In a startling display of melodicism and ferocity, Dutch thrashers DISQUIET deliver a confident, modern-sounding album in 2016's "The Condemnation." Their second full-length album churns out muscular riffs and heavy beats at a breakneck pace and holds its own amidst a sea of copycat acts.

"The Condemnation" draws heavily from the TESTAMENT and SLAYER schools of aggression, pummeling the listener with precise rhythms and snakelike riffing that are highly representative of the style. While this LA-sound is the most prominent influence, you can hear the band taking cues from Metalcore and 90s Death Metal acts like CARCASS and AT THE GATES in album opener "Ascending" and "From Essence Deprived" respectively, and in more ways than just the growling vocals. Sean Maia's hoarse bellows can be pretty menacing, pairing with the rest of the band's instrumental might for some particularly brutal moments. "The Great Divide" strays into the more extreme end of the spectrum with its light-speed, tremolo-picked riffs and coked-out blast beats.

The militant "Haul Down The Tree Of Life" is a masterclass in control with its variety of tempos and disciplined, mid-tempo riffs. It's one of the truly memorable songs with its shift between sensitive, heavy melodicism and machine-like indifference and lethality. DISQUIET stay very much within the lines of their established approach, so some of the songs blend together after a bit, but the album's consistently battering instrumentation and unbridled aggression are mostly successful in holding the listener's attention for the duration of the album's 55-minutes.

Toeing the line between heavy Thrash and Death Metal, "The Condemnation" is a blistering record that seethes with venomous, malefic intent. The band's tight musicianship and unrelenting heaviness make for some solid, if not game-changing moments that give the band a distinct character compared to some of their less forward-thinking peers. Recommended for fans of intense, extreme Metal.