13th March 2022

Review: “Fear Of Living” by Indemon

Conceived in the autumn of 2020 in the midst of a Global Pandemic situation in Finland by guitarist Santeri Liesmala and drummer Patrik Kuitunen it became clear after just a few rehearsals that as a project Indemon had much more potential than has been imagined with the pair having creating alchemy naturally between them. Seeking out a vocalist the pair reached out to old friend Joose Riihelд, someone the pair had worked with in previous bands before bass player Sasu Savolainen was found. All four musicians sharing influences in Slayer, Sepultura and Entombed to name but a few and immediately dived into creating a debut EP…

…their sound making an impression of French label Music-Records who inked a deal to release “Fear Of Living“. As you might expect given the bands influences they describe themselves as a Heavy Thrash act and listening to the EP, there are elements of other sub-genres including Death Metal in the mix. Opening cut “Shield” is a rampaging affair with bursts of blast beats around Speed Thrash riffs galore and a classic solo, very much as if the incarnation of Sepultura from the mid 90’s has been resurrected and are in a practice space some where, Riihelд having a similar texture to his vocals to Max Cavalera. If the band busted loose with a cover of “Refuse/Resist” or “Slave New World” during a live so, you would not be surprised. Whether it’s intended to be or not “In the Rear with the Gear” comes across as an ode to the war that touring can be with plenty of use of metaphors in the process Kuitunen delivering a thunderstorm of percussive battery with an old school drum sound that counter balances the crush of their guitar sound perfectly. Switching from Thrash to Groove for “Supreme Protection” with another gargantuan kit performance and a blistering piece of lead mid cut is a well trodden path but works very well here, the band leaning on their experiences in previous bands to make this debut release sound like a headbangers dream and the village idiots nightmare. Liesmala is armed with a plethora of barbed riffs and intricate lead moments to augment the talents of the rhythm section and by the time the title track hits, if your beating black heart isn’t in love with this old school Heavy Thrash attack, you may want to seek medical attention [7/10]

Track listing