I grabbed 1349’s “Hellfire” after seeing Tom G. of Celtic Frost sporting thier gear in some promo shots for Monotheist. I figure if the mastermind of Celtic Frost digs these guys they must be worth at least checking out.

And they are. Hellfire is raw, fast and black. Raun spits violent vocals over an onslaught of drums and guitar. The vocals are perfect for this genre or sub-genre or whatever the hell. 1349 are definitely not symphonic in any sense of the word. They are all about blasting.

Frost is ridiculous on the drums. I’ve listened to Satyricon (mostly the early stuff) and I never knew this guy could shred like this! Holy crap! Tons of blast beats.

This album is raw, but well produced. It’s not muddy and the vocals are pretty clean, which is good because nothing kills an album like this faster than a muddy production job. On the other hand, some metal (especially black metal) can be over produced and “neutered”. This isn’t Trivium. Hellfire will definitely make you wanna hop in your car, grab your favorite axe or long sword and scream bloody death down the nearest interstate at about 100 miles an hour.

Standout tracks in my opinion are:

I am abomination
Nathicana
Sculptor of Flesh
Hellfire

All in all, an awesome disc. Tom G. does have good taste.