In the 80's, HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST, SODOM, DESTRUCTION and KREATOR, in their earlier works, helped to pave the way for Black/Thrash Metal, a genre that would be better recognized after the 2000's. Of course the bands that plays such a genre, in the greater part of them, will never leave the shadows of their musical influences, and will keep on playing again and again the same clichés recollections, unable to go further into the future. And the Swedish quintet STYGGELSE is one of those who needs to evolve a lot, as "Offenders of the Faith" is here to proove.

Their musical work isn't so bad, a Black/Thrash Metal trying to emulate something between SODOM's "Obsessed by Cruelty"/"Expurse of Sodomy" times, CELTIC FROST's "Morbid Tales" and something in the old urn of Metal clichés from the 80's. Their musical work is really filled with energy and has some good hooking points, but they're not improving what already exists. And that's the problem: thousands of bands are doing the same way, so they're just one more in the middle of many. And when making music, personality is what matters. The sound quality isn't bad at all. They worked in a way to bring what belongs to the past to the present, recording, mixing and mastering their songs in a way that can be clearly understood. It doesn't sound modern and groovy (maybe that's what "I Hate all this New Shit" means), but clean in a way that can be assimilated, far from moldy sound qualities of many that try desperately to be an 80s band (what no one can be, only those who played and recorded back on those times).

"Pick Up the Pace" with its nasty guitars, the aggressive insight of "Sunday Morning Warpaint" (very good vocals, where some personal work can be heard due the harsh normal tunes), the slower insight used on "Stone Cold" (very good rhythm, in a way that hooks the listeners), the Hardcore/"Motorheadian" feeling of "I Hate all this New Shit", and the shark attack of guitars shown on "Cry Me a Fucking River" show that they have talent, but must leave their discs of the 80's at home when are writing music. A good name, but as long as they accept to be living in the shadows of the ancients, STYGGELSE will sound as a band that could offer too much, but that is imprisoned by time and musical models of the past.