Hello Metal-Temple. NARCOTIC WASTELAND has released, last fall, their second album to date. It took about 6 years to hear more about the side project of Dallas Toler-Wade, which is now being main project since he left NILE. The band delivers a powerful and gritty Death Metal album, but it goes deeper than this, it also talks aloud about the delicate subject of narcotic abuse and the capitalism aspect of huge pharmaceutical companies.

There are definitely a lot of aspects from NILE that transposed to this album. The hard tone and characteristic heavy riffs are just two of those many similarities. But where NARCOTIC WASTELAND really separates itself from the mass is with their engaged and meaningful lyrics.

The album opens really hard on "Introspective Nightmares", no point going through many paths, they just throw you right in from the first second. Nothing really catchy about this song, it is more of an in your face moment, no going around it. The mid song solo is absolutely massive.

"Faces of Meth" and "Return to the Underground" are very similar to the first song. The double bass drums are really present throughout the album without being obnoxious. The production work done on the whole album is incredible.

The album is cut in three from what I can see, "In Memoriam" and "Self Immolation" acts as a buffer between the type of songs. The start of the album is really "in your face" like I said, the middle slows down a bit with a more melodic sound and more feeling with "Bleed and Swell" and "Delirium Tremens".

The bottom part of the album uses less double bass and more emphasis on the lyrics for a much heavier tone that makes you bang your head with "Life Revolted" and "Pharma Culture". The latter one is probably my favourite of the album, with some great hooks and solos, the vocal and chorus is also absolutely incredible. I didn't know much about NILE, but listening to Dallas's vocal work here makes me wonder what I've been missing all those years. I know now why he's respected and liked so much as a vocalist around the scene.

NARCOTIC WASTELAND is hitting really hard with this one. It is a fantastic album that will maybe open the eyes of some to the nightmare of pharmaceutical abuse. This is transported brilliantly to the listener through an inspired performance.