"Sons of Red Visions" is a rather cool split CD containing material by three different international metal bands, namely Red Dead (France), Undead Vision (Switzerland), and Son of a Shotgun (Norway). The latter is essentially a one-man project by Blood Red Throne’s Ivan "Meathook" Gujic, but it also features the mighty Hellhammer (Mayhem, Arcturus) on drums and the talented Olivier Pinard (Cryptopsy) on pulsating bass, which is obviously pretty awesome.

All three acts specialize in crushing and pummeling death thrash of the neck-snapping kind, but whereas Red Dead and Undead Vision are more bombastic and straightforward (not to mention old school) in their approach, Son of a Shotgun incorporate grind and groove metal into their lethal mix and has a slightly rawer and nastier edge to them that is strangely appealing. None of them bring anything new to the table as such, but that matters little because the tunes are generally quite memorable and loaded with sinister hooks. Their respective production values are also most solid and they lack neither power nor punch. I love the variety and unpredictable nature of Son of a Shotgun’s furious and intense material whereas Red Dead and Undead Vision tick all the right boxes for me whenever my day at work sucks ass and all I want to do is to let off some steam and immerse myself in some highly aggressive metal. With respect to Undead Vision, some of their ideas and arrangements bring to mind Deicide while Red Dead seem to draw more on outfits such as Obituary and Vader.

"Sons of Red Visions" is an enjoyable release that nicely illustrates that something most unholy and bone-pulverizing is afoot in the international death/thrash/grind metal underground. These three bands all have their merits and talents not to mention a knack for writing catchy songs, so check this one out the next time you have a hankering for a proper ass-kicking.

 

https://greatdanerecords.bandcamp.com/album/sons-of-red-visions