Black Breath - Sentenced to Life (2012)^{Release ID: 14153}

Back in the times when I had a gym membership, Sentenced To Life was something of a mainstay on my workout album playlist.  The short and pummelling delivery making for a perfect accompaniment to my training regime and also giving me ample excuse to not associate with other regulars at my 6am visit, four days a week before work to my local gym.  Although the healthier state of nearly a decade ago has now firmly left me the enjoyment levels of this album has not diminished quite as much over time.

There's anthems here from the very off as the crusty, thrashy/crossover and death metal blend makes a mark early on with the pounding opener Feast of the Damned.  This track really sets the tone for the album overall with a face-searing intensity and furiously catchy chorus, it is not an opener you forget in a hurry.  Capitalising immediately on this strong start the band bash through the remaining nine tracks with an almost reckless abandon.

However, there's a undercurrent to the songs that hints at something more than just a need for five guys to get somethings off their chest.  Within the at times primitive simplicity of Black Breath's song writing there is a conscious moulding of space to push the sound into, to let the messages linger long enough to maximise impact.  Whether it is a punchy bassline or a laboured riff, or a gruff vocal statement delivered with just enough intensity to hang in the ether of the throes of a track, Black Breath have more to say than their basic lyrics would have you believe and it is an album that very much lets all the component parts do the talking.

Whilst it helped me get weights of the floor and motivated me to get my fat ass in some semblance of shape at one point, it doesn't stimulate my senses in quite the same way that it used to sadly.  Overall, when I listen back it lacks variety and whilst this doesn't make the attack any less frenzied, it does make the experience more blunted than I used to find it.