Vesen: This Time It's Personal (2012)

This Time It's Impaled Nazarene

Guest review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

What a ridiculous album title. Seriously, this is the kind of thing you would expect from some Nickelback clone or rap artist, but for a long-running blackened/thrash metal band, it comes off as juvenile and embarrassing.

The first track kind of continues with a little bit of this juvenile style. It's much more of a teaser for the album as a whole with the band building in intensity toward the very end. The vocals are presented in a layered format which gives off the impression that they are actually yelling at the listener. So subtlety appears not to be Vesen's strong suit at this point.


The title track though turns everything on its head. It has a terrific guitar riff that calls to mind early Sodom or Hellhammer. From there the band settles into a relatively constant Impaled Nazarene-esque style. They have the same feisty, raw, punk attitude that ImpNaz has in spades. Songs are short, simple, and highly aggressive. But underneath this brutal simplicity lies some compelling moments, such as the clean singing portion of "Where the Children Go to Die" and "Pressure".

What results from all of this is a highly aggressive and caustic sound that never relents in intensity. Vesen is not at all subtle nor apologetic. They just make noise.

It started off low, but being a fan of Impaled Nazarene, it is impossible not to get into this a little bit.

The Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars



Buy This Time It's Personal (import)

Soulseller Records