ANOMALY is a Tech/Melodic Death Metal band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and formed in 2011. "Somewhere Within the Pines" is the band's sophomore effort, and contains seven songs. "Cursed to Meet Another Sunrise" is the first. It rolls forward with a dark groove, and a bossy riff. From there however, the sound is simpler. It's not your dad's Death Metal, in that the riffs are slow and easy to understand, and there are also some Doomy elements at work. The title track begins with a faster groove and some rough rhythm guitar work. I usually don't like overuse of the open chord, but they nail it harder and harder. The clean vocals are a bit of a surprise, but they work well in supporting the sound. It takes an extended instrumental passage before returning to the opening sound.

"These Cold Weeping Bones" has a slow and straightforward sound with some twists and turns here and there. But the riffing is pretty standard. It gets going towards the middle of the song, with some fire on the gasoline and some rugged riffing. Some of the leads are just a little off the key however. "My Old Bleached Bones" opens with weighted and heavy tones with some great drum work. It slows with prophetic clean vocals, providing some solemn tones before the harsh vocals break through again. A key change at the half-way mark brings a new, clean guitar tone with plenty of gloom. The transition back is stark.

"Don't Go Out into Those Woods Alone" is a short, campy sort of song with easy listening clean vocals and guitars. It does provide a moment of diversity however. "Sentenced to the Trees" has a strong and powerful opening sequence, followed by some dissonance. Technical elements also come through well, especially in the tight sequence of drums, bass and guitars. The middle clean section is actually pretty nice, frolicking in the breeze without a care in the world. What follows is crushing section of brutality without the chaos. "One Last Glimpse at the Cursed Sun" closes the album. A slow grind opens the song, with some leads glittering in the sky above. Gutturals bubble up from the earth beneath in a matter-of-fact manner. The Doomy elements drip with feelings of regret and loss, perhaps. Whatever is going on, the sun fades in the sky and is replaced by total darkness.

This album was pretty good overall. I question some of the length in the songs however, because some of it is just repetitive. But as I mentioned, this isn't your dad's Death Metal. It incorporates elements of other genres, like Doom Metal for example. The band are pretty talented to boot. I would be interested to see what the band can bring on their next release, because they have a good foundation to build on.