All Out War‘s raw energy is back with an eighth album.
Formed in 1990 in the United States, the band released three demos, an EP, three splits and three albums before taking a break in 2004. But in 2006, Mike Score (vocals, Below the Frost, End Reign), Eric Carrillo (bass), Andrew Pietroluongo (guitar), Jesse Sutherland (drums, Behead the Lamb, ex-Nerve Gas Tragedy) and Taras Apuzzo (guitar, Behead the Lamb, ex-Nerve Gas Tragedy) revived the band, which announced in 2023 the release of Celestial Rot, on Translation Loss Records.
Snake Legion, the first track, starts with a raw and uncontrollable energy rooted in Hardcore, but also in an aggressive style. Rage never fades, even when the rhythmic becomes slower and heavier, neither on Glorious Devastation and its abrasive dissonant riffs which give way to catchy patterns the band couples with sometimes more soaring sounds. Wrath takes over to place powerful choruses to the band’s sharp and motivating basis as well as jerky riffs, then Hideous Disdain briefly allows us to breathe with dark tones before starting again on a frantic, suitable to mosh rhythmic. We’ll find this unlimited aggressiveness again with The End Is Always Near and its crushing dissonance that easily links with the band’s most raw patterns, then the tempo slows down again for a short moment on Caustic Abomination which will let its riffs blaze along with screamed choirs. The band feeds the oppression until the last moment as well as on Revel In Misery which will make room for an as chaotic as sharp solo, but also on Celestial Rot, the eponymous track, which will place strong Old School Death Metal influences, including on the last moshpart. The album comes to an end with Weaving Oblivion which keeps the same raw and violent approach on a frantic tempo with heady leads, but especially with Horrid Shroud Of Heaven, the last track, which brings jerky parts before the final.
All Out War only expresses itself with violence and jerky riffs. In addition to the obvious Hardcore basis, we have Death Metal, Thrash Metal and Metalcore influences on Celestial Rot, making the album the perfect mosh companion.
70/100