DECAYING is quite obviously a machine of a band, putting out releases consistently since 2010 with two demos ("New Order" - 2010 and "The Annihilator" -2011) and two full-length albums ("Devastate" - 2011 and "Encirclement" - 2012) leading up their most recent release: "The Last Days of War". As you can see DECAYING has a BLACK SABBATH sort of pacing with their releases, putting them at risk for the obvious dilution of their music. Though, I suppose, DECAYING is lucky to say they haven't reached the point of Death Metal's "Never Say Die" equivalent.

From the cover of "The Last Days of War" you can expect the themes of this album. Soldiers walk from amidst a fog on the horizon, looking down at countless dead bodies buried in the mud, war machines of all sorts scattered in disarray, and all of this in black and white - which I would like to think further illustrates the outlook on the war state of the time (though I might be reading too much into this). Oddly, however, DECAYING lacks the typical ineligible Death Metal logo - opting for something harking back to medieval style fonts, which I like.

The music? Well, the music ranges from okay to great. Being as this is a very middle-era style Death Metal album, you are getting a lot of chugging riffs, of course, interlaced with solos. What I especially like about DECAYING's choice of musical writing is that occasionally there is a screaming open chord to throw the standard progression out of whack, nothing that would bring it to Deathcore levels but it's a great touch. As well, I like the inclusion of a standard War March tune at the beginning of "Operation Overlord". The vocals are pretty good, carrying that mid-era feel (as with bands like TORMENTED); I wish I could say quite a bit about them but there would be no way to infuse any sort of poetic prose into with the sheer brutality.

"The Last Days of War" is a great Death Metal album and best of all - it's a real Death Metal album. There are no effects, synths, melodic elements and I can appreciate. Not to mention, there is plenty of Death to go around. Here is to hoping DECAYING has a good streak with this constant schedule of releases. I'd hate to see such a true-to-genre group disappear.