DIABOLIC FORCE : MARCH TO CALVARY
Metal Inquisition
That one of the earliest words out of Diabolic Force vocalist Whipstriker’s mouth on this nasty, triumphantly old school release is “bastard” packs quite a lot of poetic justice – this truly is a bastard of a record. In a good way, naturally. Shredding, racing, snarling, punching and spitting, “March to Calvary” is as friendly as a pitbull with a tooth infection, a raw, destructive outburst of unreconstructed thrash. It marks the band’s first full-length, and between tracks “I Just Want to Get High” and “Erection, Ejaculation, Exhibitionism”, very little is left to the imagination.
The chaotic messiness that characterised Kreator’s first forages into their newly-minted genre is in great evidence here, with twitchy tempo changes (from faster to, er, fasterer) and a racing noisiness keeping proceedings lively and infectious. A similar effect is achieved with the employment of the gutsy, growly smack of early Celtic Frost – the aforementioned “E, E, E” practically drags the phrase “ARE YOU MORBID?” from the listening headbanger. Still, you can tell that classic heavy metal made a blunt implant on the brains of these Brazilians too, in the bassy, shredding gallop of proto-Maiden track “Prisoner of Wickedness”, and a more general homage to all things Venom.
It’s all there, jumbled up into the pot, and Diabolic Force clearly have courage behind their convictions, stretching the closing title track out to prodigious (for them) lengths in order to get the best out of their loose, mean onslaught. It couldn’t be said that this album really transcends its influences, but hey, it lets us revel a bit in the unapologetically crusty and crunchy past, hooking a thumb into our bullet belts and giving our necks a much-needed workout.
For this enjoyment factor, Diabolic Force must be respected and thanked; instead of attempting to be ‘on trend’ they subvert modern tastes by being as classic and downright nasty as they choose. There’s nothing cynical about this outing – it’s clearly a labour of love, evoking an era of brutality that the band feel shouldn’t be allowed merely to fade away. DF have precisely the right spirit to carry this to a more relevant level – time will tell as to whether they also have the abilities.
60/100
ELLEN SIMPSON
