BAEST - Colossal

Angry Metal Guy

Between 2018 and 2021, the Danish quintet, BAEST, dished out three albums of brutal, intense death metal. Ferrous Beuller had high praise for their sophomore release, Venenum, singling out its “superior songwriting” and hailing BAEST as among his “favorites in the death metal flood of 2018.” COVID slowed their momentum, however, leaving a four-year gap between Necro Sapiens and Colossal. This span of time has given BAEST plenty of time to reflect, and, as a result, fans will find them a notably different group. Any changes a band makes to their core sound risks alienating fans, but on the flip side, keeping strictly to the limits of a genre can also hamper creativity. It’s less important that a band sticks to their core sound than it is to write and play enjoyable music. Regardless of whether they have succeeded in this goal, you best prepare to baste your ears in the roar of the beast that BAEST has unleashed.

There’s no doubt when “Stormbringer” starts up that this is a different BAEST. The brutal, muscular guitar riffs have been stripped down to something closer to arena rock–think Accept or 90s-era Metallica. Yet Simon Olsen’s vocals and Sebastian Abildsten’s drumming still bring the thunderous power of the BAEST of old, placing them more in line with deathened rock.¹ Brutal or not, it’s hard to complain when the song is as fun as “Stormbringer” or “King of the Sun.” “Stormbringer” probably best meshes the old BAEST with the new. Opening with anthemic rock riffs, it eventually settles into their old might, but with a fresh energy. “King of the Sun” is the catchiest of the bunch, anchored by infectious riffs and mesmerizing cymbal taps that’ll keep themselves securely lodged in your brain. This tune best outlines the musical potential that BAEST taps into by leaving the confines of brutality.²

Colossal (24-bit HD audio) by Baest

Unfortunate inconsistencies keep Colossal from being a smooth listening experience, however. According to the promo notes, BAEST did not start off in their new direction–first they wrote “Colossus” and “Imp of the Perverse.” These tracks feel slightly out of place due to their slower pacing and doomier vibe. They’re fine songs, but they’re also not as compelling as the better material described above. About 90 seconds in, “Colossus” boasts an outpouring of high-octane energy that is 30 seconds of death metal bliss. Yet the remainder of the track is just okay, and it becomes grating to hear Olsen repeat the word “Colossus” over and over. “Imp of the Perverse” fares better as an overall song, and fans of Edgar Allan Poe will be happy with its lyrics: Olsen begins by singing “I stand upon the brink of a precipice.” But at 6 minutes, it drags on a tad long and also suffers from the repetition problem of “Colossus,”one that plagues much of Colossal.

I’ve described the good and the decent, and now I get to the ugly. It’s unfortunate that two of the longer songs on Colossal (“In Loathe and Love” and “Depraved World”) do little to stand out with catchy hooks or interesting riffs. That they drag on for so long is baffling. They do little to earn their lengthier stays–nothing progressive, no riffs or choruses that make you want the songs to continue past a few minutes. And some of those riffs are just plain bad. “In Loathe and Love” starts off decently before breaking into chords that awkwardly pull away from the melodicism of the intro. Even “Depraved World” has some good ideas, but they overstay their welcome by repeating themselves “time and again” for 6 minutes.³ I can’t fault the musicians so much as the inconsistency of the songwriting.

BAEST acknowledge that the new direction they take with Colossal risks alienating their fans. But they wanted to write songs that are fun and catchy. While they do succeed on that front to an extent, a chunk of what they play is not very fun or catchy. The lesser material does a disservice to the stuff that is really good. It makes the 42-minute album feel much longer. ⁴ In the end, they lose the brutal bite of years past, but the trade-off is only a few really catchy songs, some that are decent, and a couple of clunkers. It’s a shame. I really enjoy listening to these guys play, and when they click, like on “King of the Sun,” it’s a blast. Hopefully, next time they’ll have more of that same magic.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: August 15th, 2025

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