Ireland was country that had many troubled times due a civil war that endured many years. But Metal seems to be above these social features, and we can see some good Irish bands since the second half of the 90's. Good bands as MALTHUSIAN, an extreme Metal quartet that comes put everything down with "Across Deaths", their first album.

I used the label "extreme Metal" because it's easier to write it, but now I can make a deeper explanation: they use a mix between Death Metal, Black Metal and Doom Metal, in a way that can remind you from albums as "Lost Paradise" of PARADISE LOST and "As the Flower Withers" of MY DYING BRIDE due the slow and oppressive atmosphere the songs bear, along with some extreme and brutal parts. Obviously some Black Metal elements can be detected in many moments. They have musical personality, but needs to work it out in a better way. Some lapidating must be done, because their music needs to mature a bit more. Their weakest point: the sound quality. It's not fitting on their musical work, because the sonority is moldy and raw enough to really complicate our understanding of what they are playing. Of course I know of the difficulties that many can have, but something in this way is far from the acceptable. Once more: the best sound quality any band must search for is that one that anyone that will listen can understand what you are doing.

Musically, they have talent and can be great one day, as the straight and brutal "Remnant Fauna" (very good drums, as long as we can understand it), the sharp and oppressive "Sublunar Hex" (very good blend of brutal moments with some atmospheric slow parts, and the contrast of guttural grunts with harsh screams was a fine feature to use here), and the long and technical "Primal Attunement - The Gloom Epoch", but as I told: maturing would be great, because some songs could be shorter and they would reach a better result. For now, "Across Deaths" is a good album and shows potential, but MALTHUSIAN must contact a better sound producer next time.