not intensity, of the album into
a mid-tempo thrashfest for most of the songs. INC treads into Pantera-like
territory on “Cyanide & Whiskey”, but there’s a more distinctive style to
be found on the gems “The Lies We Devour” and the title track. The album ends
brilliantly with “No Turning Back”, which treads new ground for the band with
keyboards and choir chants, and “Love Like Napalm”, an acoustic ballad that
dramatically builds up into a powerful solo to make what could be the band’s
best song. The difference between INC’s first two albums and the reunion
efforts is still jarring, and I miss the band’s unique qualities that made them
so endearing back in the 80s. Black
Hearse Serenade, however, brings INC fully into a new era with an album
that’s relevant in present times and cements their rejuvenated sound.
