Grab your bug-out bags and head for shelter because here comes the apocalypse! Or at least that's what I imagine being said frequently at the dinner tables of Mr. K, Mr. M, and the illustrious Mr. D, as they thrust their children into trucks reinforced with titanium riot armour. H5N1 make some of the most apocalypse-friendly music I have ever encountered and the fact that the songs have names like "Deliverance Of Apocalyptic Virulence" only serves to strengthen this image.

At a first listen, I was disheartened by the very poor sounding production and what seemed to be just a chaotic mashing of instruments. This didn't really go away until I switched on my subwoofer and realised that all of that sloppy noise was actually just two bass guitars bludgeoning my speakers to a weeping pulp. Yes, two basses. It has taken me a couple of run throughs of the album to really understand it, but now that I do, it makes such sense. Now, it's never really such a good thing if you have to try something a few times to like it.  I'm sure I would probably like the taste of vomit after forcing myself to eat it a dozen times or so but this seems different. Call me prejudiced if you will, I do love abusive music more than almost anything, but there is definitely a certain character to the naively mixed sounds of this album.

The dual bass sound does add a very unique edge to the overall experience and perhaps it is this that I am latching on to. The guitar work is at times very good; if you listen hard enough you can just about pick out some very good sounding melodies drowning away in the sea of utter distortion and madness. The vocal work definitely warms up and by the time "Embracing The Pandemic Principle" kicks in Mr. M seems to have lathered up his vocal chords just enough to get rid of that dry, raspy sound of a broken larynx. This is certainly not music for the feint hearted however and if you are not a fan of pure, unadulterated sonic beatings then you may find the whole tone of the album somewhat distasteful. Except maybe the bit with the synth-like string sections.

I'm a sucker for apocalypses and the whole façade of the band works for me, just their name got my interest piqued. I like to think that, whilst I was standing amid lightning and thunder on the 21^st of December 2012 screaming at the Gods to give it their best shot, the guys from H5N1 were beating 20hz bass tones into the earth to get Resheph out of his long slumber to bring about the plague of plagues. <