Hereza – I Become Death

text: Oscar Wendt

Hereza

I Become Death

Godz Ov War Productions

February 13th, 2017

When you think about Croatia, the first thing that comes to your mind is holidays and the Sun. You think of Split, Dubrovnik or Rijeka. You think of beautiful lakes and charming beaches. Forget all that! Forget all prosperity and peace of mind! Hereza is here! After the absolutely crushing 2015 debut album, Misanthrope, the band is coming back with some more murderous music. I Become Death is to see the light of day through Godz Ov War Productions. Now close your eyes, think about Croatia and discard all you have known about the country…

Before having a first listen to I Become Death, I wanted to quickly make myself familiar with Hereza’s debut album. Oh, it turned out not to be a quick acquaintance as I couldn’t stop listening to the album for at least several hours. With that in mind I played this year’s offering from Hereza. Okay, I always try not to exaggerate but I’m being honest now – after the first track, the title song, I had to get some fresh air as it absolutely crushed me to pieces. It’s been a while since I heard so much aggression and belligerence in music! Needless to say, I dropped everything, ready to get some more awesomeness from Hereza.

But in all seriousness… The Croatian duo has managed to capture something so full of skill and charisma that it’s hard to imagine. Each song has got this ‘wow‘ factor and each part of the album is capable of surprising you with something. I Become Death loses a little bit of the punk overtones in comparison to Misanthrope but this is in favour of the extra charge of violence. Songs like Jebem Vas u Usta Ladna, Uništi Pali Ruši or Torn From the Death’s Bed are saturated with confidence and absurdly strong vocals which give the whole album a very, very solid character.

It has also been a while since the last time when an album was able to make my neck hurt. Honestly, I Become Death is packed with those fantastic rhythmic riffs which make your head go up and down automatically. Its speed and agility is also Hereza’s trademark and the drumming velocity and technique can leave you breathless. Literally.

All the songs have also got this weird feistiness which certainly appears to me. Combining so much aggression with something that is actually so engaging and captivating is a difficult job and I think that Hereza managed to master that skill. I Become Death is a highlight of what I mean about something so easy to get involved in. Absolutely perfect and immaculate!

I think that I Become Death will change my perspective and the way of thinking about Croatia. And oh yeah, we definitely have the first full-length album of 2017 that already has its place in my annual summary! I feel, however, a bit sorry for Hereza because they have set a bar incredibly high for themselves and I really, really can’t wait to see if they don’t lose that trademark aggression on future releases.

Godz Ov War Productions
Hereza

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