This is a two-track demo from Hakenkreuz, a New Zealand band that plays chaotic war metal.

The guitar on this album is mostly wall-of-sound grinding, though there are moments of audible riffing, and even some echoing distortion. The vocals are agonized howls, quite appropriate to the music. The drumming is out of control - sloppy as hell and twice as loud. Fortunately, this adds to the atmosphere rather than subtracting from it. This kind of music was made for full-out pounding, and that's what Hakenkreuz's drummer delivers.

There are two songs here, "Blood for the Gods" and "Fimbulwinter". The atmosphere on both is largely the same. The songwriting is extremely chaotic, lurching from riff to riff with nary a smooth transition to be found. This is slightly less so during "Fimbulwinter" than during the title song, but the songwriting on both tracks is still highly varied. It works, somehow, but don't come into this one expecting a conventional sound.

There's one big disadvantage to this demo, and that's the production. This sort of music benefits from a raw sound, but this is just too raw. It's difficult to hear what's going on, and sections that should be punishing are muddy instead. With a different mix, this one could be a lot better.

This demo is likely to drive the listener crazy, but whether it's a good crazy or a bad crazy is mostly a matter of taste. If you live for insane stuff like Axis of Advance and Sadistik Exekution, this might be to your liking. If not, look elsewhere.

Standout Tracks: "Fimbulwinter"