### Battue: The subliminal fears

#### 11/06/12 || Habakuk

Man, it’s been a while since I last wrote a review. You probably didn’t notice, but these lines end a couple of weeks of reality-related hiatus for me. Good for Battue, for they produced one of these label-sent bands albums that might have been stubbed off our pile – but I now feel like getting into the real writing again, and actually they warrant the full treatment.

Let’s do a quick check-up on the facts: They have a shit name, they are German, this is their first album on a label (second one in total) and they play death-/thrash. Like what, a million other bands? Exactly. Please refer to the stubs section for more info. Now on to the interesting part – what sets these guys apart?

As a cynic might argue: the fact alone that something does – but who would think such a dastardly thought. For an aspiring band, these guys have a truly great, punchy production that still retains some natural grounding and shines light on the album’s inherent songwriting qualities: While not reinventing the wheel, “The subliminal fears” is a mostly fast, unrelenting affair into which some truly bad-ass, slightly dissonant melodies (a bit too gritty to be called “Gothenburg style”) have been woven. Those pop up occasionally, providing the album with the much needed structure, something which even a lot of bigger bands don’t manage in this style niche. As lies in the nature of such an approach though, the “downside” is that a few songs stick out more than others. Note the quotation marks – this is really nothing to complain about, as the only outliers are found above the qualitative mean. Just listen to “Annihilation Anthem” with its great groove/melody verse riff to find out what I mean.

Still, the less than top-tier songs cannot completely avoid creating a bit of a blur – yet at least the tight, from-thrash-to-blast drumming and guitar work ensure there is enough to get your head banging, even if you don’t remember every single bit of it. Looking at the grand scheme of things, these guys have created a solid base to work off with their future endeavors, and at times even show that they have what it takes to become a force to be reckoned with. Very listenable and worth a bit of your attention.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Ultimhate Records
- Website: Battue MySpace
- Band
- Gerrit Ihnen: vocals
- Lutz Neemann: guitars
- Michael Lux: guitars
- Carsten Schorn: bass
- Jann Hillrichs: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Annihilation anthem
- 02. Slave of fate
- 03. Hallowed souls
- 04. Highest art of illusion
- 05. Beyond the veil
- 06. Chaos (‘til the end)
- 07. Modern slavery
- 08. Nuclear death
- 09. Blistered mind
- 10. Facing reality
- 11. You are dead before you die