Band:	Haradrim
Album:	Death Of Idols
Style:	Crust punk, Black metal
Release date:	June 2023

01. Death Of Idols
02. Venus Falling
03. Tyrant
04. Godless
05. Defiling Of Spirit
06. Nero
07. Demigod
08. Conquest
09. The Price Of Compliance
10. Acheron [bonus]
11. Ashes Of Warsaw

What do you get when you mix D-beat and crust punk with modern style melodic black metal and satanical themed lyrics? The answer is Haradrim.

Haradrim hails from the city of Umeå in northern Sweden, which is most notably known for such bands as Meshuggah, Cult Of Luna and hardcore legends Refused. But let's forget about them for now, and focus on this band that has emerged from Umeå's underground scene. Haradrim consists of founding members Dennis Sjögren and Anton Palmborg, who previously played in the death metal/punk band Folkmord. This time around, they bring some fast-paced crust punk, riddled with melodic black metal.

Death Of Idols is their debut album and it kicks off with the title track, a song that delivers some great Gaerea-like riffs. If you've listened to last year's Mirage, you'll know what I mean. Whether Gaerea is an inspiration or not, I don't know. But make no mistakes, this is crust punk with black metal elements, not the other way around. So don't expect to find true Norwegian-style black metal and shrieking growls here. The music is fast and aggressive, but there are slower and more melodic parts too with some beautiful guitar solos baked into it, especially the one on "Godless".

While Palmborg is the main vocalist, Sjögren provides a fair amount of backing vocals, especially during the choruses. The use of dual vocals is very common in hardcore and punk, and obviously works very well in crust too since the genres are closely related. It's a good way to make the lyrics sound more impactful, and this is most noticable on "Tyrant" and "Conquest". The whole album has a very "in your face" punk vibe thanks to Palmborg's raspy screamed vocals and Sjögren's chugging bass, best showcased on "Demigod". But the big punk factor is Isak Nilson's frenetic D-beat drumming. One thing he also does skillfully is shifting between D-beats and blast beats seamlessly. Just listen to the ferocious little 1½-minute song "Nero".

The overall production of the album is excellent. Everything is perfectly audible, with no part drowning out another. For a debut album from an underground band, this album sounds fantastic and they even got Dan Swanö himself to do the mastering.

I'm trying to think of something I dislike with the album, but I can't really complain about anything, because this album really rubs me the right way. Well, the one thing I can come up with is that all songs are built up the same way, all staying around the 4-minute mark, give or take, except for "Nero" and the slower 6-minute closing track "Ashes Of Warsaw". With more varying song structures and song lengths this would probably be even more enjoyable than it already is. But Death Of Idols still balances the mix of aggressive crust punk, D-beat drumming and melodic black metal almost perfectly, sounding both dirty and face-slapping, yet modern and fresh at the same time. If you don't headbang to this there's probably something wrong with your neck.

This is a really impressive debut album and I think Haradrim has a bright future ahead of them. With a bit more variation to the songs I think they're on to something big here, and I'm already looking forward to their future endeavors. Just remember where you heard the name Haradrim first.