I am going to start this review by saying that BLACK HAVEN is apparently a bunch of angry guys if judged by their music. "Harmbringer" is a fist to the balls of powerful very well made music. This type of music that is a mix of Hardcore, Thrash Metal and Punk has become very common today as much as groovy down-tuned riffs in Modern Metal. But, this band does that combination very good and I may say even excellent. The album features eleven tracks of angry well played music that sounds like a mix of SLAYER, EXODUS and AGNOSTIC FRONT or BIOHAZARD and all of that very well made and with a special touch that just makes it sound unique and fresh.

Straight from the opening song "Lucifer" you can hear that these guys are here to make you move and raise your fist in the air. The songs are short, no more than three minutes long. That is something very common to the genre but BLACK HAVEN have the gift and knowledge to make a 2:30 minutes song, which has a lot on it, but still leaves you with a taste for more.

That is the thing with this band, even though I'm not a Hardcore fan I couldn't stop listening to what is going to happened next because BLACK HAVEN is a very diverse band. They play Hardcore but are not afraid to break the norm and make something different and interesting. From Southern Rock riffs like on "Zwarte Wlaghe"  to a more Thrash Metal style riffs like on the title song "Harmbringer" that sounds like a mix of ANTHRAX with a very OZZY like chorus. "Carvings" is another song worth mentioning, my favorite on the album, just very riff driven, up tempo song.

The only weak thing on this album in my opinion is the lead guitar work. Even though it's not a lead guitar style of music, if you do want to play a guitar solo make it fit to the level of the music and the few solos that are on this album were very mediocre. Overall, the album is great, the band sounds tight, very "clean" that is not something you hear on Hardcore productions. The sound is very live and just adds to the old-school feel of this band that just managed to get the best of the old and the new. Even if you don't like Hardcore, give this one a try, you might like it.