Written by KingdomKrusher on June 17th, 2008
For years this album has stood in my collection as one of the proud members of an elite club. That club is reserved for records which I consider to be the very best; succeeding along many lines of criticism. Among few others "The Only Law is Survival" is one CD that I listen from beginning to end and appreciate every minute of. For those of you unfamiliar with Hateplow they are a side-project of members of Malevolent Creation. In fact, the only line-up differences between TOLIS (2000) and Malevolent Creation's "Envenomed" (also 2000) are Doug Humlack on bass and Kyle Symons on vocals. Symons later became the vocalist for Malevolent and appeared on albums "The Will to Kill" and "Warkult". Now you have the background. Like Malevolent Creation, Hateplow play a death metal in the Florida vein. The songs are catchy, memorable, short and relentless! In fact the major difference between the two bands, which share most of the same members, is Hateplow's emphasis on ferocity. As such, they are often labeled "grind", appropriately, however I think Hateplow pay more attention to song structure than most grindcore bands I've heard. The guitars are simple, straightforward and punishing. Their function is to create a cohesiveness between fast riffs and fast drumming. The drums, performed by none other than Dave Culross, are pummeling and to the point. The vocals are what I call a "power growl". They are intense, delivered with great power and focused on such, rather than depth or gurgle. The end result is an album completely focused and sharpened like an edged weapon. In intensity and power, "The Only Law is Survival" is up there among such great death metal gems as Vader's "Litany" and Suffocation's EP "Despise the Sun". It achieves the label that so many throw around indiscriminately: "FUCKING BRUTAL". If you don't have it, buy it, it is well worth full price!!! (SOURCE)
- Genre: Death/Grind Metal
- Quality: mp3@CBR320 kbps (CD-Rip, Lame 3.93)
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