It took about a year for things to shift towards their favor; partially I assume it was due to the recruiting of a new guitarist, and in 2009 the German HACKNEYED, still signed to Nuclear Blast Records, pushed forward with a sophomore release a level up from their debut "Death Prevails". Retaining their brutal image, pondering into death's domain over and over, "Burn After Reaping" ascertained the band's true worth by a wider exploration of Death Metal music and mightier production values that contributed to the album's absolute force. Metal Mind Productions took the liberty once again and reissued this sophomore album of the band, which was also the band's last release via Nuclear Blast Records. Can't be sure why they weren't resigned after this release, which could be their best work to date as it I believe that it set HACKNEYED as a profound new presences in over the edge Death Metal going immensely brutal, but I will leave the reason for the interviews conducted.

Following the American icons of Brutal Death Metal that their signatures were evident within the debut album, I noticed the implementation of a margin of techy instrumentation on "Burn After Reaping". HACKNEYED's musical image appeared utterly solid and deathly serious by taking their brutality a step forward. The songwriting in point of fact looked to me as if the guys wanted to form a sort of smoothness and memorable fragments on the songs. For examples that tunes that made me cling to the release like "Finger on the Trigger", "March of the Worms" and "Putrid", won me over not just because of their great music, and utter feel of a chaotic reality that every normal person would have wanted out of, yet also due to the fact that these were actual songs, a kind of numbers that I could memorize their proud moments.

Scents and sounds of early ABORTED came to mind while listening, especially due to the diverse arrangements and passages, high quality gruesome vocals of meaty low ends engraved by a few spots of high shrieks of suffering, and the general aura of mass obliteration shelving fumes of post-apocalyptic leakage and the horrid picture of one's own burning demise. The riffery however, excluding the bashes of chunks of flesh of slow to fast tempo blitzkrieg, a bit estranged in the Belgian hoard, changed a bit over the course of the year. Both guitarists saw the sights of the melodic power, composing agonized slow tempo lead guitar executions, well discharged throughout the songs and even accomplishing several adequate soloing segments, but not going exaggeratedly crazy with those so don't expect anything over the top. In general, entering the realm of ruthless type of Death Metal, practicing the arts of both old school and modernization of the genre, HACKNEYED made an important step with the unearthing of "Burn After Reaping".

Wrapping this one up, and back into the history books of Metal music, I sense that "Burn After Reaping" was HACKNEYED's flash of the blade, going back in time six years. I received the opportunity to get to know the band's past through its first two albums. Thought the first felt kind of bitter and raw, the second one was a turn of the page, showing me creativity and style. In 2009 Death Metal was awarded by this band's presence, I wonder if this notion will persist with their latest release of 2015. I guess I will find out soon enough. Be sure to grab yourself this piece of history not so far away. Here they come...