Heads for the Dead – Into the Red (Review)

This is the second album from Heads for the Dead, an international death metal band.

2018’s Serpent’s Curse was a great record, so this new one is much-anticipated. Into the Red contains 47 minutes of horror-themed old-school death metal, and the album has been worth anticipating; this is a crushing record that deserves much attention.

Featuring the vocalist of Revel in Flesh and the multi-talented Jonny Pettersson, (Ursinne, Gods Forsaken, Ashcloud, Henry Kane, Just Before Dawn, Wombbath, and others), they’re now joined by the drummer of Ayreon, (and ex-Gorefest/Hail of Bullets) for this new release.

Like the band’s debut, Heads for the Dead’s sound is rooted in the classic Swedish style, but not limited to it. All of the songs are well-written, full of catchy hooks, and smothered in rampant memorability. This is a band that clearly know what they are doing with the style. They also cover Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger, and do a damn good job of it.

The band are really adept at creating mood; horror-fuelled macabre atmospheres are fostered really well through grim melodies, ghostly keyboards, and creative use of songwriting. This approach is effectively twinned with dark brutality and the sort of chainsaw riffs that we’ve come to expect from its main protagonist.

Throughout this impressive record it delivers gem after gem of death metal delights. With a depth of longevity that may surprise, Heads for the Dead have delivered an expectation-smashing second album.

Essential listening.