Just on time! I can say that I missed the specific Belgian label. To tell you the truth, I have never been amazed by its releases, but I really like the fact that this label keeps this unique old school underground spirit alive. There is no way that you will listen to something different than raw music by my beloved Painkiller Records. Anyway, let's see what does Painkiller have for me this time.

Hmmm, NARTHEX. The band hails from the same place their label does, Belgium. NARTHEX was born in 2001 around Liege. The band released several demos and it was about time they found a home and release their debut full-length work. Painkiller Records signed them and released (the album was actually released in December) Flatness Of Life, a work full of technical brutality.

Hell yeah, NARTHEX is something like the local Thrash/Death band you loved to watch live when you were a teenager back in the 80's. Even though I was unfortunate enough to miss the 80's, I have a strong musical connection to that era. Ah, good times back then... Anyway, let's get to the point. The band's music is - as I said above - a mixture between Thrash and Death Metal, enriched with technical breaks and an appetite for destruction. To tell you the truth, I didn't like the album at all, since these guys seem not to have worked as hard as they could. The vocals are a bit... not so good at times, and the drums could surely have a much better sound. There are also times when you listen to an ass-kicking riff and you think that the specific song will make your brain melt, but you then realize that there is not even one song in this album with a nice structure.

Yeah, even though it sounds harsh, I believe that the compositions contained in Flatness Of Life could be characterized as amateur, or better demo level. This is surely not the effort a band puts in a full-length album, especially when it is their debut one. A band is supposed to produce an amazing debut album to make its big step into the Metal scene. Anyway, suggested only to people who miss the 80's feeling and will compromise with any 80's related release.