Harrowed Debut Album Review: Punk and Death Metal Done Right

I love finding new bands that are willing to take music in a new direction. Don’t misunderstand me here, this isn’t some groundbreaking creation that’s going to forever change the face of heavy music, it’s just unique enough that I got into it and felt it was something I needed to write about. 

If you’d have told me punk and death metal could be blended this well I’d have questioned your mental state. The album is a surprisingly tight mix of the genres. At no point does it lean too far to the punk side, which I think would have lost my interest rather quickly. I didn’t feel the desire to skip any of the tracks or stop listening after a few songs. Production is clean with no sections where one instrument is too overpowering or vocals become muddy in the mix. 

We’re given a good mix of tempos throughout the album. Some tracks pick up the pace and go full speed start to finish while others have tempo changes in the mix. I’m hearing more than just punk influence here, there are sections clearly inspired by early thrash as well as some hints of doom. 

As a debut album, this is a confident first statement from the Swedish two piece project. Tobias Alpadie, guitars and bass on this album, is also listed as lead guitar for progressive sludge metal band Vak, who appear to be still active. Vocalist and drummer Adam Lindmark is listed as also being a part of the now split death metal project, Morbus Chron, who released two full length albums in the 2010s. 

I’d love to see this project progress. I can see a lot of fans of both genres finding something to enjoy here. There’s real room for this sound to evolve, and I’m curious to hear where they take it.