Anyone who classifies their style of music as "Chernobyl Death Metal" would certainly raise an eyebrow or two. This is the case for what many would consider Technical Death Metal band CYTOTOXIN. They have been going strong for the past 10 years with each album being well received. They are one of few modern bands under the "Death Metal" umbrella that are consistently experimenting and changing things up, keeping the genre afloat. And now that their fourth album, "Nuklearth", has been released, it is time to see what more they have brought to the table.

Opening track "Atomb" begins with extremely heavily palm muted guitar chords building up to a massive pay off with blast beats and guttural vocals that are just as good as they've always been. The part that we all wait for in CYTOTOXIN releases are the solos and the solo is incredibly varied in its section. It begins as a floating melody over an ambient background, until morphing into the death metal dissonance that you can expect from a brutal album. The main lick of the solo comes back later in the end of the song and the catchiness is equal to the heaviness. "Lupus Aurora" begins much more suddenly. Opting out of a buildup in the beginning it goes from zero to ninety straight away and does not let up the entire time. The guttural vocals are backed up in the chorus by a haunting reverb that gives extra presence and power to the lyrics. The guitar solos sound much cleaner than previous, bringing the attention to the incredible playing rather than simply just enjoying how heavy it sounds.

Don't be fooled, though, it is still extremely heavy "Dominus" was released as a music video by the band and contains a lot of what is missing in modern bands of the genre. While many bands are full of very skilled musicians, few bands are able to tick all the boxes the way CYTOTOXIN does. Melody, brutality, lyrics, dynamic, great production, the band simply delivers on everything and this track is a great example of that. A more old-school example of death metal can be heard in "Soul Harvester". The slow, grinding riffage that suddenly transitions to speedy blast beats is classic death metal at its best. Still containing that modern twist, it is perfectly executed and shows that while the band are incredible musicians from a technical standpoint, simplicity can have just as much impact as well.

The title track "Nuklearth" has an incredible rhythm and feel to the riffs. The sudden start stop feels jarring at first, but once gotten used to, is so unique and as the vocals are introduced you are treated once again to the amazing interplay between the instruments. Each note is carefully chosen and considered. It may not come as a surprise but CYTOTOXIN have done it again. Every new release never fails to disappoint. It was a long three years waiting for this release but on top of this, all the fans can also enjoy some behind the scenes videos of the making of the album. It is highly recommended to check it out. It makes you really appreciate the work gone into it and also gives you a chance to see the guys at work doing what they do best.