Sweden has always been a center point for Melodic brutal music. First with the Gothenburg sound in Death Metal, then with the spin off's of that with bands like SCAR SYMMETRY and SONIC SYNDICATE. Say what you will about these bands but it actually works with the great mass. Then there's the American way of the same which started to grow with PANTERA and MACHINE HEAD about 15 years ago and progressed into the scene of today.

DAYS OF ANGER is right in the middle of the Swedish and American sound, a little more aggro and rough than the Swedish version. But what separate DAYS OF ANGER's "Death Path" from many of the rest are all those PANTERA-esque Groovy passages that appear here and there. These parts, like in "One Way Ticket To Hell" and the SLAYER oozing opener "Damaged" are the fine parts of the album.

The others, in the middle don't say much at all. Ok, this is not my favorite style of music, I gladly admit that, but these kinds of riffs must be strong and that's not the way here. There's something about the guitar sound that bothers me. Riffs of the kind that starts off "All Pigs Must Die" shall feel like you've been hit by a bulldozer, not like someone's scratching your back trying to get attention. The sound is extremely crunchy and lack real heaviness and power. The rest of the bands performance is really ok, nothing to complain about there. It probably could have been more dynamic which this kind of music really depend on to feel alive.

I think this is quite common these days when it's so easy to record at home (not saying that this one is though) where it's not possible to crank up the amp to max and record when the music is played with the force as it should. Else DAYS OF ANGER has managed to put together a bunch of quite decent songs on "Death Path" but I really think they could have done more with them. The lack of variation in the vocal melodies and the quite same overall feeling, same expression makes it all a bit of a blur and passes by unnoticed.

The brutal opener "Damaged" is my favorite track of the album, mostly because it's closest to my taste in music but also because it is the most vibrant one, also, it is here Alex Jonsson vocals sounds the best. It's really not a bad album but it's not utterly unique either.