Harm – The Evil (Review)

Harm are a German death metal band and this is their second album.

It’s been a few years since Harm’s 2013 debut album Cadaver Christi first landed like a high-explosive shell, and since then we’ve been hungry for more. Well, wait no longer, as Harm are back.

What I like about Harm is how authentically honest and enjoyable they are. Yes, there are loads of bands playing the old-school death metal style, but there’s just something so very endearing about Harm’s music and the malevolent vibes they put out there.

So, The Evil is near-40 minutes of old-school death metal that prides itself on a heavy and mid-paced assault. Sometimes it gets downright slow and nasty, and it’s easy to lose yourself in the band’s hungry riffs.

They do up the speed on occasion though, so it’s not all mid-paced-to-a-crawl. This helps with a bit of variety in the band’s delivery and shows that they know various different ways to crush the listener.

Like their first album, this is catchy and song-based, with infectious riffs and and some memorable choruses. It’s an enjoyable collection of songs, and one that does show a few changes to Harm’s style – not enough to make them a different band, but enough to be noticeable.

What does this mean? Well, although Harm are definitely influenced by Swedish death metal, and the chainsaws are being revved up as we speak, there’s more than just that here. This new album is a little different to their debut, as The Evil has a bit more of an Obituary influence in the sound and style of the songs, alongside the other influences that we originally saw on Cadaver Christi, of course.

Well, Harm have done it again. Have a listen to The Evil and get drawn into their old-school world. It’s well worth a visit.

For fans of Obituary, Centinex, Dismember, Abyssus, Slaughterday, etc.