In a genre with a blueprint as regimented as crust punk/d-beat’s, it’s difficult to see how after 18 years a band with these foundations could continue to keep things fresh, however, here are Martyrdöd doing just that. Returning from the release of 2016’s ‘List’ with a brand new album, brand new record label and brand new line-up and turning the phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” completely on its head. This Swedish punk/metal four piece have always pushed the envelope in terms of how much “kängpunk” will allow them to experiment, so much so that the release of 2014’s ‘Elddop resulted in the band’s removal from Metal Archives (lol).

‘Hexhammaren’, while not quite as progressive as past releases, certainly has its moments – it rarely deviates from the lovingly crafted amalgamation of rushing twin guitars, raucous vocals, forceful d-beats, and shit-but-in-a-good-way production, however, when the band decide to throw in a curveball it’s not so much lovingly tossed into the mix as it is sledge hammered mercilessly. It’s definitely an album that could get monotonous around the halfway mark, however, the guitar solos alone make this record worth sticking around for the entire duration. Considering that the band shares members with the likes of Skitsystem, Agrimonia, Miasmal, and Iron Lamb it would be criminal for them to write this type of music and not make it interesting.

If you want your band to have any kind of staying power, you have to learn to evolve (or just be Iron Maiden), and Martyrdöd have mastered the former over the years. They have definitely pumped the brakes slightly in terms of experimentation, returning to their grimy roots, however, there’s still plenty of melody to go around. This is nothing if not good fun to listen to, plus tangible proof that punk most certainly is not dead – it just learned to play in tune.

(7/10 Angela Davey)

https://www.facebook.com/martyrdod

https://martyrdoedsl.bandcamp.com/album/hexhammaren