Having covered a plethora of styles during his solo career,
Joe finally honed in on a self-made creation a while back, to great aplomb.
Heading down a road built on death, black and industrial metal, the latest
album 'Verum Loqui', steamrolls along this path brilliantly. This is
progression as it should be, move forward without forsaking the foundation you
built your music around, yet...you move!
Opener ‘Sangre’ is full force from the word go. No-nonsense
going for the jugular, this is how I like my death metal spiced up with some
room to breathe as a brilliant solo appears. 'Wurmwood' follows and it's even
more brutal. Starts off kind of like Kreator with these intense interludes that
brings paranoia supreme...only for the solo to offer tranquility before you're
mangled to nothing but pulp. 'Hermetik' reduces the tempo but only somewhat.
Joe goes for a more atmospheric yet crushing approach and this song is one of
my favourites on 'Verum Loqui'. Different tempos enhances all the emotions
pouring out of this one...only for the solo to push forth the paranoia and
claustrophobia. A fantastic song! 'The Traveler' is a wonderful instrumental
piece, more transcendent than the other tracks and perhaps a little bit more
experimental. A wonderful solo in the latter half pushes the song even
further....absolutely great! Closer 'Odium Reborn' is fucking old school death
metal with a modern as hell sound and I love it. No beating around the bush,
this is intense and brutal shit and you can't ask for more!
Joe amazes me with every release because there's no slowing
down and there's no repeating even though he is moving down a more honed-in
path. This is release number 14 since June 2018 and he is not repeating himself
which is a huge benefactor in keeping your music interesting and vibrant. Can't
wait to see what Joe has in store for us!
-Swedebeast
Comments