Savage German metallers Implore continue to show that chill is for other people on scalding fourth album The Burden Of Existence.
Like Converge without the slower, quieter bits, Implore sound like they've never relaxed a day in their lives. This is a good thing, and The Burden Of Existence is a nailbomb of an album that smashes together all the heaviest bits of heavy music – hardcore, death metal, grindcore, stuff that harnesses the awesome power of the Boss HM-2 – and presents them as an exhilarating, breathlessly exciting noise.
The mood Implore are in can be guessed from the titles: Masochistic Tendencies, Accept The Loss, Love Will Gradually Perish, the weighty name of the whole thing. There's a darkness underpinning it, but brilliantly the band also sound like they're smashing through everything in sight to escape it.
There's skill and balance at play as well. They know just when to go fully into the red, and deliver blood-red teeth and claws one minute, deliver an Entombed-ish groove another, and when the best way to make their scorching point is with a dissonant burst of melody. They're not the first to do it, of course, but the tumbling thrill is both present and enthralling.
If you're after a good, solid, adrenalised slap in the teeth, The Burden Of Existence will take your head off.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Converge, Napalm Death, Ithaca
The Burden Of Existence is out now via Church Road
