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, that horrible, South American, heads-down SARCOFAGO attack, you know? That’s the spirit of LOCK UP. If people are looking for something dynamic and different, they should probably look elsewhere !

 

The sound of veteran brutality enthusiasts letting rip like there’s no tomorrow – and let’s face it, there might not be – "The Dregs Of Hades" is both a peerless addition to Lock Up’s recorded legacy and the starting point for a new era of celebratory sonic destruction. Catch them if you can.