Brodequin - Harbinger of Woe [Things You Might Have Missed 2024]

Angry Metal Guy

One of the earlier purveyors of brutal death, Tennessee trio Brodequin, established originally in 1998 and put on hiatus in 2008, reunited in 2015 after a seven-year break. Jan Van Lugtenburg filled in the percussive void in 2016 for a few years, ultimately tagging out for Brennan Shackelford in 2020. Rounded out by founding brothers Mike (Guitars) and Jamie (Bass, Vocals) Bailey, Brodequin worked diligently on crafting their fourth brutal assault of groovy death. Harbinger of Woe is the result, and it might very well be the best thing they’ve put to tape so far.

Brodequin embodies a certain niche of brutal death that recalls the ways of olde, yet remains timeless in their hands. Treading similar ground to long-standing acts like Disgorge, Defeated Sanity, and Mortician, Brodequin swing way harder into the straightforward, no-nonsense, and grinding groove whose sole purpose is bodily harm. Unlike some of their peers, who decorate their monoliths with progressive experimentation, slimy slams, or technical wizardry, Brodequin min-maxxed their sharp hooks skill tree. With Harbinger of Woe, Brodequin unleash a rare album that isn’t doing anything new, nor is it attempting acrobatic feats of songwriting to challenge the genre or its fans, yet it feels fresh and exciting simply for being an unfuckwithable example of the style.

Harbinger of Woe by Brodequin

Even so, Harbinger of Woe offers small deviations from the brutal template that help it stand out. “Theresiana” piques my interest immediately with an unexpected dalliance with Gregorian chants. How that fits in with subterranean gurgles and a guitar tone most closely resembling steaming hot asphalt pouring into my ear, I can’t explain. Yet, it fits perfectly. Elsewhere, Brodequin integrate the kind of buttery smooth transitions that I sooner associate with more melodic acts’ output than this unrelenting violence. “Fall of the Leaf,” album highlight “Of Pillars and Trees,” “Maleficium,” and “Suffocation in Ash” make traditional brutal death sound almost ebullient, boasting grin-inducing grooves and bouncy trem-picked embellishments that get my booty shaking on reflex. Stitching the album together across a lean and mean thirty-one minutes, Harbinger of Woe unloads a metric ass-ton of riffs and percussive runs that defy the law of diminishing returns. Many, if not all, of Harbinger of Woe’s tracks sound cut from the same shank of flesh, but Brodequin constantly rearrange their shared anatomy with such grotesque, mutagenic creativity that each iteration feels like a whole new kind of monster (“Diabolical Edict,” “Vredens Dag”).

In the end, this mad science of mercilessly rearranging Harbinger of Woe’s DNA makes for an unqualified success. Without requiring a wide cross-section of influences or techniques, Brodequin extracted remarkable variety from what is, in essence, a surprisingly limited toolkit. Not the result of inexperience or a lack of ideas, Brodequin’s restricted matrix feels intentional. Instead of showcasing unlimited skillsets, Brodequin pared down, perfecting each and every element to is peak form. Then, they stitched them together in the only sequence that makes sense.

Best of all, it takes no time to recognize and appreciate that level of perfectionism. For something so filthy and gritty, Harbinger of Woe is staggeringly accessible and immediate. At the same time, I never tire of it, and it only gets better with age. Simply put, Harbinger of Woe is the product of flawless execution. Don’t miss it!

Tracks to Check Out: “Diabolical Edict,” “Theresiana,” “Of Pillars and Trees,” “Maleficium”



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