There's an idiom that goes, "Everything old is new again." It's a concise way of saying that fads and trends tend to get recycled from generation to generation. You see it demonstrated everywhere in pop culture – fashion, television, and music. It's especially apparent in heavy metal where so-called purity is fetishized, sometimes to the point of unintentional parody. This conservative attitude towards the music is the reason why bands like Deafheaven get so much criticism from fans for blurring the lines between metal and other styles of rock music. It's also the reason all-ages heavy metal shows can sometimes look more like an 80s themed high school costume party than a concert.
There's nothing wrong with keeping it old, but this endless parade of bands whose gimmick is just to sound as close to other, pre-existing bands gets tiring, especially for those of us who've been listening to metal for multiple decades. Consequently, it's a breath of fresh air when a band comes along that, while completely unoriginal, still manages to record an album's worth of material that's compelling and fun to listen to. Norway's Inculter is one such band. Their debut, Persisting Devolutioni, is a throw back to the early to mid 80s era of thrash and proto-death metal that accurately captures the feel of the time – a feat that's all the more impressive considering the oldest member of Inculter is 19.
If you were to listen to Persisting Devolution without any background information, it would be easy to mistake the album for some forgotten relic from 1986. Inculter combine elements of Teutonic thrash bands like Kreator and Sodom with American thrash and paleo-death legends like Exodus and Slayer. The resulting tornado of gruff vocals, d-beat drumming, and minimalist guitar solos are then drenched in production so filthy you'll feel like showering after each listen. Yes, the songs all sort of sound the same, but, with a brisk run time of 38 minutes and not much filler, you won't even notice what with all the headbanging you'll be doing.
Persisting Devolution isn't a must buy, but it's still a good record. Whether or not you decide to drop the cash on it will depend largely on how big a fan you are of death tinged thrash metal. If you're in the mood for some OG evil sounding thrash, this is likely to be the record to beat in 2015. There's still plenty of room for the band to improve, but fortunately they have 60 or more years to improve.
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