Swedish band/project, BENEATH have been around with the same core members since 1994 and obviously took their time (and perfected their craft over the years by recording several demos) to make sure their debut CD, "Antidote" was a very enjoyable disc. A work in progress beginning in 2008, the band enlisted the help of guitarists Daniel Josefsson, Anders Lindgren (HELL 'N' DIESEL, VALINOR'S TREE, BEYOND TWILIGHT) and Tony Gelander (OBSTINAT, RISING FAITH)

As soon as I hit the play button, I was immediately pummeled by the punchy riffs and aggressive rhythms of opening track, "Vengeance I Breathe". The band, has very deep thrash roots, they also aren't the least bit afraid to use melody to keep the listener enticed. The best evidence of this is found in the track "Everything Ends" - a number that sounds very inspired by the sounds of classic METALLICA but also has some modern elements that bring to mind bands such as OPETH and AT THE GATES. Other tracks I consider to be standouts include "Harvest of Mankind", "Fear Vs. Hate" and a nine minute epic, "The Antidote". All the musicians involved in the project are very skilled at their instruments of choice and Christoffer Binnberg's vocals primarily reminded me of John Connelly from NUCLEAR ASSAULT.

The bio on the BENEATH web site states that "This is a one album project, but you never know what the future holds". I for one hope there is another BENEATH CD, but I also hope that it doesn't take another 20 years!