DEADFREIGHT OF SOUL's debut full length album "Tortured Puppets" is a well-produced death metal album that introduces to the genre an exciting new band that we should all keep our eyes (and ears) open for.  Upon researching the band for this review, they used to be more metalcore oriented but changed their sound for their debut.  Make no mistake: this is pure death metal.  Is it the heaviest or most technical Death Metal album of the year?  Nope. But what it is, however, is the sound of determination from five guys who have come together as a well-oiled battering ram.  From start to finish, it is well played Death Metal with melody mixed into the sound here and there.

After the intro, we are treated to the first full song, "Angeli Apostatae," that opens with a nice riff and some hammering snare.  The two Flo's really know how to write and play their riffs—they are heavy without being too brutal nor do they ride too far into being melodic.  They find that sweet spot between Death Metal and still playing with skill, without the need for going as fast as possible or having constant chunky or chugging riffs.  Soon enough Andi comes in with his screams and guttural growls. Death Metal vocalists are a dime a dozen and, a lot of times, such a vocalist is the least most important part of the band.  However, I can't imagine anyone but Andi doing this; he is without a doubt one of the best Death Metal vocalists I've heard in some time.

The album gets better as it goes along with some of the deep cuts being the highlights.  The seventh track, "Flagrancy," is backed by surprisingly catchy riffs that even throw in some groove and melody along the way. Andi's low end guttural growls are truly scary.   The rapid fire bass guitar from Stephan and the equally as fast double bass from drummer Jakob lay down a rumbling track for this death bound train to ride upon. The next track, "Under Sentence of Death," begins with the guitars playing a slow dirge of heaviness as the songs speeds up with the drums growing more intense.  After a minute, everything is lighting fast; the band is firing on all cylinders throughout the song, including the searing solo and the broken up, tightly played riffs that pierce through the atmosphere alongside Andi's screams and growls.

The last, and title track, "Tortured Puppets," really reminds me of INCANTATION because the song is constantly speeding up and slowing down until around the 5:20 mark where the bass guitar and splashy drums take center stage.  Cleanly played guitar adds a random mood of melody that plays until the end.  Everything about this track was a pleasant surprise and it shows how versatile and talented such a young man truly is.