Confess – Revenge At All Costs
Release Date: 21st January 2022
Label: Rexius Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Groove Metal, Hardcore, Thrash, Metalcore.
FFO: Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, Devildriver.
Review By: Jordan Burton-Morris
Iranian groove metal/hardcore band, Confess, describe themselves as a “five-piece street protest”. It’s not a figure of speech – Nikan Khosravi (vocals/guitar) and Arash Ilkhani (DJ/Sampler) have experienced political persecution first-hand. The band’s upcoming album “Revenge at All Costs” is a cry of outrage in the form of chunky, down-tuned riffs marinated in the Norwegian winter.
Based On A True Story opens with a news report interlude, featuring multiple coverages of the release of the album, which descends into EVIN, kicking things off in spectacular fashion. Razor-sharp hardcore infused riffs, strong vocals and a breakdown from hell deliver the perfect opener.
Phoenix Rises starts almost biblically, with the voice and heavenly background, but all is soon disrupted by the heavy clanging of Confess! The vocals here are arguably the most guttural on the album, and the twin vocal lines only emphasize that power.
Ransom Note comes screeching in with an insane high industrial riff over the guitar. The tempo changes from drummer Roger come at you thick and fast, and it’s very effective. The thunderous breakdown gives off an ominous vibe, almost sounding like a new song when it kicks in.
You Can’t Tame The Beast enters. That intro riff could be my favourite of the album! What a riff! A rising siren sound is thrown in here and the vocals are laced with some kind of radio effect, which compresses them nicely. The more technical guitar work here from Nikan and Steffen is such a great twist, making this track an immediate highlight on the album.
Unfilial Son has an intro sort of 90’s Metallica-esque, but then the heaviness settles. Some great drum fills and a pounding bassline protrude from this, as well as a few record scratches. The most experimental on the album, for sure.
Under Surveillance has something different about it, the guitar is more prominent and the heavy chugging gives the vocals a nice chance to experiment, and they do. Nikan’s pace is tested here with possibly the fastest vocal line on the album. The mid-section is raw, gritty and leads into a very well-placed industrial breakdown.
Hegemony has a mean bassline used as the intro here. An interesting clinking noise can be heard in the background here whilst Nikan is screaming through the verse. There is a small bit of spoken word in the middle which leads into the breakdown, giving the track a great climax.
Penultimate track Army Of Pigs keeps things moving nicely. With a pungent Slipknot vibe about it, the razor-sharp riffs, strong vocals and a breakdown from hell deliver the goods.
I Speak Hate starts very panned left, but soon drops into full stereo. Plenty of passion heard throughout, including Nikan grunting before a heavy drop of nu-metal nostalgia. A great way to end such an amazing album!
The album clocks in at around 50 minutes, so not an over-extensive runtime. This fast-paced album leaves your neck in pain after head-banging the entire time. Overall, a great start to the year with this release and a band well worth keeping an eye on. 
(5 / 5)
