The third album of the Brits is exactly what you could expect if you have listened to the previous ones. It’s the band that was founded by Paradise Lost’s Greg Mackintosh after the death of his father, with the desire to return to his roots. Besides the guitars, he is responsible for all the vocals with excellent results. Maybe Vallenfyre was just the beginning. After them, we listened to Nick Holmes doing growls again and Paradise Lost remembering the sound of their first years by playing doom/death again.
Since this band started, Hamish Hamilton Glencross (guitars/bass, ex-My Dying Bride) has been together with Greg and lately the empty drum kit was filled by Waltteri Vayrynen who replaced Adrian Erlandsson (At The Gates, The Haunted) not only here but in Paradise Lost as well. “Fear Those Who Fear Him” has all the elements of the era that Greg feels nostalgic about, as it is a classic European death metal album as it was formed mainly in Sweden in the early 90’s. Swampy guitars, fast tempos and short songs mostly without leaving out some doom elements that make heavier the final result. In general, it’s their best release so far. If they go on this way, we will listen to more amazing stuff from them.
After all, the meaning of this album can be found in the sticker on the digipak. I could write just this from the start and cover everything. I quote: “Death, doom, grind, crust. No samples. No triggers. No bullshit. Raw honest brutality.” Do you need anything else?
For The Fans Of: Entombed, Dismember, Bloodbath