Nottingham Technical Metallers AKARUSA YAMI are an interesting blend of Technical Metal with a heavy Metalcore influence. Their new album "Heavy Climb" is a blend of technicality and brutality.

Opening track "The Old Man By The Fjord" slams right into action with rapid fire riffs and changes and a cool blend of vocal styles. "At Last Sunlight (Endlich, Sonnenlicht)" follows much the same route and helps establish the bands overall sound. Title Track "Heavy Climb" is a doomier number that slows it down a little yet remains just as heavy regardless, with some great riffs going on.

"Long Nights In The City" is a nice atmospheric instrumental track that leads us nicely into the melancholic sounding "A Monument Built To Carnal" desire, a track that showcases some great drumming from Tweak. The track overall is one of the most technical ones, that makes use of interesting sounds throughout. "And The Night Will Take Us All" is a really full on track with lots of stabbing, angular riffs and some hefty vocals.

"I Work In Formaldehyde" Takes things for a somewhat "jazzier" spin before smashing into some very heavy moments and some really angry sounding vocals. "Loving Parents" makes use of some interesting synth sounds and atmosphere in another instrumental before leading into "Les Meres Terribles" which is a very modern sounding Progressive Metal track in places, again infused with some more dissonant and angrier styles of Metal.

"The Natasha Tade" closes things up with some solemn sounding pianos, and some interesting spoken word sections and atmosphere interspersed throughout. This one closes the album in a rather unexpected manner, with a lot of moodiness and almost industrial sounds.

Overall this is a good album, and the band does what it does well. Fans of the really heavy stuff will certainly want to check this out, and the moodier sides to the music really change things up a little.