Nasum
Doombringer

THE REVIEW

With the release of this live album, which has been awaited for many, perhaps too many years, the recording adventure of Nasum definitively concludes. This is the band that probably best interpreted and breathed new life into a genre often rigid and not very inclined to innovation, like grindcore: a career that began back in 1992, went through the release of four great albums and the colossal compilation "Grind Finale," in which the two CDs gather numerous EPs and splits, contributions to compilations, and a substantial number of unreleased tracks recorded during the 12 years of existence by the Swedish band, which disbanded following the tragic death of singer and guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk, who perished in the tsunami of December 26, 2004.

Recorded in January 2004 in Osaka with the final 4-member lineup also present in Shift, the last studio album by Nasum (in addition to Mieszko Talarczyk, we find Urban Skytt on guitar, Jon Lindqvist on bass, and Anders Jakobson on drums), "Doombringer" retraces the band's history through its sixteen tracks, from the first album "Inhale/Exhale" to the third, "Helvete" ("Shift" would be released in the second half of 2004). The production, simple and clean as well as incisive, like the tracks on the album, conveys all the live energy of the band, which offers the listener a truly convincing and engaging performance.

In the album, practically an EP given the very short length (just 23 minutes, plus the "Scoop" video as a bonus), direct, fast, and aggressive tracks follow one another without interruption, in a crescendo of intensity as well as quality. After a somewhat subdued start with "Corrosion" (in this case, the original version is undoubtedly better), the trio of "Doombringer" "Just Another Hog" and "Inhale/Exhale" reveals all the potential of the four Swedes: throughout the live, the older, simple, and direct tracks (the captivating "Inhale/Exhale", "Löpandebandsprincipen") alternate smoothly with others belonging to the last phase of the band, decidedly more elaborate in composition (excellent versions of "Scoop", the aforementioned "Just Another Hog", and especially "Relics", which in its constant tension is perhaps the best episode of the bunch).

There are few criticisms I feel I can make of "Doombringer": first of all, the length, which I have already mentioned previously: the album is definitely too short, especially considering the quality of the tracks present (essentially, I would have appreciated a greater number of tracks). Additionally, a bit sparse is the packaging, limited to a simple digipak with decidedly Spartan graphics, with only a brief contribution from drummer Anders Jakobson describing the circumstances in which the live was recorded (in any case, nothing fundamental).

For the rest, although not all of what I consider the band's best compositions appear, the setlist is of excellent level, as is the execution: faithful to the studio versions for the tracks from Helvete, although characterized by a greater urgency linked to the live rendition; even better, in many cases, for the older pieces that, reinterpreted through the fuller sound of the later Nasum period, sound even more powerful and rich in insights compared to the originals (see in this regard "This is..." or "The Masked Face" and the very fast "Den Svarta Fanan", which closes the album excellently).

Of course, it's not an essential album, for that there are the previous masterpieces of the Örebro band: but although aware that I am facing a product aimed more at those who want to have everything from the group, I cannot refrain, given the quality of the content, from giving it a more than positive rating.