Despite the totally RAMMSTEIN cover, which actually confused me since the band has nothing to do with the German Industrial rockers, the rest of Absolute Design has nothing to do with this side of Metal. These guys have decided to play one of the most common kinds of music this scene has, melodic Death Metal that probably didn't manage to amaze me...

The Swedish Death Metal act ENGEL is pretty fresh in the Metal scene, since it came to life pretty recently (2004). The band released two demos and a promotional split CD with ICED EARTH and TYPE O NEGATIVE, which was handed out at various concerts in the form of a MCD. There are various reasons why the band disappointed me, reasons that you can read below...

First of all, melodic Death Metal has become so common that even my grandma may have more groundbreaking ideas, especially when melody gains more ground day by day and the result is more like a combination of Death Metal with Pop music! There were some moments in Absolute Design that I felt like I was listening to something from LINKIN PARK's latest works! What disappointed me the most, is that this band is consisted by members that have participated in great bands like IN FLAMES, EVERGREY and THE CROWN.

It is ok for someone that has played in IN FLAMES choosing to follow this path in music, but Sunesson (ex-THE CROWN) and Hakansson (ex-EVERGREY) were supposed to present much more interesting ideas. If it was a new band formed by young people, it would be a pretty decent work, but such members are not allowed to act like they are so desperate. Even the great production didn't manage to save the day for them!

The overall result is not that bad, but just by thinking the current state of the melodic Death Metal scene and ENGEL's members I can't stop my self from rating this album with a...