ALBUM REVIEW: Venenum – Baest

Danish death metallers BAEST aren’t messing around. In the year since the release of their debut album, Danse Macabre (read our review here), the quintet have knocked a huge European tour supporting the mighty DECAPITATED and a run through Europe’s festival circuit under their belts, all while finishing up their second full-length. Barely over a year since Danse Macabre dropped, BAEST are back with the next chapter in their career: Venenum. But does such a rapid turnover from such a young band show impatience, or does it highlight a creative passion bursting out the BAEST camp?

The Danes make their strengths immediately known with album opener Vitriol Lament. Delivering grinding aggression, ear-worm riffs and stomping groove throughout, the quintet make it clear from the offset that they are here to bring the party – a brutal, blood-soaked party, but a party nonetheless. Where Vitriol Lament was grinding and energetic, lead single Gula brings a layer of murk to proceedings, flirting with dirge-like tempos and creating a suffocating atmosphere before the pure Swe-death worshipping Nihil comes crashing in. Riffing heavy on the lead guitar becomes the focus, with haunting bursts of more atmospheric passages and face-melting solo work completing the package. A highlight from Venenum for sure, and an ironclad example of how strong the unit’s songwriting has become.

Venenum‘s title track grinds its way through its relatively short run time, before interludial Styx launches BAEST into Side B of the record. Heresy comes in with all the force of a napalm strike, delivering groove upon groove and proving to be one of the more infectious moments from the album. An all-too-brief, blues-tinged solo offers a break in the pummelling down-tempo assault, before the groove returns to see Heresy to its abrupt climax. Arguably Nihil‘s strongest contender for the highlight of Venenum, As Above So Below is easily one of the best tracks BAEST have put to tape in their career thus far. Svend Karlsson and Svend Karlsson trade crushing riffs and wonderful lead flourishes back and forth throughout, creating some of the record’s biggest hooks, while vocalist Simon Olsen gives a truly incredible performance. Another trad-metal influenced solo has As Above So Below‘s strength sealed and locked in, before BAEST offer an unexpected but incredibly effective double-time repeat of the chorus, bringing the track to a close.

Driving Venenum through its closing quarter, Sodomize brings the energy to an all-time high and carries a worryingly catchy chorus – though perhaps quietly growling “Sodomize!” to a packed bus on your morning commute would be inadvisable. Keeping the energy levels bursting, BAEST stomp their way into Empty Throne – while maintaining the speed of Sodomize, the band double down on the groove they utilise so well, making Empty Throne an immediate live favourite. All too quickly, Venenum comes to an end with closing track, No Guts No Glory. Though there is a really tasty, Middle Eastern sounding lick at the start, the first half No Guts No Glory largely pushes the album to a close with a heaviness and subtlety akin to granite blocks. The second half of the track, however, is built on a brilliantly mutated bluesy, hard rock riff, before the signature BAEST brutality bursts in the closing seconds to end the album.

BAEST have stepped up their game exponentially since Danse Macabre. With more imaginative songwriting, tighter execution, and bigger hooks, the Danes have proven that they deserve every bit of hype surrounding them, and then some. Venenum doesn’t offer the most innovative or genre-breaking musical experience of the year, but it does prove to be an intensely good time. If there was any question on the band’s worthiness of joining the prestigious ranks of Century Media Records for their debut, Venenum smashes those doubt with all the subtly of a hammer blow.

Rating: 8/10

Venenum is out now via Century Media Records. 

Like BAEST on Facebook.