DEMONICAL is a Swedish death metal band formed in 2006, from former CENTINEX members. "Mass Destroyer," is their seventh full length album. Over the years they have also released a demo, three splits and two EPs. DEMONICAL are nothing if not consistent. You want old school death metal with the only frills being uncompromising head crushing music and limitless energy? DEMONICAL have that to spare but they didn't give it to anyone but themselves. "Mass Destroyer" is, well, a massive death metal album that stays true to the tried and true formula of "killing everything with riffs." Though it is guitar/bass based, the drums and vocals are beasts in their own ways. "Mass Destroyer" is an album where every member knows the genre like the back of their hand and is committed to it.

"We Conquer The Throne," induces whiplash in about three seconds-the speed is blinding and the riffs focused at slitting the throat. Hints of melody appear here and there to make it all catch but it never waters the song down. I find the band is at their best when they do let more melody in, actually.  "Fallen Mountain" is a fine example of this because those melodic tendencies make the album catchy as hell. But the cadence of the barking death growls and groovy riffs certainly help on that front too. The solo isn't flashy-much like the album itself, it sounds great because it does what it needs to do then leaves.

"Dödsmarsch," is one of the most brutal tracks. The death scream at the 40 second mark sends chills up my spine which does little to take away the destruction the drums do on my brain as my headphones shake from the Swedish death metal rumble. DEMONICAL take the groove of this song...and then they double down on it. Triple down. Quadruple? Doesn't matter, I'm dead. "By Hatred Bound" is galloping death metal locked in a cage with rabid wolverines...who are also playing death metal. They bust out the melody here again and it holds the more brutal pieces of the song together. The solo starts out clever then hits blistering before sliding into a melodic passage to back up the returning vocals.

While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, "Mass Destroyer" does grind it down to nothing. If you don't like the style, it won't change your mind...but if you do, it doesn't get much better than this in the modern age.