The Gothenburg Death Metal sound which grew to prominence in the 1990's saw some fantastic bands enter the periphery of the Extreme Metal stage. Bands like AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILITY built on the blueprint of Thrash and Death Metal and added their own, catchy, melodic twist to it. A lot of these bands have risen to world fame, and plenty of new bands continue their tradition. MIASMIC THEORY is one of the ones that do it best. After forming in 2008, the band quickly gained a following and released their debut album, "Sound of Desperation" in 2012. And now the band is ready to unleash their newest, self-titled album, which looks set to become the jewel in their Melodic Death Metal crown. It is, not to put it lightly, 2014's answer to "Slaughter of the Soul".

This is one of those albums which draws you in immediately from the start of "Time Well Spent". It has the hard, crunchy edge of AT THE GATES and the following track, "Dead End" sounds like some of IN FLAMES' heavier tracks. All of the songs on this record have a distinct and heavy groove to them too, and it's hard to not get caught up in their music. Songs like "Alone" and "Delusional" showcase their versatility at being able to play slower, mid-paced tracks, which sit well alongside fast and furious tracks like "Reality". By far the best song on the album is the penultimate track "Ending", closely followed by the song that closes the album, the thrashy and brutal "Lost Time". This album, overall, has all the key styles and sounds of Gothenburg legends like AT THE GATES and early IN FLAMES. But this is not merely imitation, and to suggest that this is all this album represents is incredibly narrow-minded. They flavour this tried and tested sound with their own unique elements, making it sound both classic and fresh. They sound thick and full of energy, and this album rarely lulls in its extremity and intensity.

This album, by all counts, will appeal to more than just your average Melodic Death Metal fan. Its harsh guitar and bass tones make it sound far more brutal than most Melodic Death Metal records. MIASMIC THEORY balance melody, groove and chugging riffs together perfectly, meaning that this is an album that will appeal to anyone on the Extreme Metal spectrum. The Gothenburg sound has been revitalised.