There's nothing subtle or sophisticated about "Order Of The Enslaved", the second album by Canadian Death Metal merchants HATE DIVISION. Right from the pummelling introduction to "Peace. Tranquillity. Subsequent. Deception", the agenda is firmly on the sort of primal aggression that made CANNIBAL CORPSE so beloved. It's an astonishingly brutal record, packed with blast beats, guitars that sound like chainsaws revving and inhuman, demonic screams. If their intention was to create solidly entertaining Death Metal that'll leave your ears ringing and your vertebrae fused together, then job done.

What may come as a surprise though is how much variety they manage to cram in, mainly thanks to the guitar work of axe man Howard Young. He can pen an absolutely slamming riff when he wants to, but he's also adept at melodic introductions ("Dawn Of Quiescence"), atmospheric instrumentals ("Global Autopsy") and weirdly intricate, almost Djent-style passages ("The Final Exhalation"). He's the real star of the album and his dizzying fret board masturbation is consistently impressive.

It's a good thing too, because without him "Order Of The Enslaved" could very easily have disappeared into the swirling mass of similar records that the underground pumps out each month. There are no catchy choruses to speak of and nothing here even remotely resembles a single, the emphasis is purely on aural violence. The Cookie Monster vocals are almost entirely illegible (although there's definitely a "children screaming" in the first song) and at times, it's hard to imagine Metal getting much uglier and dirtier than this.

Not an album to put on at a party then but when it comes to technically proficient sonic extremity, HATE DIVISION are easy to recommend. This isn't going to win any awards at the end of the year, but if the very concept of clean singing sickens you to the core, well it does for these guys too. And while it's a minor point, the artwork is extremely cool as well. It won't change your life, but you'll bang your head for a couple of hours at least.