I'll start this review by stating that I'm not familiar with Blizzard and their previous work, but there was some buzz about the group and this record, so I figured I'd give it a shot. To sum things up, I wasn't overly impressed, but "Fuck the Universe" is still a quality listen, just not worthy of some of the over the top praise I've seen for it. The band's sound is one that they call "dirty heavy metal," and to be honest there isn't much of a "dirty" sound to the album. The production is pretty clean, actually, which doesn't take away from the music, but songs of this style probably would have sounded better with a similar production style to bands like Midnight or Witchtrap. Other than that, the music on this album is standard speed metal that fans of the genre should enjoy.
The first two tracks "Beyond Live" and "My Name is Pain" are rather average affairs that didn't really convince me they were a great band, with mediocre riffs and bland vocals, but the album picks up after that. "Spit in the Devil's Eye" is a catchy tune sure to be stuck in the listener's head long after the album is over, with some decent riffage that varies between speed metal and metalpunk. "Into the Fires of Purgatory" is full of unashamed Sabbath influence, as the song consists of a few different, doomy powerchords that hail back to masterpieces like "Iron Man" and "War Pigs." "Satan in Her Soul" is sure to get your headbanging with some cool midpaced riffs and there's even some darker sounding riffage in there too, which conveys the title of the song perfectly. The title track is definitely the best one on "Fuck the Universe," as it's got the riffs, vocals and everything else working in its favor. Overall, Blizzard delivered a decent record with "Fuck the Universe." Sure, it could have been better and it probably won't be as revered as albums released by bands like Midnight and Witching Hour, but it's still a quality listen that fans of the old-school will probably happily embrace, plus it's got a kickass title.
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Highlights
"Spit in the the Devil's Eye"
"Satan in Her Soul"
"Fuck the Universe"
Final Rating
4.2/5 or 84%.