After what is quickly becoming a normative hiatus for this Swedish five-piece band, Disfear delivers their latest blast of d-beat influenced mayhem onto the masses. Live the Storm is their second full length with Tomas Lindberg, vocalist of At the Gates and an innumerable number of other heavy bands, and the first with former Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund, as well as their second album for Relapse. Recorded in a whirlwind bout of sessions at God City Studios with Kurt Ballou, Live the Storm is a nonstop thrill ride of heavy punk rock in the vein of Discharge - hence the d-beat influence - with touches of Motörhead thrown into the mix; if hearing Disfear has thus far not been your privilege, they have a similar sound to new labelmates Coliseum.
Live the Storm blasts through the gates with a thrilling number, "Get it Off." The guitar riffing is top notch and just locks in perfectly with the rhythm section while the guitar lead's lazy sound fits perfectly with the nonstop rush that the song provides. Lindberg's vocals are vicious as ever, and he just fits this music so well. "The Cage" is interesting as their seems to be a bit more of a rock and roll feel to the song and instead of being at breakneck speed for the entire song, Disfear allows some of the sounds ring out a bit, which offers some bit of dynamic change. Seriously, "The Furnace" just sounds so damn crunchy and downright dirty; the song moves at a bit of a slower pace than that of other tracks on the album and that really creates a darker mood complete with an ominous siren effect that the band uses during the bridge. I highly enjoy the attitude that just drips from my speakers when "Testament" plays. Lindberg sounds more brash than usual and the music has this palpable swagger that bleeds a fist pumping anthemic style which is only more evident when the band sings "You say we are the future" and "A Testament / Born out of Desperation." "Phantom" ends Live the Storm with a violent pounding and some pretty juicy guitar leads.
Without of a shadow of a doubt this is a killer album from Disfear. When I stated earlier that Live the Storm is a nonstop thrill ride, it is the truth. The band blasts through the ten tracks with a vicious energy that Ballou captures so well on the album while the invective of Lindberg's vocals are in top form too. This is no frills heavy punk rock that sounds like a breath of fresh air in the sometimes convoluted field of albums that come from that genre every year; at least, this is a real good way to kick off 2008. So get this and dig in to the relentless pounding that Disfear delivers on Live the Storm.
