Album Review: Knogjärn – Marscherar & Förstör (Big Balls Productions)

Leaning towards a more metalcore sound, Swedish band Knogjärn play fast & heavy music & their new album, Marscherar & Förstör will be released on June 8th via Big Balls Productions.

With all the lyrics of Marscherar & Förstör in Swedish, Knogjärn have the task of getting their music to do the talking for them. Something that doesn’t always work. The problem lies in some of the blandness of the metal on show. Its not exactly inventive metalcore even if it does have some punk sensibilities to it.

The album doesn’t exactly start in the best way with Hur Sjuka Är Vi & Bitar Av Glas being far too similar in sound when the clean singing comes into play. It’s very confusing with neither song lighting much of a fire under the listener.

That being said the heavier parts of the music, the riffing & dirty side of the vocals are very good. There are some wickedly heavy beats with a nice roughness that fits within their punkier range. När Vi Faller has a real thumping sound & the mix of dirty & clean vocals work really well here.

The best moments of Marscherar & Förstör are when Knogjärn let loose & just go for an intense selection of blast beats, furious vocals & hardcore riffing. It’s this that makes the likes of Stänger Ner Dig, Döda Röster & Förstör stand out. Short, to the point & in your face with their aggressive stance. All very good songs.

The rest of Marscherar & Förstör flies by in a hail of riffing, hardcore vocals & soft singing. The smashing drum beat of Så Lite Minnen being the most memorable. The album ends with the slower & way moodier Le När Du Dödar. A chugging guitar riff allows the clean vocals to really stand out here but there is still plenty of fury throughout.

Marscherar & Förstör is a bit hit & miss. It’s got plenty of great metal moments but a few too many songs slip into formulaic sounding metalcore. Being only 30 minutes long but with 11 songs means nothing really overstays its welcome. That makes it worth giving a go.

Knogjärn – Marscherar & Förstör Full Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. Hur Sjuka Är Vi
3. Bitar Av Glas
4. När Vi Faller
5. Stänger Ner Dig
6. Döda Röster
7. Förstör
8. Drömvärld
9. Himlen Färgas Röd
10. Så Lite Minnen
11. Le När Du Dödar

You can find out much more about the band over on their website as well as Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.