Released as digital only EP, Warsaw Rising is a stop gap release from this Dutch super group (members of Asphyx, Gorefest, Thanatos) with 2 new songs, a cover song (Twisted Sister’s “Destroyer”) and three live songs (“Red Wolves of Stalin”, “Nachthexen” and “The Crucial Offensive”) from the excellent …Of Frost and War debut.

To be honest it isn’t must have release, other than hearing a strange choice of cover songs and two killer new songs- “Liberators” and “Warsaw Rising”, which I imagine will both surface on the next album. The cover song is heavy as hell, but just ….odd. Both the new tracks continue where …Of Frost left off: classic styled European death metal with heavy doses of Bolt Thrower and Asyphx with World War II based lyrics rendered by the suddenly active Martin van Drunen. “Warsaw Rising” is an up-tempo crusher that reeks of The Rack era Asphyx while “Liberators” is a slower, rumbling track that’s pure Bolt Thrower all with Van Drunen’s uniquely pained roars and screams.

And when Van Drunen is singing with a full band, he sounds great- one of the best voices in death metal ever. But as the three live tracks show, when he’s rasping his between song banter (in multiple languages no less) – it’s flat out fucking, nails on a chalk board annoying. Otherwise the live tracks are tight, heavy and solid renditions of their recorded counterparts, espcially the crumbling “Nachthexen”.

My only gripe with Hail of Bullets, isn’t really a gripe, but more to do with the fact I’ve been listening to the new Asphyx album, Death…The Brutal Way, and to be quite honest, the two bands are virtually indistinguishable from each other (even more with Asphyx having some war based songs). Not surprising considering they share two members, but at some point the bands have to get a more distinguishable, separate identity.

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