MEZZROW has been around for ages. This Swedish Thrash Metal ensemble from Nyköping was around earlier than this under a different name, but they started in 1987 under this one, resulting in the 1990 studio album "Then Came The Killing". They stopped in 1993, only to come back twice. First time was in 2005, and only lasted that year. The second time was in 2011, and that come back is still going on right now. The band gave us the compilation album "Then Came The Demons" in 2022. The only other studio album they made was "Summon Thy Demons" in 2023. They also released the live album "Keep It True – Live" in that year. Now, at the end of 2025, they are back with their fourth studio album, "Embrace The Awakening", which actually is my first encounter with MEZZROW. And I have to say that I have much worse introductions to a band.

Musically the band puts its own autograph underneath the music, but you can't escape the fact that at times you will be transported to comparisons that will lead you to bands like METALLICA and SLAYER. The former band is palpable in the way the riffing is done from time to time. So, no, not all the time, but it is rampant in a song like "Sleeping Cataclysm". The latter one is mainly very easy to spot in the vocal lines that Ulf "Uffe" Pettersson uses, but also in his intonation and timbre. He's like the subdued brother of Tom Araya. When you put all these influences together you get the MEZZROW sound, and it is a pleasant one. What that does is make listening to "Embrace The Awakening" not only very easy, but also a feast of recognition, without the band resorting to simply copying their peers.

What does help in those cases is to have a good sound. Well, "Embrace The Awakening" has been produced at a very good and transparent level, which allows you to hear very instrument in detail. It also has been given enough punch to make sure that all the songs that MEZZROW has put on this album has the right amount of energy, excitement and power. Therefore everything you hear on "Embrace The Awakening" sounds as if they were recorded in a really well-rehearsed, properly prepared and enthusiastic way whilst not forgetting to have a lot of fun when doing so. And that is what makes an album into a real feast to listen to.