Well, the mix between Death Metal and Thrash Metal elements is nothing new at all. Basically, it started back in the second half of the 80s, when Death Metal bands from the depths of the underground used the catchy technique from guitars to breed something brutal, yet accessible. DEATH itself had many Thrash Metal elements on "Spiritual Healing" era, and POSSESSED members said countless times on interviews that they were in really a Thrash Metal band (you'll find some elements of Thrash Metal on "Seven Churches"). So we can have a clear idea that Death/Thrash Metal exists since a long time. DEUS OTIOSUS, a quintet from Denmark, is coming with their fourth album, called "The Opposer".

To be honest, the way they play (mixing a musical violence unbounded with a pretty good Thrash Metal technique) was already used many times before, so it's extremely common. But they have a pulsing personality pulsing under the songs, something that belongs to each member of the band, and something that breeds life. So we can say that their musical work is good, but could be way better that we hear on this album. Rasmus Toftlund made the mix and the master of the album, guiding the sound quality to something that could blend the oppressive violence of their music with a sound that can be understood easily. Indeed he did it, although some tunes on the musical instruments could be way better (especially on the drums and on bass guitar) and the rawness of the sound could be not as many as we hear. It's not something outstanding, but the sound quality is in a good level, indeed.

There are very good moments where we can feel their musical talent in an evident way, especially on "Stand Your Ground" (with some technical approach on the arrangements that reminds something from earlier Swedish Melodic Death Metal), but the good work on "Disturbing the Dead" with its nasty tempos, the fine guitars riffs and insane solos on "Haunter", the bitter and filthy aggressiveness from the slow tempos of "Towering Flames" (that shows good parts of grunted vocals), the good technical insight of "To the Graves" and "Greater Horror" (another one with some Melodic Death Metal scent) can point that they can do better that we hear on this album.

I hope that they can come back another time in a better shape, for "Opposer" is a good album, but they can do way better than this.