CAULDRON OF HATE is a Death Metal band based out of Finland. This is the second EP release to date. From their webpage, they describe their genre as "Goat being assraped by multiple orcs from darkest realms of spermal swamps." The EP contains five tracks. "Slaughterfest" opens the album, with intense vigor. Though the riffing and vocals speak of traditional Death Metal, they play it with a darker and more complex vision. "Heritance of Hatred" is received in a similar manner. The assault is deep as it is ardent. The vocals rattle into your soul with a passion and commitment that is relentless.

At over nine minutes, "Abyssal Ascension" is the longest track on the album. The main riff carries the slow, grinding rhythm and a feeling of burnt out emotions and pale death. As it progresses it picks up steam with additional instrumentation but always with that main riff looming. "Winds of Death" is more hastened, coming at you with a flurry of alternating tempo passages and blast beat drumming. I picture a wind gust engulfing you like an ancient Egyptian plague. "Emperor of Annihilation" is the closing track. There is definitely a regal quality to the background, like you are witnessing the untimely fall of an empire under nefarious suspicion. The attack is vehement and all encompassing, and death is imminent.

Keeping Death Metal from being repetitive is hard, in my opinion, because of how unforgiving the genre boundaries are by many fans and critics. Though this is riff driven Death Metal in the traditional sense, there is something more dark and enduring here than what I have heard with other bands in the genre. They have a fire and determination that is matched only by the intensity of their performance. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Death Metal folks.