Oh man, slamming right down on your brain is MORDENIAL. That painful sensation in your skull entered through your ears as the intense heaviness of the crushing riffs and iconic Melo-death style assault on your auditory receptors! Yes, this is the head-bashing brutality of killer Melodic Death Metal and not at all due to any boxes any reviewers dropped from ladders. We're quick to jump right into the thick of it because this album does the same.

You get some strumming up front that is cut short like lives against a whirling katana blade. It's barbaric, chugging brutality that you quickly find out is meshed with much welcomed lead work. The first song, "The Plague" is a series of face punches straight from the Metal gods themselves. "Daylight Is Gone" is a looser, slower paced groove-swamped affair with some phenomenal solos. I'm a sucker for Melodic Death Metal and this hits a sweet spot reminiscent of the late 90's, early 2000's. Are you having trouble remembering that era? How does your head feel now? How many fingers am I holding up?

I'd rather not describe every song in great detail because it's a disservice to such a killer album to try and capture how sweet music is. Also I think if you're seeing double that means we need to get you to see some help soon. Every song on the album not only felt like a throwback to the glory days of that Gothenburg sound, but there was some great variety between the songs. "Salvation" has a pretty unique hook that stands out from other tracks. Songs like "The End" and "Follow The Cross" are a much faster flurry of musical machine gun fire. Coupled with great songwriting, you also find awesome musicianship. Not just the solos, the drums are great, really cymbal heavy but it's not overwhelming. There's thick grungy bass that keeps the thunder rumbling as well as a lead singer with a scratchy set of demon-pipes that bellows out some ominous themes. What does ominous mean? Oh dear, that head wound is worse than I thought. I didn't think you'd lost that much blood. How about some napkins for that gash?

I don't think there was a single track on this album that felt like a slog, which is great for an album that's over 40 minutes long. The song "Emotion" was a little mellow for my tastes but like every other song on this album it had a poser-slaying solo that if put on a non-metal wiener would immediately cause their hair to burst into flames and their face to start melting. It's why only the mightiest Metal warriors will want to ensure that they listen to this one. I would say bang your head but we already did that once and it seems like you're having trouble staying awake. Look, we'll get you a towel with some ice cubes in it, just put some pressure on that spot and chill for a minute.

Other bands this reminded me of: THE CROWN, old ARCH ENEMY, CALLENISH CIRCLE, the good IN FLAMES, GOD DETHRONED, PAGANIZER, FLESHCRAWL and other stuff you'll probably yell at your screen when you realize I left it out, but you really shouldn't be yelling in your condition. Look, your eyes are starting to cross and I don't think that's a sign things are looking up. How about we get you to an emergency room and blare this kickass album on the way there, huh?