Sammath: Across the Rhine is Only Death (2019)

It was the album title and the cover photograph that grabbed my attention with this one.  There is little more hellish than war and the Rhine River was an important battlefield during World War II.  The album cover captures this, with the bleak color and feelings of isolation on the way to possible death.  It is an incredibly powerful image.  

A number of bands have used warfare as a dominant lyrical theme and have captured various aspects of warfare through their music.  Sammath's goal seems to be to replicate the claustrophobic bludgeoning of being in the middle of a firefight.  Featuring guitar riffs that sound like machine gun fire, drums that sound like heavy artillery and mortars, and the occasional leads that sound like war planes, this is a caustic, pummeling album.  There is not a moment of peace during the entire runtime.  

The first few times I heard this, I was honestly a little disappointed in it.  It certainly makes a lot of noise, but I guess I had something a little more subtle in mind, something with more melody.  Albums by God Dethroned and 1917 have also dealt specifically with warfare and have had enough melody to them to really grab attention.  That is not really present here.  The sound on this is incredibly abrasive, with punishing music and shrieking vocals.  It is not for the faint of heart.  Gradually it has grown on me.