FMA Reviews: Weapons to Hunt: Blessed in Sin

Originally reviewed here.

The first time I heard this album I thought they were probably Swedish. Then I listened to them a couple more times and determined that was most likely not the case. I began to detect the subtle hints of a more Dutch sound, shades of Hail of Bullets really. Then I actually did some damn research and that set everything straight for me.

Sure enough, Weapons to Hunt is a Dutch death/thrash metal similar in sound to Thanatos and Asphyx among other groups. This is the first album for Weapons to Hunt, though three of the four members were in the previous incarnation of the band called Infinited Hate. Someone somewhere along the way probably pointed out that "infinite" is not a verb and you cannot "infinite" or previously "infinite" so the band name did not make sense.

Weapons to Hunt is particularly interesting to me because all of the members have previously been involved with Sinister in some capacity or other, a band for whom I am becoming a big fan. And this band definitely has that Sinister sound. It is a dark and heavy death metal album utilizing thrash metal riffs at times. The album is mostly mid-paced with crunching riffs and some impressive Van Drunen-esque vocals. It definitely has a Swedeath sound to it, without overtly using the buzzsaw guitar tone that the scene was best known for.

The album is a juggernaut. Once it gets going, it rarely lets up. There are a few slower parts, but Weapons to Hunt always kick it back into high gear soon thereafter. The problem with this is that everything tends to run together when it does not slow down. The band is a destructive force, that is for sure. But it leaves you reeling at the end wondering what happened.