We are fast approaching another Friday of releases…. Hutch checks out the latest offering from Berzerker Legion!!

I remember being impressed with the debut release by the multi-international collective Berzerker Legion when it was released in late January 2020. Another album that probably got lost during the pandemic, Obliterate the Weak was a bruising aural assault that didn’t do much wrong. The line up featured Tomos Elofson of Hypocrisy, Jonny Pettersson of Wombbath, Asphyx’s Alwin Zuur, Dark Funeral’s low-end monster Frederick Isaksson and the precise drumming of the incredible James Stewart.  

The five are now back with their second album, Chaos Will Reign, and it’s just as nasty, visceral, and punishing as Obliterate the Weak. A 50-minute lesson in violence, there is no respite from the unrelenting barrage which begins with the title track, and then rages in a torrent of fiery riffs, blistering drumming, and gruesome vocal roars until the finale War Chant has concluded.  

There’s nothing that will prepare you for the onslaught that is unleased, and in many ways, the best way to enjoy this album is to simply give in and allow the barrage of contemporary death metal that is laced with a definitive old school vibe swamp, smother, and simply bowl you over.  

You want highlights? Take track one and finish on 11 and you should be fine. Nihilism over Empathy is one intensive care pass; explosive riffage, Stewart’s unbelievable machine-like rapid fire, and Pettersson’s unholy roars that spew vitriolic carnage in a four-minute explosion that doesn’t draw breath. In fact, this is an album where catching air is frowned upon, such is the raging cauldron that is stirred.  

There is the occasional reduction in tempo, but even where that happens, the thunderous, unrelenting attack is rarely allowed to stop. This is the End does apply some brake action, as Berserker Legion switch to a crushing doom-laden track that pummels and pounds. It’s a huge track that sees the band gel into one powerful unit. There’s little more to be said. Move forward and there is the chainsaw juggernaut of Damnation, a muscular battery that levels everything in its path. And these are just a couple of stand out points.  

If you like death metal, and let’s face it, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t, then this album, with the calibre of musicians that are playing on it, is a must listen.  

Berzerker Legion – Chaos Will Reign is out 27/10/2023 via Listenable Records