Recent times are a true resurgence for Death Metal, with excellent releases from bands at the top of the industry, and the legions of underground, equally-stellar acts; from ABORTED and VADER to CANCER and SINISTER. Newer, rising stars, are putting their stamp on the field of Extreme Metal. Such a band are French Death Metallers, AD PATRES, who have recently released their debut, "Scorn Aesthetics", which has a decidedly Polish touch to it, as per those such as DECAPITATED and DIES IRAE. In fact, there are many regional stylings found in this album, not only from the Polish scene, but also from UK bands such as CANCER, or Americans DEICIDE. Quite frankly, "Scorn Aesthetics" has the best of all worlds.

First up, we have ".../ The Lock". The short-lived and eerie, industrial opening is blasted away by the torrential downpour of ludicrous-speed riffs, pronounced with deadly precision. Quite steeped in the Death Metal stylings of DEICIDE and SUFFOCATION, there is an obscured, but well-underlined groove to the riffs, with a growling, bass-heavy mix. The riffs alone on this piece, are purely astounding. "To The Fathers" may well be my favorite track, with a powerful, and cleverly-arranged set of riffs that rhythmically shake your foundations; drummer Alsvid, proving that Death Metal is most definitely a drummer's chance to shine. That being said, the seamless transitions from technique to technique in the riffs, illustrate how stupendously busy the stringsmen are working to churn out riff after mind-blowing riff. Vocalist Axel has a coarse grittiness to his bellows and belches, displaying a similar talent to that of Sven of ABORTED; both vocalists are masterful of both death-grunts and powerful mid-range screams. If you don't believe extreme vocals don't have 'ranges', these are the vocalists to look to.

"In Vivo" was a remarkable track in the way that it stood out from the rest. In just over 3 minutes it varies dramatically, from crushing blasts, to drowning grooves, to razor-edged tremolos and jarring pummellings with even a few progressive tendencies. The kind of creativity present in the design of these riffs are such that one would expect from pioneers of the genre. "Anti" is the unfettered beast, that appears and feels much more drastic and berserk than the other tracks; the sign of a superb Death Metal album - one that continues to push boundary after boundary, right up until the very last riff. Any semblance of heavy, structured grooves are sent careening by drastic and dramatic onslaughts of pure speed and aggression.

If I had 20 bucks, I'd be buying "Scorn Aesthetics" before anything else right now.