Listenable Records, red vinyl, insert, After the chilling, grotesque overture of instrumental intro Death Itself, Brother Of Sleep, the fifth Lock Up album explodes and keeps on exploding for a gruelling, sinew-wrenching 40 minutes of black-hearted speed-worship. By no means one-dimensional, the album takes occasional brain-mangling detours into dark experimentation, not least on towering closer Crucifixion Of Distorted Existence. But above all, The Dregs Of Hades is a devastating display of blasting belligerence, with a blazing, old school soul and obsidian filth under its fingernails. Sound-wise, it stirs a kind of mid-'80s vibe.
