Is it just me or has it suddenly become a lot harder to find an up-and-coming Death Metal band that stand out from the Cannibal-Corpse-Carbon-Copy-Army? I've felt this aching craving in the deepest parts of my soul, yet unable to understand what it was I was craving. That was until PURTENANCE landed on my lap.

Let me start by commending the artist responsible for this artwork. It consists of voodoo dolls, witches, cauldrons, pentagrams and skulls among other dark and delightful bits and pieces. What appeals to me most about this artwork is that it isn't heavily digitally enhanced. The artists kept it gloomy and simple with a psychopath's sketchpad type feel to it; this is definitely some of my favourite album artwork I have seen all year.

I went into this album with low expectations, I'm not quite sure why. But upon pressing the play button it took PUTENANCE all of twenty seconds to completely change my views. Their sound was Doom-y with hints of Death Metal. Then the vocals kick in and the gates of Hell are opened and stay open for the entirety of this album (46 minutes and 18 seconds for you eager beavers out there). The guitar is ungodly heavy and chunky, the drums are spine tingling and the bass is orgasmic (I don't think I've ever used that word in a professional sense before).

As the album draws on we're constantly kept on our toes. To the extent that "On The Far Side Of Knowledge" begins with some clean guitar before drawing back into the Doom elements that I spoke of previously. There are even some sneaky surprises in a few tracks.

I should probably mention that PURTENANCE have been around since the early 90's; in the heyday of Old School Death Metal. Since then they have evolved musically but you are still able to hear some of the Old School Death Metal elements.

In this album PURTENANCE display unrelenting creativity and diversity. Each and every musician commits 110% to this album and it definitely shows; and to be honest, I can't find a fault or a single track which I do not enjoy. This album has swiftly made its way to one of my favourite releases of 2015; definitely deserving of the title "Masterpiece".