Third album from Finnish Death / Thrashers HATEFORM has arrived. The band featuring two ex-members of MORS PRINCIPIUM EST has really managed to outdo themselves with "Sanctuary In Abyss".  With the album balancing somewhere between Thrash and Death with a lot of melodic influences to their music, HATEFORM manage to retain fresh, upbeat and energetic album throughout its fifty-one minutes.

The song structures are closer to Thrash, with the some Death Metal influences on top. The work on the guitars is truly breathtaking (especially if you are a Thrash Metal fan), the leads and solos are impressive, listen for instance to the way "All Becomes Nothing" starts off to get a taste of what they are able to do, and with a guest appearance from Bobby Koelbe (known for playing guitar on DEATH's "Symbolic" album) the standard is set pretty high. Another interesting aspect of the guitars is the way they are being used in order to build an ambiance for the album, actually some of the melodies in "Born Exiled" will remind you of older Finnish Death Metal bands. And there are no clean vocals, fuck yeah!!

The rhythmic side of the album is also daunting. HATEFORM manage to craft a great groove with the excellent musicianship on drums and bass, listen to tracks like "Morphine" and especially "Sculpture of Flesh" and you will realize that this band is much more than another extreme modern sounding act. The album itself manages to keep its same energy for the whole duration, you will not find many weak parts here, most songs are carefully worked to get to the level they are. The fast and aggressive nature of the album also makes it quite an easy one to listen to.

With tracks like "Illusion for The Absolved..." with its magnificent build that ties in perfectly with the albums closing track "...Redemption for the Awake" and with moments for pure Thrash aggression such as in "Rise Beyond" and "Perpetual Cold" this is a modern Death / Thrash album that stands proudly next to the what has come to be known as modern death/thrash bands such as HATESPHERE, CATARACT and FEAR MY THOUGHTS. Add to that influences from the first era of THE HAUNTED and a bit of SOILWORK's earlier work (especially "Predator's Portrait") and you get something really special. If you are into these bands then you need to check HATEFORM straight away.