Good day Metal-Temple. ASHEN EPITAPH is back with their third album to date. The band from Serbia took their name from a BENEDICTION song on an EP in 1994. But aside from that, they don't have much in common with the old school band. They are playing a great style of Death Metal, but with a touch of today's music.

The melody and the vocals are similar to AMON AMARTH, a gritty yet powerful guitar and drum are taking a lot of space in the sound. It is played masterfully and with a lot of great hooks throughout the album. The album opens on a gloomy track in "The Forming...", it does set the tone right away, but doesn't really prepare you for the atmosphere that ensue. While it is gloomy in general, the album does reflect a lot of energy as well.

It does, though, flawlessly introduce "Fog, Mud, Loneliness", I barely noticed that the track changed. There is a lot of similarities between Attila Boros's vocal and Johan from AMON AMARTH. It is especially true in this song. "Stench of Life" isn't that much different as it brings as much energy and as much melody as the previous song. With some masterful guitar solo surrounding the track, it delivers on every level.

The drum is omnipresent in every song, but more so in the next three songs. "Mirrorgalery", "The Wounds" and "Destroy All False Faith" brings the drum up front in your face literally. While they never lose the melodic feel of Death Metal, they are incorporating a lot of Thrash elements in their music. Which is a lot more apparent when we get to "One More Nail" and "Error in Evolution".

It felt like the last two songs were a continuation of "Error in Evolution" but that might have been the intent from the start. The beat and feel of those songs are really similar, but without any indication, it is hard to say. The band is playing with a lot of maturity and a lot of passion. It brings us a quality product that is "The Formed Filth Enigma". It is a gritty and absolutely enjoyable performance, an big 40 minutes of pure Death Metal. I will make sure to keep an eye on ASHEN EPITAPH. This album will appeal to the majority of Death Metal fans.