If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the collective cheeks of LAMB OF GOD would turn a vibrant crimson if they ever listened to INACAVE. Hailing from Copenhagen, this Groove Metal five piece would be a very promising new band if it weren't for how much they ape the Virginian metal titans. Their debut album is a bruising and incredibly heavy eleven tracks of testosterone driven breakdowns, punked up guitar riffs and redneck swagger, but it doesn't have any original ideas and they just come across as a low budget clone.

It's perfectly fine to take inspiration from your heroes, but pilfering so many ideas you become indistinguishable from the original, is a bad idea. What makes it especially annoying in the case of INACAVE is that they clearly have the chops to make some high quality music; they know how to make a great riff, the rhythm section does an impressive job and singer Daniel Lenberg has a deceptively diverse range despite sticking to growls and screams most of the time. However, there's not a single song here that couldn't be mistaken for a B-Side from 'As The Palaces Burn.'

Sure, the opening 'Weight Of The Boulder' is nicely thrashy and the stomping 'Mountain Throne' has its moments, but they're not strong enough to defeat the over-familiarity. The wisest move they've made is releasing the whole thing for free on their website because it's hard to imagine anyone spending money on this given that 'VII: Sturm Und Drang' only just came out. If you're absolutely desperate for an album that feels like studio outtakes by one of metal's biggest bands, then go nuts, but otherwise this is a deeply frustrating case of five talented musicians hamstrung by their own hero worship. Mark Morton and friends might find this flattering but that's all.<