(Napalm Records)
Total Playing Time: 58:08
Barbed wire, trenches and lots of mustard gas. When 1914 started recording their debut “Eschatology Of War” back in 2015, I don’t think they expected that kind of acceptance. The First World War concept continues through their second album with the best way, since they manage their resources skillfully. Yes, the sound will remind you of BOLT THROWER, ASPHYX as even GOD DETHRONED. But the mixture they have prepared responds perfectly to the listeners’ expectations and it is totally satisfying.
From the fastest tracks like “Arrival-The Meuse-Argonne” to the mid-paced like “A7V Mephisto”, 1914 create a bleak and gloomy “landscape” full of despair, much like a war field. One cannot describe the band as Death, Black or Doom metal since they are something in between, and that’s a good thing.
From the first moment you get the feeling that 1914 feel every moment as if they had taken part in the World War I. From the propaganda intro and outro, to “The Hundred Days Offensive”, that has the aesthetics of METALLICA’s “One”, the anti-war feeling is pervasive. And that wouldn’t be possible without the sound effects of tank treads and the movie samples that create a suffocating atmosphere.
In general, “The Blind Leading The Blind” is a delightful record (that’s an oxymoron) and the continuation of a very promising future for the band.
7/10
Dimitris Synatikas
P.S. The beginning of “Arrival – The Meuse Argonne” will remind you of HYPOCRISY’ s “Roswell 47” and the riff from SATYRICON’ s “Mother North”.
