Album Review: Välde // Humanity’s Last Breath
Swedish black death juggernauts Humanity’s Last Breath create disgusting riffs. Since forming in 2009, they’ve been renowned for a pummeling atmosphere, and have built a career making ferocious music. It will be interesting to see if their new album Välde builds on this heaviness.
It’s clear on the opening songs ‘Glutton and ‘Earthless’ that the production is crisp and clear. The guttural vocals and guitars are very high up in the mix, which works very well because it is a heavy assault on the ears. They create a powerful impact. The brutal breakdown at the end of ‘Earthless’ is nasty and slow, with each chug getting progressively violent.
There is plenty of atmosphere among the brutality. ‘Descent’ incorporates some beautiful synths, which work very well because Humanity’s Last Breath is not afraid to try new things. It adds an ethereal layer to what is already a vicious song. It’s also worth mentioning how tight and fluid the drumming is. This works especially well on ‘Dehumanize’ because they combine with the guitars to create a thicker impact.
Guitarist Buster Odeholm has worked with the likes of Born of Osiris and Oceano. This helps to understand why the riffs are uncompromisingly heavy and dark because they reflect the gloomy state of the world today. The strings towards the end of ‘Tide’ create a very ethereal atmosphere where the listener can take a breather.
Humanity’s Last Breath save the best for last on ‘Vittring.’ Just when you think they cannot get any heavier, they bring in some filthy chugs that would suit a moshpit. It is the perfect closer to a captivating, engaging album.
At the time of writing, we are not even two weeks into 2021, and already Humanity’s Last Breath have crafted an early contender for most brutal album of the year. It is compelling and will appeal to fans of deathcore and Oceano.
Välde comes out on 12th February 2021 on Unique Leader Records.
Words by Ermis Madikopoulos