Speed 'n' black 'n' roll; the alloy that this Lithuanian band Regressive is offering. 'Born in the Grave' is their debut full-length album, after a couple of split releases. So, they had been honing their craft for a decade or so.

Motörhead, Venom and Exciter must have been on this trio's playlists, such a huge bow towards many old legends is this album. Nothing else expect the production denounces that this was recorded in late 2010s. Driving fast riffing and chainsaw open-string stuff, pounding double kick drumming and Philthy Animal idolization, and buzzing distorted bass guitar are the main elements, with snarly shouted vocalization (clearly channelling Cronos). The band fluctuates to slower paces in many of the songs, and even though the title track is mostly slow, even it has a fast ending. The band cause ruckus, but they do not manage to evoke very dark vibes, even though there are a couple of songs trying exactly that (e.g. the title track, which manages best at that, with some serious Sodom vibes). Same goes with the cover art, which tries, oh it tries, but is just fucking ugly. Still I know that that smoking cunt will be in my nightmares... Of all songs, 'The Fear', is both the longest and most adventurous.

Occasional melody line, loads of short guitar solo snippets and screetches and such, and general variety should keep a listener entertained, if the music style is close to heart. Can that be written in a review about a speed 'n' black 'n' roll music, by the way?!? Go bite off a bat's head if you need to clean that image from your head. Anyway, those little tricks boost this to a next level. The production sounds modern, but the vocals have some echo in them, keeping one foot back in time. On the lower frequencies, this serves punches, thanks to the modern sound (unlike some Bewitched platters, that miss lower ooomph, but serve somewhat similar music style).

If 'Born in the Grave' does not make one headbang, pump fists and shred that air-gitarrr, then it's time to try some Elton John for example, and accept the fate. Regressive are quite a young band, but they don't sound like that. They honour old legends with style, power and some very catchy songs; this is entertaining as hell!

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
04/21/2020 21:01