LOCK UP The Dregs of Hades LP RED

Listenable Records, red vinyl, insert, After the chilling, grotesque overture of instrumental intro Death Itself, Brother Of Sleep, the fifth Lock Up album explodes and keeps on exploding for a gruelling, sinew-wrenching 40 minutes of black-hearted speed-worship. By no means one-dimensional, the album takes occasional brain-mangling detours into dark experimentation, not least on towering closer Crucifixion Of Distorted Existence. But above all, The Dregs Of Hades is a devastating display of blasting belligerence, with a blazing, old school soul and obsidian filth under its fingernails. Sound-wise, it stirs a kind of mid-'80s vibe.