Adversarial are a ‘blackened-death’ band from Toronto who’s 2010 debut is out on Dark Descent Records. This is one record that I’d been meaning to get to since I got the promo months ago, but you know, no rest for the angry, so I never got there. Well, not until this week, when I was duly impressed by this band’s chops on their debut record All Idols Fall Before the Hammer. The tracks on here go between blistering and atmospheric, and it’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of death metal.
Most people are aware here that I’m not a huge lo-fi guy, but this record is one of those examples where the raw works (with the exception of that motherfucking snare drum which really can get goddamn annoying, it is a blight on an otherwise serviceable mix). But even with the annoying snare, the riffs and tracks stand out reminiscent of Ulcerate with a raw approach and sense of atmosphere, as well as a nice underbelly of black metal that would fit into the Swedish underground right now, even if it’s a bit more “techy” than raw.
Now let’s just hope there’s a remix with a non-shitty snare sound. Because if you can get past that (which takes an incredible force of will, at times), then you’re in for some great riffing.
Highlights: ”All Idols Fall Before the Hammer”, “In A Night of Endless Pain, War Came to Flood His Heart…” and “Scourge of a World Ablaze”
