1349 – Hellfire / 2005 Candlelight / 8 Tracks / http://www.legion1349.com / http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk / Reviewed 19 February 2006

There is no time for individuals to take a breath during 1349’s “Hellfire”; each of the drum hits and guitar lines are so fast that even the individual that knows this type of death and thrash metal will not be able to discern where one line ends and begins. “Celestial Deconstruction” is perhaps the slowest song on the disc yet it is still ten or twelve beats beyond most normal metal music in terms of speed; what will really draw listeners in is the shift in style between a more sludgy style and the more traditional speed of the band.

“Celestial Deconstruction” is the epic of the disc; at almost 8 minutes, there are a number of different parts to the song that will incorporate different segments of listeners. The two threads that run through the latest segments of the track are perhaps the most interesting of the song; there is a harmony that plays along in a way very meandering way behind and around the more typical machine-gun drumming present. Different tracks show different facets of 1349; “To Rottendam” is an example of the skill the band has on subtly changing a riff a hundred or so times in an almost-imperceptible manner. This has the benefit of keeping individuals interested in “Hellfire”, especially considering the length of the track (nearly six minutes). With a runtime of nearly fifty minutes, the ability of 1349 to come up with enough material in the same vein is nothing less than impressive.

Although the music all has a death/thrash sheen to it, one feels by the ending of “Hellfire” as if they have been taken on a journey by 1349; where they end up is definitely not where they started out at the beginning of things. “From The Deeps” seems to move out of the harder, darker sound of the previous side of the disc, opting more for a more open construction that while still brutal really provides listeners with more in the way of harmony. Some great sequential guitar lines hit the listeners that soon give way to the drums doing almost exactly the same thing; the fact that 1349 can provide such a coherent sound between members of the band is amazing considering the speed in which each of the tracks is couched. Nothing weak is present to bring down the tone of the disc; “Hellfire” is dynamic, fun and as brutal as it comes.

Top Tracks: To Rottendam, Celestial Deconstruction

Rating: 7.0/10

[JMcQ]