AFM
2006
1. Black Tongue
2. Infanticide
3. Devils Backbone
4. Kamikaze Nation
5. Punishment Of Luxury
6. Eat My Sin
7. Blood Red Halo
8. New Sun Rising
9. Left Bleeding (By Love)
10. Faith Or Fury
11. Silent Mandarin (Unit 731)
It was sad to hear Henner Allendorfer had passed away in a car accident back in 05. I had always had a good deal of respect for the man. As the owner of AFM he'd always been more about the music and not just about the business. Metal label by someone who actually cared about metal.
As the frontman of Squealer, Henner was pretty much the soul of the band. I mean really it was HIS band and the decision to carry on even though he had died surprised me more than a little. I had mixed thoughts on this from the beginning. In one way I was pleased to see a good band try to continue and hoped for good material... on the other hand I wasn't sure the band would ever be the same without the voice and writing of Henner.
Well now the new album is out under the band name of Squealer AD and the answer is here... this is not the same band at all. While Squealer had been a very interesting and unique blend of heavy music and power metal elements like big choruses this seems entirely more direct and a hell of a lot less interesting. What we have here sounds something like if newer Slayer and Exodus had a retarded child. Basic 'we be tough metal guys' aggro metal with any and all originality sucked out of the band. Grip INC is another obvious comparison as that's where the new vocalist is dug up from. That really about sums up what this band is now. Everything special about Squealer died with Henner it would seem. The band claims that they had planned on going for a more heavy approach even before Henner had died, but I doubt it would've been this. It just seems the band has completely forgotten who they were, or without Henner, never knew in the first place. The songs just aren't there, the style is overused, the memorable choruses are gone... this flat out sucks and there's no way around it.
There's very little here to remind of what the band used to sound like. The only song that remotely recalls old Squealer is Kamikaze Nation which has some familiar sounding riffs, structure, and some cleaner singing. Not even close to enough to forgive generic grunt metal like the song Infanticide though. When you go from songs like Friends For Life to Infanticide you know something has changed.
In conclusion... don't bother. This is just a throw away album in a musical vein that's been beaten to death. Completely brainless tough guy metal. That's really all there is to say about the music on this release. Squealer After Death? Well Squealer should've just rested in peace.
Highlights: Kamikaze Nation
Rating - 1.0/5
2. Infanticide
3. Devils Backbone
4. Kamikaze Nation
5. Punishment Of Luxury
6. Eat My Sin
7. Blood Red Halo
8. New Sun Rising
9. Left Bleeding (By Love)
10. Faith Or Fury
11. Silent Mandarin (Unit 731)
It was sad to hear Henner Allendorfer had passed away in a car accident back in 05. I had always had a good deal of respect for the man. As the owner of AFM he'd always been more about the music and not just about the business. Metal label by someone who actually cared about metal.
As the frontman of Squealer, Henner was pretty much the soul of the band. I mean really it was HIS band and the decision to carry on even though he had died surprised me more than a little. I had mixed thoughts on this from the beginning. In one way I was pleased to see a good band try to continue and hoped for good material... on the other hand I wasn't sure the band would ever be the same without the voice and writing of Henner.
Well now the new album is out under the band name of Squealer AD and the answer is here... this is not the same band at all. While Squealer had been a very interesting and unique blend of heavy music and power metal elements like big choruses this seems entirely more direct and a hell of a lot less interesting. What we have here sounds something like if newer Slayer and Exodus had a retarded child. Basic 'we be tough metal guys' aggro metal with any and all originality sucked out of the band. Grip INC is another obvious comparison as that's where the new vocalist is dug up from. That really about sums up what this band is now. Everything special about Squealer died with Henner it would seem. The band claims that they had planned on going for a more heavy approach even before Henner had died, but I doubt it would've been this. It just seems the band has completely forgotten who they were, or without Henner, never knew in the first place. The songs just aren't there, the style is overused, the memorable choruses are gone... this flat out sucks and there's no way around it.
There's very little here to remind of what the band used to sound like. The only song that remotely recalls old Squealer is Kamikaze Nation which has some familiar sounding riffs, structure, and some cleaner singing. Not even close to enough to forgive generic grunt metal like the song Infanticide though. When you go from songs like Friends For Life to Infanticide you know something has changed.
In conclusion... don't bother. This is just a throw away album in a musical vein that's been beaten to death. Completely brainless tough guy metal. That's really all there is to say about the music on this release. Squealer After Death? Well Squealer should've just rested in peace.
Highlights: Kamikaze Nation
Rating - 1.0/5
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