Finland has an incredible Extreme Metal scene, and the newcomers KILLHALL only emphasize that point.  They independently released their debut album "Skullsplitter'' about a few months ago on May 24th, with 8 tracks totalling up to 36 minutes.  However, KILLHALL gave us a taste of what was to come with the release of two singles from the album: "Fear Shaped Man" on January 19th and "Delirium Tremens'' on April 6th.  If you've enjoyed the singles, then I'll tell you right now that you're going to enjoy the rest of KILLHALL's first album.

The simple way I would describe the album "Skullsplitter" in general is a well-blended mixture of Groove, Thrash, and Death Metal.  In detail, the music was a heavier, faster version of Groove Metal pioneers PANTERA.  What makes KILLHALL's Groove Metal faster than PANTERA is their heavy use of techniques from Thrash and Death Metal.  It's very similar to the route SLIPKNOT took when creating their fourth (and severely underrated) album "All Hope Is Gone." Since Groove Metal is derived from Thrash Metal, a Groove Metal album is truly great when it has elements of its parent genre and/or Death Metal.

When listening to the opening track and single "Delirium Tremens," I was very impressed by Mad Velström's use of clean vocals along with his predominantly raspy growls.  Clean vocals are not often used in forms of Extreme Metal, so this was a pleasant surprise.  Blast beats, backbeats, and relentless double bass kicks are the foundation of Jusso Laukkanen's drumming style throughout "Skullsplitter," and it'll make any metalhead want to start a mosh pit.  On some tracks such as "For the Crow" and the title track, the guitar riffs from Tuomas Laukkanen sound very similar to those used in Melodic Death Metal.  Paired with the dark lyrics of the band, the music creates a war-like atmosphere.  This is clearly the case in the closing track "I Want War," which opens with the lines 'I want war and I want justice/I want to walk among your corpses.' As I said, this album has very dark lyrics, from beginning to end.

This is KILLHALL's first ever album, and I am pleased to say that it is a very strong start for the four-man group from Finland.  Of course, there are many bands in the country, so these newcomers will have plenty of competition.  However, with the release of "Skullsplitter," KILLHALL has shown they're not going anywhere anytime soon.  I can definitely see this band going places with their debut record, and I already can't wait for their second album.