Review
Genocide
Apocalyptic Visions

Ván (2007) — Kevin Fitzpatrick

Genocide – Apocalyptic Visions cover artwork
Genocide – Apocalyptic Visions — Ván, 2007

Wow. These guys really hate Jesus. Well, I mean, they seem to hate a lot of things but they really hate Jesus. This is Genocide. Don't confuse them with the twenty-four, yes, twenty-four other bands called Genocide; this is the three guys from Germany with corpse paint. Not to be confused with the Genocide from Finland which was only two guys with corpse paint. Don't confuse them with the other two Genocides from Germany that don't wear corpse paint, either. You think I'm kidding but I'm not. Twenty-four Genocides and the real question is, "Does this one stand out?"

Answer: Not really. Not musically, anyway. These guys are raw as hell but there's no substance to the riffs at all. There's nothing really memorable except the hatred. They remind me of Skrewdriver in that sense. Remember Skrewdriver? They were a skinhead band who were just vicious in their songs about hate er

sorry - "white pride," but that was the only thing that made them stand out because they made just about the shittiest music ever committed to vinyl. But I digress

So despite being from Germany, Genocide doesn't outwardly appear to be Aryan nationalists. They hate everyone equally. There's the standard songs about war, destruction, destructive wars, and how Jesus was "Whining at the cross / Crowned with thorns / Symbol of his might." I think that last line's supposed to be sarcastic.

Did I mention the album is dedicated to "All church burnings worldwide?" You get the idea. Look, hate in music can be just as valid as any other subject matter provided you have the music to back it up, which is not the case here. It would most certainly fall into the "black" category (no shit) but a bit more melodic in song structure or at least attempted melodic song structure. The songs average about four minutes in length so the impatient listener won't have long to wait, provided he/she doesn't mind the next song being as unmemorable as the last.

Genocide – Apocalyptic Visions cover artwork
Genocide – Apocalyptic Visions — Ván, 2007

Related news

No Genocide (vinyl edition)

Posted in Records on December 7, 2024

Full of Hell North American dates

Posted in Tours on March 10, 2019

Genocide Pact teams up with A389 Recordings

Posted in Labels on March 3, 2015

Recently-posted album reviews

Contention

Nuclear Summer
Daze (2026)

Contention, I would argue, has spent the last few years at or near the top of the heap of the return to 90's styled Straight Edge Metalcore. I am being specific because there is no mistaking Contention's influences nor their message. This is a STRAIGHT EDGE band that is far more indebted to Morning Again that anything that uses a … Read more

A Secret Revealed

The Ruin I Summoned Forth
Lifeforce (2026)

There are albums that use heaviness as an assault and others that use it to create an atmosphere. On The Ruin I Summoned Forth, A Secret Revealed manage to does both. The German quintet’s fourth full-length is an enormous, bleak piece of post-metal, but calling it post-metal only gets you part of the way there. Black metal cuts through its … Read more

Time Spent Driving

Lost Leaves
Thirty Something Records (2026)

There's a particular challenge facing bands that came out of the late '90s and early '00s emo scene. You can recreate the sound people remember and risk becoming your own nostalgia act, or you can abandon it entirely and risk losing whatever made the band matter in the first place. Time Spent Driving choose neither on Lost Leaves. More than … Read more