Tormented Vision: Incite Hatred

I'm always confused by the marketing strategy of creating an intricate band logo that no one can actually read, so I have to commend Tormented Vision for not only having a logo that looks evil and intestine like, but for the fact that I could actually read the name of the UK four piece without resorting to peering at the spine of the CD! The band formed in 2007 and released a three track demo soon after, before being beset by the almost unavoidable line up reshuffles that fledgling bands go through.

So with a set quartet of vocalist Daniel Brookes who also along with Anoop Kundi handles guitars, Thom Meloughlin on bass and drummer Jake Eades, Tormented Vision have unleashed their debut album Incite Hatred. The band picture on the back of the CD booklet gives a good impression of where this young outfit are coming from with Kreator and Sepultura T-shirts in evidence; however the most obvious reference point is actually Slayer. Those influences are boldly displayed across this album and while there are dashes of technical death metal and a little old school metal incorporated into the band's sound, in general Tormented Vision do a good job of repackaging ideas that are pretty familiar.

There are only eight songs on the album, one of which is an intro to first track proper "Capitalise On Weakness", whilst "Placation" is a short instrumental, although to be fair the atmospheric guitar work does offer a welcome change of pace and attack. The six songs that remain are all slightly too lengthy for their own good and while the guitars are big and bold and the production does a solid job of bringing the reasonably traditional offerings into focus, there just aren't really enough twists and turns to merit songs like "Incite Hatred" or "For The Slaughter" clocking in at over six minutes. That said the closing pair of "Brutal" and "Out For Blood" raise the standard of song writing a couple of notches, with both incorporating the right amount of slow paced bludgeon to counter-act the short, sharp frenzies of thrashing riffs and whilst again they are both lengthy affairs, there is more here to hold the interest.

Incite Hatred is a solid, if unspectacular debut that has bags of energy and enthusiasm and shows a fair amount of promise. However I can't help but wonder if cutting down the length of the songs and taking a little longer to write a couple of really sharp and incisive romps wouldn't have heightened Tormented Vision's impact.

Track Listing
1. Foreplay (intro)
2. Capitalise On Weakness
3. Enigma Virus
4. Incite Hatred
5. For The Slaughter
6. Placation
7. Brutal
8. Out For Blood

Added: August 6th 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Tormented Vision MySpace
Hits: 2042
Language: english

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