ALBUM REVIEW: Repeat Until Death – Bombus
WORDS: David Aston
Gothenburg’s Heavy Rock maestros BOMBUS are back with a follow up to their 2013 release, The Poet and the Parrot with Repeat Until Death.
Although, the album should be remaned Repeat until Deaf, which sounds like pretty good instructions to me.
The opening track Eyes on the Price, is as in your face as it gets, thumping power chords carry the song being accompanied by intrinsic guitar solos; it’s not hard to draw comparison to early MEGADETH. This song has grit and melody in equal measure, an absolute belter of an opening tack and one that sets the tone for the album, in terms of ruthless aggression and musical prowess.
BOMBUS have a unique sound and this is due in part to the fact that they utilize both Feffe Berglund (Guitars & Vocals) and Matte Saker (Guitars & Vocals) vocals. The result of which is something near demonic in nature, their synchronised screams add an alluring and intense depth to the vocals.
Nowhere on the album is this more prominent than on Deadweight. There’s an old school feel to this track and one has to feel that there is inspiration from fellow Gothenburg residents Hammerfall. That being said, this track has some major teeth to it, catchy hooks and fist pumping fury, it could well be the stand-out single from the album.
In what is a change of pace for the album we come across I Call You Over (Hairy Teeth PT2), with the addition of a piano intro and smoother vocals, which may lead the listener into a false sense of thinking that BOMBUS are about to drop a love song. Instead, they drop a big boisterous BOMBUS ballad. A tale of despair and the intricacies of human relationships, this song has passion at its roots and is delivered with untelling emotion.
Things are quickly brought back to pace with the title track Repeat Until Death, having channelled their inner MOTORHEAD for this one, Feffe and Matte’s stylings can only be compared to the guttural growling’s of a young Lemmy. Monstrous drums by Peter Asp maintains a steady and ferocious rhythm, whilst OLA on bass brings everything together and makes it effortlessly groovy.
This is a head banger if there ever was one, an outright beast of a track that will get you pumped -add this to your gym playlist right now.
Finishing off with Get Your Cuts, a dark, melodic track that brilliantly showcases the bands ability to slow the tempo without losing any intensity.
This album has real depth, and for only lasting little over 30 minutes, the listener is certainly taken on a ride, albeit a short one. That being said, Repeat Until Death has teeth, T-Rex teeth, with outstanding artistic ability to match. This album ensures BOMBUS are ranked alongside Gothenburg titans, such as IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL and AT THE GATES, continuing the tradition of world class musical exports from the city. Expect big things from BOMBUS in the future, hopefully we’ll see a UK tour soon, or perhaps a slot at a major festival.
Rating: 8/10
Repeat Until Death is out now via Century Media Records.
