Even as of today, there seems to still be an obsession for the pioneer genre that stroked up a current and created the whole movement back in the 80s. During that period of time, minus the grooving BLACK SABBATH that had already introduced and fathered the heavy metal genre into the world, bands were getting madder and more insane. Feeding themselves with booze, anger and passion, the rebellion began. With every decade, the genre known as metal would intensify itself. From the British New Wave to Los Angeles' Thrash to eventually Death and Black metal, it would all later build the sound our bands use and thrive on nowadays. Hailing from Tromsø, Norway, DIENAMIC is a rather recent quintet from 2010 blasting with energy and fury. Labeling themselves as Arctic Death Thrash, the band releases their second record ''Afterlife'', but deliver a modern tone before even being near old school. With a use of distortion and a love of crushing riffs, popular influences amongst the metal community are recognizable in DIENAMIC's style. For a lack of innovation and rarity, the record still bursts with massiveness, but in a way that contradicts their main label.

The five piece metal act has chosen wisely their band name, for dynamism and full-on energy seem to emanate from their work. Drawing and controlling a very active spirit throughout the record, ''Afterlife'' spins quite fast, as the boiling strength defines the listen from start to finish. There are no climax, no true gradation or ascent, as the madness is released straight out with the opener ''The Reaping''. Enter the bone crushing harsh riffs, tending to subtract and trade the melodic elements for distorted and down tuned scales. Not quite elaborate, DIENAMIC follow a simple structure, but all string work and percussion work combined, demonstrate endurance and technicality. Not as overly complex as Death metal intends the genre to be, the formation somehow captivates the mind through galloping rhythms and punched out power chords. However, the band may have to further justify their label, for the tempo, tone and overall themes badly mesh with the Thrash and Death stamp. The record comes off as prompt, fresh and recent - the quality to the mixing is crystal clear. From track to track, the sound could be described as rough, but the raw je ne sais quoi is painfully absent. The basic elements are missing for the record to exude the magic behind both of these genres. It doesn't capture the heavy, massive blast beats or the high-pitch, breakneck, unfurling skills those pioneers' acts once mastered. Hell, the album tends to appear as Metal Core before Death/Thrash. The contemporary cover art, the themes (''Innocent Gun'' or ''Dance With the Devil'' for instance) and even the style the band mates adopt have much more affinities with the modern genre. And as of Arctic, never would you guess the band comes from Norway.

Stating they've been influenced by formations such as 90s groove thrash legendary act PANTERA, some slight resemblances can indeed be observed. Nothing too concrete or obvious, but the sharp, weighing riffs or the crushing and driving drums can be related to PANTERA's signature. The pitched growl, half sang half flayed also derives from vocalist Phil Anselmo's repertory, giving another common trademark behind both bands. Not quite melodic in the tone, galloping and of course, furious, the two bands may share a passion for the bold and impetuous kind of music, although I would never compare the two. The former quartet had it straight from the heart - something about them was simply beyond raw, as if madness and eccentricity were their natural state of mind. You could feel the soul and message through PANTERA's music whereas, today, modern acts like DIENAMIC try to recreate the spirit, try to bring it back to life. Sadly, you can feel it - they are trying too hard. As the material may be great and full of hard work, the efforts are planned and polished into something unnatural, something forced. Somewhere between core, brutal and modern, the Thrash and Death elements fade away.

The savage spirit those pioneers band comprehended and grasped back in the days will forever be invincible and matchless. As ''Afterlife'' offers a great energy and creative riffs, the true atmosphere the band intended to ignite through their music doesn't transmit it's way through the ears of the listener. The question is, can we blame them? The 80s had soul and chemistry for a reason: it was the beginning of it all, and every act out there identified themselves to the genre - it was an absolute explosion of street music. Maybe twisting the tone into something more old school and screechy could have helped DIENAMIC resuscitate the golden days... or if, at least, the band mixed heavy and rapid, the basic elements would be present enough to enter the realm of Death. Nevertheless, the solid, blasted energy present during the whole record has potential and so, the record still comes off as a decent listen.<