Formed in Gothenburg in 2008, this quintet set out with the goal to play brutal metal mixing between the modern and old school. This their debut album was originally released last year (although it has now been made more widely available through Inverse Records) and reached a commendable #15 in Sweden’s metal charts. They use a twin vocal attack with Thomas Persson and Lisa Hultgren being joined by Valter Koivunen (guitar), Markus Lihnell (drums) and Oskar Frantzén (bass). This is Lamb of God meeting The Haunted down a dark alley and getting Pantera to join in their games. Hard, bruising metal with a solid groove, this is definitely not for the faint-hearted.
It is hard to fathom that there is just one guitarist in this band as Valter manages somehow to come across as a one-man Meshuggah with complex riffs that expand the sound. I have been lucky enough to hear a great deal of the releases from Inverse Records, but this is easily the best to date. Hopefully now it is being re-released it will gain the band some more publicity outside of their home country, as this is solid from start to end. A must for all metalheads.
www.inverse.fi
