Death Metal came back from the dead in 1990. The genre seemed to be dead in the second half of the 80s due the evolution of the pioneers into other Metal genres (as POSSESSED playing Thrash Metal on "Beyond the Gates" and stating in interviews that they were a Thrash Metal band since the beginning), and the lack of information in those times (we depended a lot from the magazines, and it was incredibly hard to see a Death Metal band on the mags and fanzines on those days, especially between 1987 and 1989, when Thrash Metal reigned supreme as the biggest extreme Metal genre). DEATH seemed as the sole survivor of Death Metal. But when Thrash Metal started to shrink in terms of popularity, Death Metal came back as a spiked hammer from the depths of underground, to never disappear again. This is the main reason we still see new Death Metal bands appearing today. DECAYING, from Finland, is one of them, arriving with their album "To Cross the Line".

They pay a technical format of Old School Death Metal in the same vein of PESTILENCE on "Testimony of the Ancients" era, but with some charming melodies here and there. It's really very good, even not being something new, because they know how to work their songs in a way that they sound personal and full of life. On the sound quality, we have a very good surprise: they have chosen a very good and clean sound quality, nothing something extremely raw, besides this clarity doesn't mean that they can't be brutal and aggressive as many fans of Old School Death Metal love. Explaining my words in a better form: their songs are sounding clear, and with a defined sound, but extremely heavy.

All the songs of "To Cross the Line" are really very good, but the thrashing catchy energy of "To Cross the Line" (yes, there are some Thrash Metal guitar riffs presented on this song), the oppressive Death Metal energy of "From Shield to Storm", the very good technical insight and melodies presented on "Nothing is Free", the excellent rhythmic changes of "The End Justifies the Means" (the work of bass guitar and drums are very good, creating a heavy and technical support for this song), and the very good slow tempos of "Futile Effort" can be pointed as their finest moments.

I really hope to hear more of them in the future, because when evolution takes its toll in their work, no one will hold these guys back!