From Greece, brutal Death Metallers MASS INFECTION have released their 4th full-length album via Comatose Music on December 7th, 2018. Titled "Shadows Became Flesh" this 9 track auditory pit fest wields like a slam hammer and packs a punch right between the eyes. Formed in 2003, "Shadows Became Flesh" shows an improvement in audio production quality and captures the band's ability to somewhat evolve and grow their sound. MASS INFECTION would appeal to fans of SUFFOCATION, DEEDS OF FLESH and DYING FETUS, there is a tale tell sign of 90's death metal influence.

This relentless onslaught begins with "Demise of the Almighty". A track that never loses it's momentum and never has a weakness in stamina. Even in their moments of in the pocket groove, you will still feel a dark metal on metal scraping and a spine-tingling unscratchable itch that proves more brutal than just straight noise. The melodic guitar riffs even prove to be more sinister than the devil himself. Top it off with impressive rhythmic drum patterns. "At One with Demon Dreams" carries a melody in its tremolo picking guitar intro and whops a solid head nodding beat even with the rolling kick drums. The vocals are deep and periodically words are audible. The changeup dives into some even faster picking. At times you can actually hear the pick scraping and string and hover over the pick up bouncing closer and further away.

The title track "Shadows Became Flesh" is like viagra for metal. The tempo shouldn't be a deterrent as there is actually playing, structure, and melodic progression in the palm muted hyper-driven guitar lines. The drummer has a great grasp on keeping listeners engaged. He offers more than just traditional blasting and has a great sense of timing for accents. And just because the feet are rolling doesn't mean the snare has to be popping. MASS INFECTION has a great handle on the use of different rhythms and allowing each instrument, vocals included, to have its own path. There is a great midsection beyond what I can describe. Proper use of a cymbal, groove, and the guitar has a breakaway of higher pitched, but not overpowering, stabs. There are 30 seconds of a clean guitar plucking open notes before the doom like ambiance surrounds and the guitar sound transforms into a well-played lead. Full of dark, somber, execution style direction that sees the song to its end. This is the best track the album has to offer.

While it's a great listen there are no shiny bells and whistles that pop. It's a typical death metal album that is easily digestible and will keep your head bobbing and your fingers drumming on any surface.  MASS INFECTION does have an original approach and it is apparent this album was constructed with some attention to detail. No thrills or frills here. So if you know what you want out of your death metal, straightforward, heavy, brutal, and everything that defines the genre, MASS INFECTION will easily fit right into your playlist.