IN THOUSAND LAKES is a Melodic Death Metal band from Bilbao, Spain.  They formed way back in 1996, the same year they released the "Emotions" demo.  Two years later, they released their debut, "Lifeless Waters" but broke up later that year.  After reforming in 2013, they released an EP and another full length.  Their latest release is the EP "Evolution" that contains six new songs and a DOKKEN cover.

Musically, they remind me a lot of the Finnish MDM scene, along the lines of CHILDREN OF BODOM or KALMAH; very melodic but with as much in common with Power Metal as anything within the realm of Death Metal.  Oscar's vocals are much deeper and darker than most bands within the genre and it offsets a lot of the melody-there is nothing wrong with melody, especially with this band because they are quite good at it but the heavier vocal approach might get more extreme Metal fans to want to check them out.

The opening track, "Murder Castle," is a strong way to begin this EP-it is catchy, the melodic guitar sets a epic atmosphere early on and the song builds from there.  Just when things might turn towards stagnating a bit, the temp of the track ramps up bring with it a renewed focus and energy.  The accompanying solo is great and a decent break for the song.

"Into The Mirror," applies a bit more speed, a la early SOILWORK.  Javi's intense drumming forms the backbone of the song.  Jokin and Bittor show off their speed metal skills, clearly at home playing as fast paced as well as they do their more melodic tendencies. "Proteus," wouldn't sound out of place as an IN FLAMES song from their "Colony" and "Clayman" days.  I found this track to be the most well rounded.  It is also the longest, showcasing that the band can really develop their sound if they are given enough time with a song's parameter to do so.   The blazing solos towards the song's finish and the intense ending they lead into really caps off the track.

The DOKKEN cover, "Breaking The Chains," cover is decent but the clean vocals add in a little too much layers for what is essentially a simple song.  Even so, the cover is fun and well done. I enjoyed this EP and there are worst ways to spend thirty minutes of my time.  The band isn't going to win any points on originality but what they do, they do it well enough.   If you like Melodic Death Metal, then this is recommended.