The last time we covered Poland’s Banisher was 2016’s Oniric Delusions, and it wasn’t me covering it. But considering I like Polish technical death metal, really, really liked Dormant Ordeal‘s Tooth and Nail from last year, AND saw the band has members that are or have been in/helped out the likes of some Polish heavy hitters like Decapitated, Hate, Vedonist, and Redemptor, I figured I’d finally check these guys out.
If you like any of the bands above, especially newer Decapitated and Dormant Ordeal’s album, Banisher hits the spot; techy, choppy, razor sharp Polish death metal, but with some slightly thrashy/ hardcore shouts and screams, that might deter some folks. Australia’s Psycroptic might be a solid comparison.
Musically, though, this is top-notch. It’s not your typical tech death with fretless bass, just a skronky, angular, sometimes early-grindcore-y structures that remind me of some of the early 00s ‘grind’, ‘noise’ or mathcore adjacent stuff like The Red Chord, BTBAM, Into The Moat, Cable, Anomosity, and some of the Black Market Activities (i.e Paria) stuff from back then, just mixed with technical Polish death metal (later Decapitated in particular). Just listen to “Daymare” or “Aftermath”. They don’t scream death metal at all. Though “Demons”, the album’s most straightforward song, certainly would appease the death metal crowd.
They even get a little more experimental here and there with some clean vocals and trippy little bridge as heard on “Metamorphosis pt. 1 and 2”, which could even pass for a nu/alternative/metalcore metal song at times. Or the crazy organ solo in “Born to Die”. That might even further deter some pure death metal heads that want things a little more….Polish?
Either way, the 8-song, 40-minute album isn’t an immediate listen, and might disappoint some who see some of the bands Banisher is involved with, despite its strong musicianship. I know I was a little.
