Well, the intro to "In Death"'s first track is surely an interesting one. INVIDIOUS somehow thought having an ambient intro for a Black / Death EP would suit the mood quite nicely. On the contrary, upon hearing it; imagination likes to take control and forces me to create some imagery to what I'm hearing. All I got out of it was a couple of cattle screaming into the night sky. Their voices were high-pitched and scratchy as if in a total alien language none knew of. You could hear the wind sweeping in as it rattled the bells around the cattle's necks. Maybe it was their nature's way of communicating interest in each other? The desperation in their voices was clear that they wanted to reach each other. Abruptly, after 45 seconds of bells, wind, and alien communication, Pelle Åhman finally comes in to awaken me from this strange, um hallucination? Unfortunately, for me, that alien communication did not end there.

When Pelle Åhman comes in with his Black Metal vocals and the rest of the instruments are introduced, a breath of relief is exhaled. The sound is gritty and dirty and I'm almost certain this is a taste of old school Death Metal. The music goes smoothly and is executed pretty well for the most part. Until, one of the guitarist starts playing a drone-inspired (spacey?) riff that distorts the album's well kept formula. While it wasn't as obnoxious as the intro, still it rings a bit odd with me. The contrast between both guitarists (high-pitched and low-tuned, respectively) is acceptable so the album does not remain too linear. But as it goes on, even the crude solos contort the sound from its effectively adrenaline-driven songwriting. The mini-solo riffs feel like noise and nothing more. There are some great hooks on "Black Blood" but after so much the song ends up being messy but still a sufficient piece.

By the time, "Dead Salvation Spawn" comes around, it's a bit obvious that the chaotic, spacey-sounding riffs are a part of what makes INVIDIOUS unique. Much to my liking, they are used less and more constructively. Riffs do cohere better and the song is an improvement from the previous. "Throne of Death" further continues to build the momentum of things done productively. The spacey riffs find their place in the background serving as ambience rather than a direct contribution to the effort. By far, this is the finer track from the album. INVIDIOUS's signature can be defined by this song alone. Fully experiencing all that is INVIDIOUS, I feel taken back to VITAL REMAINS's first three demos which were compiled on 2006's "Horrors of Hell". "Throne of Death" denotes proper soloing by both guitarists. As the standard goes for them, one is in a higher-pitch than the other but works incredibly well.

What gives "In Death" such an appealing sound is the mixing and mastering. The bass drum is the slightest hint of sound the EP expresses. So when you are able to hear, it almost sounds rare and valuable in contrast to the rest. The low-tuned guitar actually ends up being less focused and audible than the bass guitar. Since both are in a gritty atmosphere, the quality for both instruments is instantly enhanced. The bass sounded like it was recorded during a sandstorm. Of course, for the recording session, all the ambient wind sounds are edited out for a fuller embodiment of the bass. Because of this sound, the bass has this extra echo and dark characteristic to it.

So yes, all in all, this is practically an old school Death Metal album. Pelle Åhman's execution is marginal between Black and Death styled vocals. The only other exuberance that follows his vocal example is the subtle Black Metal influenced guitars in the last track, "Visions". Much to the style of the spacey riffs, Pelle Åhman has these astonishing vocals that follow its example as well. There's some peculiarity and hilarity to it. It kind of sounds like cattle were allowed during their recording session. As Åhman was recording his vocals, it's like the bovine gently bit the intersection of his scrotum which produced said noise.