Band: Heads For The Dead
Album: Into The Red
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Genre: Death Metal
Release Date: 11 December, 2020
Artwork by Branca Studio
Steeped in horror tendencies and impressive musicianship, Heads For The Dead are back with a walloping 2nd album following their highly praised 2018 debut. Despite the high amount of love they got last time around I had never listened to the band till this August. Better late than never, as the saying goes.
While the group may now have just two releases under their belt, the musicians are industry veterans. With Ed Warbie (ex-Gorefest, ex-Hail of Bullets) on skins, Ralf Hauber (Revel in Flesh) on vocals and Johnny Pettersson (Wombath, Henry Kane, Gods Forsaken) on every instrument you hear asides from drums this band is a well-polished machine. When it comes to the general mood of the record I felt as though it would asphyxiate me with how dense the feeling of dread is.
The delivery of performance from all the members is nothing less than an intense workout. You can tell they're holding nothing back while still adding plenty of variety. On "Multi Morbid Maniac" for example, they slow it down to about half the speed it was for an ominous effect. Then on "Horror Injection" we get this really catchy verse that I find myself singing loudly along to at the disdain of my neighbor.
With each listen of Into The Red I'm reminded that this is not just another Swedish death record. There's subtlety in the way the negative spaces are filled with the exceptional dread that HFTD perfected on Serpent's Curse. If you're a fan of bands such as Revel In Flesh, Live Burial or Paganizer - Into The Red will be sure to tickle your fancy.
I'm giving Into The Red a walloping 10/10 for their execution of theme and excellent musicianship!
If you you're interested in finding out more about the band be sure to check out the links below