LETHERIA a Death Metal band hailing from the one and only Finland, released their third EP "III Mockery" earlier in 2014; "III Mockery" being what seems like a third installment of a series. "III Mockery" has four tracks and is about 16 minutes in listening time, making this a pretty lengthy four track EP. These guys have a total of 10 releases, seven demos and three EPs, and have been together since the late 1990's. With that much time in the music game, you'd expect these guys to have talent, and they do.

Track one, "Creation Burned When God Wept Upon The Stupid And The Blind", starts pretty slow, then blasts in at about the 30 second mark with incredible guitar and drum work. The musicianship is really great, but the vocals were almost completely drowned out. However, the vocals are also really very good. They are low enough to fit the genre, but easily understood, for the most part. There is a bit of a gothic feel to it, but is clearly not Goth Metal. There is just a hint of unearthly church elements.

"Plagued By Hornets And Flies", track two starts with what better than the buzz of a fly or hornet, or both. Luckily the buzzing only lasts a few moments, because it's annoying and it really is just a distraction at the beginning of track. However, the drum and bass work in this track far exceed the annoyance of that buzzing in the beginning. The guitar work is kick ass as well, making this a well-rounded track. Track three, "Rancid Whore Of Babylon" is my favorite track from the EP as it has the most creative and contrasting elements in the track. The drum work I find a bit boring in the track but that is only during the blast beats. Rest of this track is dead on perfect with the exception of the production. The vocals are too low for the intensity the music brings.

The final track on the EP "Beer Piss Blood Wine" is a decent way to end an EP. It's hard, it's brutal, and it keeps you remembering these guys after the last second has played out. It sounds a bit confusing and a bit jumbled, but there is something that makes sense about it. That guitar solo about half way through the track, it's bad ass. That entire section of the track with the instrumental solos is prefect and shows the ability of the group tremendously. The only thing that is not as great as it could be is the production. There are some areas where the instruments are incredibly loud and completely drown out the vocals. This isn't a surprise, especially with no record label. The imperfections are there, but they don't compare to the musicianship of "III Mockery". This is good stuff even with that pesky production nastiness.
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