Cave Bastard: Wrath Of The Bastard

Formed back in 2014 and with one album under their belt in 2018’s The Bleak Shall Devour The Earth, Cave Bastard have returned with their long awaited sophomore album Wrath Of The Bastard. Recorded by popular producer Dave Otero the band was in good hands for this one. Wrath Of The Bastard tells “tales of torment ending in the obliteration of humankind� as the band put it.

Musically the album is a perfect soundtrack for the torment and suffering to come as told through the lyrics on the album. After the brief intro track we get the first visceral attack in “Anti-vaxxtermination� with its pounding chromatic riffing and nasty vocal attack, it covers the bands pre-covid views of the so called “Wellness Community� and how they push anti-vax positions to make profit off untested and ineffective alternatives, much like a snake-oil salesman. The other single is “Chaos Unearthed� which follows the same pummeling onslaught of death metal fury with some technical and progressive tendencies thrown in. This is in fact the musical theme that flows through the entire album for that matter. Lyrically it deals with the unleashing of a gargantuan underworld beast, the so called “cave bastard� who uses the “sword of discreation�(sic) to reek havoc on the world above. While the music is extremely intense most of the time as you would expect from this genre there are also moments when the band lets you catch your breath to survey the damage before plunging you back into the maelstrom. “A Horrible Light� is an instrumental interlude that is somewhat of a reprieve without giving up too much of the intensity along the way. “Fools Of Enslavement�,“The Kriest� and “Futility En Masse� are also stand out tracks that offer more sonic bludgeoning.

Wrath Of The Bastard, while not really breaking any new ground, is still a formidable listen and for fans of extreme metal there's a lot to enjoy here. The songs for the most part are very engaging and played very well with plenty of furious passion on display. My only gripe is that at times it does feel a little bit generic and the songs that are fun during the listening process aren’t very memorable once the album has ended. Perhaps that will change with more listens. Nevertheless this is still a good album with powerful moments and great production.

Cave Bastard:
Recording Lineup
Troy Oftendal -Bass
Steeve Pearce- Vocals
Adolfo Acuna- Lead Guitar
Nick Pardon -Guitar
Marlon Matthews - Drums

Current Lineup:
Troy Oftendal -Bass
Steeve Pearce-Vocals
Adolfo Acuna- Lead Guitar
Sergio Carlos- Drums

Tracklisting:
1. Contamination Annihilate
2. Anti- Vaxxtermination
3. Chaos Unearthed
4. A Horrible Light
5. Fools Of Enslavement
6. Wrath Of The Beast
7. The Kriest
8. Welcome To Oblivion
9. Futility En Masse

Added: January 11th 2022
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 773
Language: english

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