Description
Karl Beckman took a little longer than his Mithotyn guitar partner Stefan Weinerhall to make his next move after the viking metal outfit split up in 1999. While Weinerhall almost immediately got to work on the more melodic Falconer, Beckman spent a couple of years on the cover band scene before regrouping with a new band, installing himself as the vocalist. While it is immediately obvious that Infernal Vengeance have stayed in the aggressive side of the spectrum, the black metal sound prevalent throughout Mithotyn’s career does not carry through to the songs here. Folk influences and Norse-themed lyrics still form a large part of the band’s music, but their entire foundation is one built on a much more traditional heavy metal sound. Beckman’s vocals, while very raspy and aggressive, do not reach the same levels of over-the-top intensity heard on the Mithoyn/Thy Primordial side project Indungeon. While finding a category that describes Infernal Vengeance is a bit of a challenge, thinking of thrashy traditional metal with folk influences and harsh vocals is probably as good a description as can be given without actually playing the album. ‘Dual mayhem’ originally began life as 2 demo tapes, recorded a year apart and with a slight, but very notable line-up change. The demos have been remastered to eliminate the discrepancies in sound between the two releases. A fair few songs may be less than spectacular, but Karl Beckman has bounced back and shown that perhaps 2 successful bands can rise out of the shadow of Mithotyn. Enough promise has been shown here to suggest that when Infernal Vengeance put together a full album from a single writing session that they may advance their somewhat unique blend of sounds to make something great. As it stands, ‘Dual mayhem’ is a very enjoyable first effort for those who like the heavier side of folk metal.
Track listing:
Tremendous Malice – Demo 2005
1. Glorious North
2. Tremendous Malice
3. The Dark
4. Metal Crusade
5. By The End Of The Day
Promo – 2004
6. Infernal Vengeance
7. Bleed For Your Master
8. Defend Our Kingdom
9. I Am God
10. Launch Of Evil