Approaching a new war metal album often feels like a binary proposition: immediate impact or instant oblivion. This relatively new, sometimes nebulous subgenre thrives on pure aggression and unadulterated hatred, yet it occasionally births truly compelling records. War metal demands an immediate onslaught, and Martoriator’s Bloodpainted Visions of Perpetual Conflict obliges, launching directly into a hellish scream and a maelstrom of rabid sound.
Martoriator operate within the established confines of war metal, emphasizing a grinding sonic texture while fiercely retaining the genre’s signature brutality. The musical execution brings to mind the relentless, heavily distorted, no-frills assault of bands like Antichrist Siege Machine or Revenge. Each track maintains that quintessential war metal attacking posture, characterized by ferocious, layered vocals and frenetic, chaotic guitar work. To further enhance the atmosphere of a violent apocalypse, Martoriator judiciously incorporate literal war-related samples, complementing their auditory devastation.
Martoriator keep compositions commendably tight with songs consistently clocking in around the three to four-minute mark. While war metal can frequently devolve into a one-trick pony, this particular breed manifests as an armored hell machine, annihilating everything in its path. Yes, a certain sameness might permeate each track, but this gruesome consistency constitutes part of war metal’s deranged charm. The genre aims for ugliness, and if an album successfully maintains that ugliness without inducing terminal boredom, it achieves its purpose.
Martoriator’s sheer savagery and unyielding aggression compensate for much. Their commitment to compact and tight songwriting allows this approach to work effectively. Bloodpainted Visions of Perpetual Conflict breaks no new ground within the war metal landscape; it delivers a standard but potent siege campaign upon your ears. Such is the inherent nature of this brutal musical domain. This album doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it certainly keeps it rolling through fields of fire and bone.
