I was fortunate to grow up during a big Death Metal boom of the late 80's/very early 90's. While at the time I was a huge Hair/Glam Metal fan, I soon made friends with people who were to turn me on to something a bit more extreme. I listened to some of the Death Metal they had, and I really loved what I heard. I was 14 when I bought my first Death Metal cassette "Testimony Of The Ancients, which is still my first true love.

These days, I still love that old school Death Metal, and a lot of the bands from those heady days have either hung around like a bad rotten smell or have gone but made stellar comebacks. At the same time, a few fresh new young talents are plying their trade in that old school vein. CREATED TO KILL, from the southern state of Kentucky, have that old school vibe about them. This includes huge CANNIBAL CORPSE influence, and although rough around the edges, and they make their intentions known straight from the first seconds of opener "Fascination With Your Death".

Blasting straight out of the speakers with the insane drum­-work of Paul Good, and technical riffing of guitarist Steve Forbes, this is heaven to the ears. The guttural vocals of front-man Ab Simmerman is also a highlight, with more than a passing resemblance to the sound of ex-­CORPSE front-man Chris Barnes. There is no let up throughout the record, albeit with very rare moments for the listener to take a breath before being pummeled back into submission. That is where this record succeeds ... this is ultra brutal American Death Metal usic the way it should be done. I can be picky however, and some of the riffs (to my ears anyway) don't hold up to the classics of good ole' days, but that's a real small pick. I'm no expert on riffing techniques or how to write a song, so take that with a grain of salt! One track I have found myself listening to a lot is the last track on the record "Death On The River", opening with a doom-­like dirge that reminds me of classic OBITUARY. Slowly, the rest of the album comes into morphing to a melodic solo that wouldn't be out of place on "Testimony Of The Ancients" era PESTILENCE, before ripping back into brutality, by far probably the best track on the album for me.

Obviously you won't find anything original or groundbreaking on this record, but CREATED TO KILL have never claimed to be anything original. They have a love for brutal Death Metal, and they wear their influences proudly on their sleeves and they are technically proficient at what they do. If you love your Death Metal, and if you don't expect anything too much from this record and just love it for what it is, then you will not be disappointed.<