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Sooo I'm finally getting a chance to give these guys a good listen, and I like what I hear. On Divine Winds follows in Hail of Bullets' tradition of war-themed lyrical content, this time focusing on the Pacific theatre during the Second World War. The thing that struck me the most on this release is the good use of atmosphere, something more often associated with Black Metal than with Death Metal.

Right from the start, "The Even of Battle" sets the tone with a solemn, heavy, theatrical intro, and then the atmosphere is maintained throughout the album a mostly slow to mid-paced Death Metal – fucking heavy stuff complemented by razor-sharp guitar work that turns into machine-gun style when needed. The vocals harsh growls (more or less decipherable) that sound like a strange blend of rage and agony, which is quite fitting for a war-themed album. The album does have its faster moments, but Hail of Bullets do not abuse it nor do they play fast for the sake of playing fast. It's tight, it's not over the top, and it's all in the right places. The album can feel a bit repetitive at times and therefore give the impression than it's longer than it is, but in the end this is some cool Death Metal that doesn't sound like everything else out there.