The concept of something beginning and something ending has been used throughout modern Metal, and the latest installment comes via PIT OF CARNAGE's latest release "The Beginning Of The End". This dastardly duo from Denmark employ a bare-bones approach to their brand of Heavy and Death Metal. There are no luxuries or hooks and frankly, you either like their style or you don't. I can't see this band having any mediocre fans, so if you hear this album, prepare for a monster.

Opening up with a flurry of percussion and guitar then moving to a mellower riff, "The Sickness Within" opens up with a true statement, there's some seriously sick shit within this album. I thought I'd be hearing more of the Technical Death Metal styling, but this is more of the straightforward, early-era sounding Death Metal. Combine that with some of the more modern breakdowns in certain Slam Metal scenes, and you get a good sense of the second track "Carnage". The first four tracks are relatively similar in sound and progression, going from snare blasts to slower riffs and parts that inflict the listener with the compulsion to headbang. "Another Life" had a pretty interesting intro with a gratuitous bass drop at the thirty-second mark to keep the subwoofers occupied. Unfortunately at the three-minute mark, I think the rhythm was lost for about twenty seconds, but comes back strong.

Then in "Demigod" I hear the structure of the songs start to change for the better. The main guitar riff spoke to me of ancient Egyptian ruins and a pharaoh ruling over the common folk. It was similar to early NILE in style and just needed the vocals and a proper drum set and it could have convinced some that it indeed was. "Demigod" was really the first song on the album to have a snare sound that didn't make me think it was a couple of kitchen utensils.

"When The Napalm Strikes" continued the increased quality of the album and had some interesting heavy parts to which a listener could introduce a friend. Followed by "Illumination Declared", the transition was easy and comfortable and I didn't have to try to make the connection. Overall the feel off this song was unique to this album and though it opens up with a prodding snare blast, the drummer didn't rely on them very much to assert badass-ness since that came more natural in this song. Just after the one-minute mark, you can hear the breakdown begin and present itself with the trusty crash cymbal. I got a real "wall of sound" feel to the rhythm guitar sound and over all, despite being fast-paced, "Illumination Declared" was relatively smooth.

I'll touch briefly on the last two tracks, "Without Regret" and "Last March". The skill of the percussionist seems to continue to grow with various breakbeats and a bit more of a technical aspect. The strings continue to provide some nice variety in the riffs but the vocal parts seem extricated and disassociated.

One thing I thought was pretty catchy about this album was the guitar solo. Employing the sweep technique rather heavily, they added some nice high notes to an otherwise fairly monotone album and the arpeggios were very welcomed. The first half of this album feature songs that are in the two to three-minute range, so the other half is basically the majority of total album playing time. The vocal style was similar to DESPISED ICON, so it provided a bit of reliable familiarity.

So this is a pretty insane album in my book. It doesn't have a lot of variety in overall structure, but it does have a lot of variety when you compare song-to-song. Not one of my favorite albums, but "The Beginning of the End" is definitely worth a listen, now let the end begin!<