Album Details

• Artist: Black Breath
• Album: Sentenced To Life
• Label: Southern Lord
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2012-02-21

Here's some good musical advice, and for free: trust Black Breath and from now on grab everything by them without a second thought. Their second release, "Sentenced to Life," is such a glorious, stoopidly punishing record that it is impossible to think of anyone hitting it as hard as they are right now.

Just when you think that the riff from the title track is the most brutal you've heard in years, along comes "Doomed" and "Home of the Grave," both of which join "Sentenced to Life" as instant metal classics. I say metal because they not only don't fit into any sub-genre, they take some like thrash, black metal and traces of punk and incorporate them into their brick-hard attack. Though the solos are harsh and fat-free, what makes the stew for Black Breath's meat is a stripped down distillation of metal into a knife sharp, slap in the balls. Their songs sound eternal; the closer, "Obey," sounds like a song you have heard all your life, and it is indeed built off of classic metal riffs. But in their hands, it sounds even more sinister, more raw, more uncompromising.

"Sentenced to Life" is a sure heavy classic, further confirmation that, with Black Cobra and maybe a couple others currently active, Black Breath are the equal of any metal band, including those that influenced them.  Black Breath, and "Sentenced to Life," are necessary beyond debate.

User Reviews and Comments