Brodequin – Harbinger of Woe (Review)

This is the fourth album from US death metal band Brodequin.

Harbinger of Woe contains 32 minutes of furious brutal death metal. It’s the first album since 2004’s merciless Methods of Execution, and Brodequin are back to make up for lost time.

Harbinger of Woe is as brutal and aggressive as you would want from Brodequin. These new songs are absolutely merciless. They rip and tear the flesh from bone, with brutal blast beats and disgustingly murderous groove. The riffs are fast and lethal, while the utterly guttural death growls hit just the right spot. It’s brutally good fun, but also offers more depth of delivery than you might be expecting, at least in places.

On the one hand it’s, (almost), like the last 20 years didn’t happen and Brodequin have picked up where they left off. On the other, Harbinger of Woe has certainly benefitted from a professional, modern veneer, one that allows the band’s accomplished death metal to shine in the best of brutal lights. Believe it or not though, Harvester of Woe is not simply a purely brutal album. Brodequin do inject the occasional bout of gruesome melody and blackened atmosphere into the mayhem here and there, and it works a treat.

Harbinger of Woe is a steamroller of intensity and crushing heaviness. Clear, precise, and surgically barbaric, Harbinger of Woe is a very enjoyable release. It displays just how effective the easily generic brutal death metal genre can be in the right hands. Brodequin take the style and enrich it, showcasing the best of what it is capable of. This is a monster of strong songwriting, tight execution, and passionate delivery. Brodequin are back, have pushed their sound forward, while still staying faithful to their history, and this album is essential for any fan of this form of belligerent death metal.