After a bit more than 6 years of studio inactivity, LOCK UP have returned with a brand new record entitled "Demonization" - released via Listenable Records.

Who is this band? Well, it's one that you should definitely know! They are a one of the million side projects of Shane Embury, the legendary bass guitarist of NAPALM DEATH, guitarist of BRUJERIA, and also the bassist of BENT SEA - and many more. Long story short, LOCK UP are a collaboration between vocalist Kevin Sharp (known from BRUTAL TRUTH and VENOMOUS CONCEPT) and drummer Nicholas Barker who previously drummed for BRUJERIA, and was also a member of ANCIENT and LIQUID GRAVEYARD. Lastly we have Anton Reisenegger on guitars, who is known from various projects such as BRUJERIA, CRIMINAL, and PENTAGRAM CHILE.

So, these seem to be pretty important people in the Grindcore and Death Metal scene, right? So why shouldn't you check out the latest effort by these legendary people? LOCK UP released their newest record "Demonization" on March 10th, and it has 14 tracks, which spin on the turntable (depending of course on the platform that you prefer) for 40-plus minutes.

What is to expect? Well, "Demonization" is a classic yet pretty experimental approach to a furious Grindcore and Death Metal mixture. Let's break up the record a bit. It starts off with "Blood and Emptiness", a decent, short track (just like most of them on the record) that instantly reminded me of a sick mixture of NAPALM DEATH, BRUTAL TRUTH, and VENOMOUS CONCEPT. The vocals are raging and are pretty extreme, and at all times Grindcore-oriented; they seem to never stop, which is really good. Most are scream-based, but you can expect some growls too.

The riffs are classic and the atmosphere is incredible - what else can you expect from such nice people?  If you're a fan of this genre, but still need more albums, definitely consider putting this one on your playlist!