"Fatalis The Unbroken Circle" is the third full-length album from German band COMMANDER, released just a week ago on Friday the 13^th. This is the band's first release in a full decade, since "The Enemies We Create" in 2008.

The title track opens with a distinct, dissonant, harmonic minor riff. A lot of death metal opening tracks recently are lacking in energy, but this song breaks the mold. It immediately blazes in with a tempest of blast beats, the exotic-sounding riff continuing with brutal modern death metal vocals joining in. Nick's vocals are mid-range, a bit rough but also with a rich quality. The purely thrash riff that enters at 3:03 is made more modern by the accompanying blast beat.  The lead line that enters at 3:30 shows off Steffen's skillful vibrato; the line itself is simple but it is catchy and well-executed. The feel change at 4:42 is exactly what the song needs; it's a nice change from the rest of the song. Overall this one is one of the better intro tracks I've heard in a long time.

"Locust Infestation" also has some purely thrash themes, particularly in the riff that drops at 0:20. Nick's vocals really shine on this track; they are atypical of thrash, but the vocals are a part of what brings this band into the modern era of death metal. The riff at 1:56 has a groove that is a great contrast to the riffs that have played so far. The riff sounds as though it is leading up to a potentially heavy drop, perhaps a breakdown of some sort, and I'm a little disappointed when it doesn't release into a breakdown. The guitar solo that follows at 2:48 has the same exotic harmonic minor feel that has been present throughout the full album so far. Some of the note choice is questionable, particularly a lick at 3:09 that sounds almost intentionally out of key. The rest of the solo is super aurally pleasing to listen to, with cleanly played, melodic licks. And then it's right back into the modern take on thrash.

"Chaos Awakening" begins with a pick sweep: a bit goofy but fun. At 0:34 it goes into an upbeat rhythm, with an uncharacteristic snare on the 2^nd and 4^th beats (think a typical classic rock drum beat); in this setting it's strange. Again, a bit goofy but still fun. At around 1:10 when it repeats, it feels as though the song is dragging; it doesn't seem to be progressing toward anything. There are two guitar solos on this song, the first being at 1:20. The chord progression is unexpected and refreshing, and, while the solo itself stays in the harmonic minor territory where Steffen seems most comfortable, it still progresses nicely. The second solo at 2:00 is my favorite on the album so far. It increases the intensity, and it finally feels like the song is building towards something and has a deliberate progression. The first solo actually repeats and finishes out the song, and I wish they had at least changed it up; it feels a bit like it was just tacked on at the end.

"New Slave Democracy" has an intro that immediately draws you in. This song is stylistically very different from the rest of the album. The first minute and twenty seconds could easily be a Dethklok/Brendan Small song, and I am living for it. At 1:20 it returns to a thrash feel - more comfortable territory for the band. The riff before the solo is. . . strange. It is out of key from the rest of the song, but it is a stylistic change, and there's something to be said for that, but it seems as though parts of two different songs were forced together. The solo at 1:55 is similar to the other solos so far - more harmonic minor territory but it builds and progresses beautifully and it is one of the best solos on the album. After the solo, the previous strange riff returns, and now that you've heard it once it is definitely less off-putting. A previous Brendan Small- type tremolo riff returns, and I love the change between styles that permeates this song.

An underutilized technique in modern death metal is the use of octaves, and "Insidious Greed" makes great use of this in the intro section. The section that follows, starting at 1:20, is slow, steady, rhythmic, a little groovy - a style that has not been utilized yet on this album. At 2:20 it feels as though the section overall is dragging a bit; the section definitely does not need to be repeated twice. The song finally changes at 3:20, with a lead guitar line chiming over the chord progression. This song definitely does not need to be as long as it is; there is really no build-up or progress of the song - it's just kin dof the same three riffs being repeated over and over. This one could have been cut from the album, without a doubt. Although, it is around this time that the drum mix really jumps out to me: the kick has the perfect amount of click, the snare with the perfect crack and reverb. All of the instruments sound very well-balanced, although I wish there were more mids to the guitars.

"Invidia" is another track that opens with an exotic-sounding harmonic minor intro and goes straight into thrash riffage. While the thrash feel is fun, this song, again, has sections that repeat constantly without any change or build to it. The pure death metal riff that enters at 1:38 is a great change from the rest of the song. The drums still give it a thrash vibe up through the guitar solo. The solo itself is short and sweet with some clean shredding. So many shred sections in metal are sloppy shred, but I appreciate the skillfulness this solo is played with. The death metal riff returns, and it's a fun riff but it's cut short by the unimaginative thrashy riffs from earlier, repeated once again.

"Superbia" opens with a burst of energy with another thrash riff, followed by a groovier death metal riff that is a refreshing change from the rest of the album. The vocals match the groovy feel without the vocal pattern following the guitar pattern, another refreshing deviation from typical death metal vocal patterns. The chorus-type riff is just as groovy as the previous riff and super catchy. The initial opening riff follows, which, to be perfectly honest is another unimaginative thrash riff and does not need to be repeated more than where it's done in the intro. But the groovy riffs are repeated as well, and it's catchy enough that the lack of development up until this point is acceptable. Overall, the song is very catchy and of my favorites on the album so far.

"And Death Swings the Scythe" is a complete deviation from the rest of the album. The first minute is an acoustic, picked riff that develops and picks up energy as it progresses. Tone-wise, there are a lot of lower frequencies present - a lot of low end, and I wish that there were more higher frequencies brought out from the acoustic guitar to balance it out. The change that follows is powerful when the vocals enter. The riff is dissonant yet catchy, and the driving, incendiary riff that enters at 2:00 draws you in even further; this song stands apart from the others on the album in the fantastic way the song builds and progresses. The trotting riff that enters just before 3:00 is a real headbanger: simple and catchy, something that gets you excited. The excitement builds even further at 3:30, as the section is obviously building and about to head into something big. It keeps the tension going until a new riff enters at 4:10 - an equally simple yet catchy riff, but the groove in the vocal rhythm really elevates the section. The song changes gears when the guitar solo enters, but the solo is the same as the other solos on the album: extremely short, very cleanly played, but all of the solos have stuck to the harmonic minor pattern, and I wish this was changed up at some point.

"Shattered Existence" breaks the pattern and fades in with an immediately intriguing, technical riff. When the drums and vocals drop, it adds even more interest to the riff. This song is immediately the one that has captured my interest out of the entire album, except perhaps the previous song. It is overall much more technical than the rest of the album. The vocals even deviate from their usual mid-range, rich quality, and it is really a breath of fresh air. The lead guitar lines in the second minute that interweave with the vocals are also a fantastic change-up from the rest of the guitar lines on the album. You don't often see a lead guitar line working with the vocal, and it's a great innovation on the band's part. This song blazes in so unexpectedly, punches you in the face repeatedly for three minutes, then ends as suddenly and unexpectedly as it began - definitely the highlight on this album.

For being the first release from this band in 10 years, I have to say the last song did a great job of keeping up with the modern death metal climate while also setting itself apart. "Shattered Existence" is definitely the song that this band should be pushing; not to say the rest of the album isn't worth the listen, because there are some really great elements to this album. The lead guitars are gorgeous - great tone, and the shreddier licks are some of the cleanest I've heard in death metal in quite a while, and the drum mix is impeccable. The thrashier elements are almost cookie-cutter thrash at times - a lot of the thrash riffs just feel uninspired, like it's something you've definitely heard before. The vocals are fantastic, modern mid-range death metal vocals, and those vocals are what keep these thrashier riffs from getting boring because the vocals are so atypical to the thrash feel. When I heard the single time in the last song that the vocals ascended to a higher, vicious fry, it made me wish that there was more of that throughout the album, but the vocals that Nick stuck with kept me interested for the entirety of the album. While the album as a whole was a bit underwhelming, I honestly can't wait to hear their next release, and I hope that they continue to expand upon the techier, modern sound that they can clearly excel at.