Ambush - Evil in All Dimensions

Angry Metal Guy 70

Back in the Year of the Great Plague, Sweden’s Ambush ambuscaded me with Infidel, knocking my noggin with an electrified baseball bat of 80s metal nostalgia. It hit that sweet 1981-1984 classic heavy metal spot so hard, it almost created a time vortex that allowed me to bail on COVID and drink shitty beers and Tango with my ne’er-do-well teenage self. Infidel sounded like a perfect fusion of Dokken, Europe, Accept, and the early Ozzy solo stuff, and that shit sells itself to geezers like me. Album high point, “Hellbiter” is one of my favorite metal tunes of the last 10 years, and I still spin it regularly.¹ I’ve been patiently waiting for the follow-up for what seems like an eternity, and now we finally get Evil in all Dimensions. Can their fourth release deliver half as much unfiltered 80s glory as its predecessor? Let’s measure these dimensions!

Ambush go for the throat on the opening title track, and it’s a glorious mash-up of 80s metal and Euro-power. It’s high-energy, speedy, and full of top-flight guitar work as Oskar Jacobsson showcases his Don Dokken-meets-Joey Tempest vocal magic in all dimensions. The chorus is weirdly addictive, and the whole thing is just pure metal excess in the vein of Manimal. It will also remind you why you like metal in the first place, and that’s just awesome. Then the really BIG stuff hits with “Maskirovka.” It’s a righteous throwback gem that sounds like Iron Maiden wrote an enormous anthem for Europe. There’s a huge dramatic gallop, manly riffs, and Jacobsson’s laser-like voice piercing through everything. It’s a song you hear once and fall in love with, and it’s on a collision course with my Song o’ the Year trophy. But wait, there’s MOAR. “Iron Sign” sounds like a long-lost cut from Cities’ stellar 1986 Annihilation Absolute opus, and the riff-work here is relentlessly awesome.²

The hits keep on coming, with “The Reaper” going so old school, it almost leaves the 80s entirely to visit the early Rainbow days for a stadium-shaking retro-raging beast you couldn’t kill with 10,000 steely knives. The guitars are so slick and tasty here, you’ll never want them to stop noodling. “Bending the Steel” brings the unstoppable riffage of early Grave Digger to the battle and shells your brain until you scream for more. Things leave on a high note with “Heavy Metal Brethren,” which is another high-octane burner purpose-built to rock your skull bones. Are there stumbles? I suppose power ballad “I Fear the Blood” is less thrilling than its peers, but it serves its purpose by changing the tempo and giving you a breather. “Come Angel of Night” is frantic fun but a touch less hook-tastic; but otherwise, I have no complaints. When the album’s 40 minutes expire, you’ll wish there was more, and with every song in the 4-5 minute window, the writing is sharp and designed to sink hooks and depart. This is what makes Ambush such a throwback pleasure. They know their game, play it hard, and flee into the night, leaving you spent, sweaty, and satisfied. That’s metal, folks.

I’m a big fan of Oskar Jacobsson’s vocals. The guy has golden pipes and that kind of crisp, clear voice you might not associate with metal, but boy does it work when backed with beefy riffs. He’s improved since Infidel, offering different deliveries and greater versatility. He owns the material completely and elevates everything to the next level. Olof Engkvist and new fretbeast Karl Dotzek do NOT fuck around, swinging for the fences with reckless and wild shredding and tight, crunchy leads that amplify each song. There’s more than a little Accept and Judas Priest worship in their heroic playing, but they borrow from many a great 80s act along the way and make sure the air guitar muscles get a real workout. They know how to conjure the spirits of the golden age of metal more than most bands, and they work their necromancy hard.

Ambush have the Kavorka, and use their animal magnetism to lure you to the slaughter.³ Evil in All Dimensions is a very worthy sequel to Infidel with several cuts that will be among the best old school things you’ll hear this year. They’re one of the most entertaining metal bands going, and it’s impossible to listen to this and not get a jolt of energy. You need this sweet molten magic in your veins, so go get yourself Ambushed.



Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: An everflowing STREAM of ass
Label: Napalm
Websites: facebook.com/ambushsweden | instagram.com/ambushsweden
Releases Worldwide: September 5th, 2024

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