Swedes and DEATH METAL (well in this case DEATH/THRASH METAL) are like peanut butter and jelly or gin and tonic; they're just a natural fit. This EP is overflowing with the dissonant, dark frenzy of Gothenburg favorites like AT THE GATES, especially the earlier AT THE GATES, and DISSECTION. After a moody intro, "Rise of Death" pummels ferociously and ceaselessly, unleashing a battery of blast beats and low chugging guitars distorted beyond measure. The riffing here is very typical of their obvious heroes; it is fast and it's rough and it's dissonant as hell. The sinister barking vocals remind me of AT THE GATES as well, but with less torture in the voice. These Swedes can still play melodically when they feel the urge of course; the intro to "Rise of Death" as well as the solo section proves that. The lead work is much more melodic and sparse than might be expected, focused more on atmosphere than shredding.

Short and sweet is ETERNAL EVIL's clear specialty, as "Stab of the Blade", at only 2:26 long, drop-kicks and curbstomps listeners with an array of tremolo picked riffs and once again, a pleasantly, even traditionally, melodic solo. Yes, even though it's so short, the band finds time to squeeze in some lead work-and I say squeeze in a positive way, because it doesn't feel forced at all.

The slowest the band gets is during the breakdown (or just general tempo change, I don't know if it's a breakdown) on "Succubus". With the drums doing less and leaving more space in the music, you can really hear all the riffs being played. The midpaced triplet groove is a more laid-back mosh vibe in comparison to the general feel of open chaos that ETERNAL EVIL enjoys. I think my favorite riff of the EP is right after the held chord in the middle of "Witches Spell"; it's dark, aggressive, and nimble, which is everything Swedish DEATH/THRASH should be.

There isn't much to say about this EP that you couldn't say about other releases in the style, but it is a well-done addition to such releases. ETERNAL EVIL doesn't break genre walls or anything like that, but do they have to? They are writing music they love, for fans of the same.