ETERNAL LIES was originally founded in 1998 out of Sweden by Björn Johansson, deeply tied to the original Gothenburg sound. On top of that, they bring a thrash/black metal sounding edge and speed that definitely makes it unique and their own. They released their debut full length effort "Spiritual Deception" in 2002, and then *mostly* went silent for the next 14 years. In 2017, they reformed and entered the studio to begin recording their second and latest full length effort, "Burning The Nest", released this month via Chaos Records.

"Burning The Nest" is a delightfully modern but classic take on the Gothenburg sound, with a decidedly more classic death metal approach, and less of an MDM feel. They bounce back and forth between quick unrelenting blast beat driven pounding, and groove and chunk pulsating rhythms, with smooth veteran ease. The sound is cohesive, and the production is fantastic. There's not a lot of layering going on, each part has to hold its own, but they all do, and the mix is perfect.

Choice tracks for me included opener and title track "Burning The Nest", which immediately establishes the thrashy and quick death metal sound. There are a few groove and chunk moments, but for the most part we're hearing the blast beats and speed shine. I also loved track 5 "Into The Sun", which had a chunkier and more rhythmic bassy feel, which nicely contrasted the thrash feel we get a ton of in tracks 1-4.

The album is relatively short, at only 8 songs long, but it's concise and cohesive, not overstaying its welcome. After "Into The Sun" we are greeted with more thrash death, but with a much more technical edge and some of the more intricate guitar work and haunting background melodies on the album. Closer "The Reawakening" finds a much more rhythmic groove and reeled in tempo, providing a strong, epic, and modern finish. Only a couple listens in, this is my favorite song on the album, and a fantastic way to end.

I love an album that knows what it is, does it well, doesn't overstay its welcome, and finishes strong. That's exactly what ETERNAL LIES has done with "Burning The Nest" and it's a warm welcome back for a band that is attempting a second wind. They're off to a fantastic start. I look forward to what they do next, and in the meantime will enjoy "Burning The Nest" as an excellent entry of modern death metal.