A violent and frantic album by three Finnish metallers who know exactly how to blend classic Scandinavian Death Metal with the more modern sound of Deathgrind.

From the swamping lands of Finland, old school Death Metal/Grindcore unity Galvanizer emerges with their debut full-length album Sanguine Vigil, after having paid all their dues like we were used back in the 90’s with several demo tapes and a 7″ EP titled Horrid Tales of Death…, released in 2015. Fans of bands like Machetazo, Abhorrence and Haemorrhage will have a good time listening to the ten pulverizing tracks featured in Sanguine Vigil, being recommended for admirers of both classic Finnish Death Metal and the more modern Deathgrind sound found in the scene nowadays.

Formed in 2015 as a one-man project, this Laitila-Tammela-based act quickly turned into a power trio, comprised of Vili Mäkinen on vocals and bass, Aleksi Vähämäki on guitars and backing vocals, and Nico Niemikko on drums, becoming one of the most promising underground bands in Finland due to their old school approach and their youthful energy. Featuring a gory cover art painted by Turkka G. Rantanen, a Finnish institution famous for his works with Demilich, Demigod, Adramelech, Depravity and many more, Sanguine Vigil is a violent and frantic statement by Galvanizer, sending a sound message to everyone that stands in their way that they’re not among us to fool around. “Expect the same primitive Finnish grinding death madness but this time much more faster and brutal,” said Aleksi about their new opus, probably devilishly grinning about it.

An initial narration which seems to be taken from one of the Friday the 13^th movies ignite the moshing feast titled Mood For The Blade, an amazing welcome card by the band exploding into a grinding devastation by Galvanizer led by the infuriated growls by Vili, while Aleksi sounds heavier-than-hell on the guitar. Then simply slam into the circle pit to the frantic Grindcore spearheaded by Nico and his unstoppable beats in Enjoyment Of Annihilation, with its lyrics reminding me of the always inspiring words by metal masters Carcass (“Pulmonary artery hemorrhage / hacksaw through the raped face / cock dismembered brutally / rectum penetrated ghastly way / pleasure to kill / cadavers raping is the name of thrill / game of life / deep thoughts of dirty, sick mind”); followed by Deathbeat Deity, the perfect fusion of old school Death Metal with contemporary Grindcore translated into a rhythmic, pulverizing wall of sounds, with highlights to the amazing job done by Nico on drums and the slashing riffs by Aleksi.

The title-track Sanguine Vigil, the longest of all songs, begins in a somber and ominous manner, morphing into a dense and crushing sonority where Vili growls deeper and deeper (also extracting aggressive tones from his bass) while Nico keeps kicking some serious ass with his beats and fills, whereas Grind Till… You’re Dead! brings forward an absolute brutal demolition in less than two minutes, with all three members pounding their instruments, generating a tornado of violence and gore recommended only for the brave. And the trio keeps blasting their high-octane music with no mercy for our souls in Domestic Mastication, another straightforward, classic Grindcore composition with Vili and Aleksi grinding their strings from start to finish; and in Gorefestation they add an extra dosage of groove to their music thanks to the thunderous bass by Vili, resulting in a fantastic display of extreme music where Nico gets even more demented on drums than before, enhancing the song’s punch considerably. Put differently, the grinding extravaganza proposed by Galvanizer can’t get any better than this.

In Premature Rot, another groovy and flammable chant where the band continues to pave their path of destruction, have fun singing along those beautiful lyrics with Vili (“A premature rot is your fear / as minor treat comes real / accidental slit of the blade / can kill by horrible way / deep wound and painful omen / uncleaned and it’s open / let in the streptococcus / and other hocus pocus”), before the demented Unfinished Autopsy comes crushing your skull mercilessly, with an anguished intro and total havoc being the main ingredients in such hellish feast of Death Metal and Grindcore, with the entire band blasting sheer aggression and rage through their riffs, punches and beats. And as the icing on the cake we have their cover version for Finnish old school Death Metal/Grindcore band Necrobiosis’ A Painful End For Curiosity, originally released in a split album with a Hungarian band named Intense Agonizing in 1994. Well, their version is just as demonic, berserk and gory, and you can compare both by checking the original version HERE.

You can have your brain smashed by Galvanizer by taking a full listen at Sanguine Vigil on YouTube, and get to know more details about the band and their music on Facebook and YouTube. Hence, there’s no excuse for not supporting Galvanizer and not purchasing their visceral music, as Sanguine Vigil is on sale from several different locations, such as the band’s own BandCamp page, the Everlasting Spew Records’ BandCamp page or webstore, in different formats from the Me Saco Un Ojo Records’ webstore, as well as from Record Shop X, iTunes, Amazon and Discogs. Got it? Or should I say “gore” it?

Best moments of the album: Mood For The Blade, Deathbeat Deity and Gorefestation.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Everlasting Spew Records

Track listing
1. Mood For The Blade 3:45
2. Enjoyment Of Annihilation 2:30
3. Deathbeat Deity 3:09
4. Sanguine Vigil 5:14
5. Grind Till… You’re Dead! 1:23
6. Domestic Mastication 3:03
7. Gorefestation 2:26
8. Premature Rot 2:28
9. Unfinished Autopsy 3:37
10. A Painful End For Curiosity (Necrobiosis cover) 3:04

Band members
Vili Mäkinen – vocals, bass
Aleksi Vähämäki – guitars, backing vocals
Nico Niemikko – drums