Formed in 2003, Sweden's three-piece act RIBSPREADER presents its sixth full-length platter of Death Metal mayhem in "Suicide Gates: A Bridge To Death." The album contains nine fast moving tracks with a total playing length of 33 minutes. "Descent Of The Morbid" leads off the assault, with super-low, drop-tuned guitars and traditional Death Metal vocals. It's somewhere between mid-paced and fast but very traditional. The focus seems to be on how low the song can register without dropping off of existence. "Centuries of Filth" is more or less of the same. This is a classic example of where the genre can be stagnant. There is no deviation, no surprises, nothing creative.

"The Suffering Earth" has at least a different into, with a flashy guitar solo and a little build up, but I'll be damned if the key of the song is exactly the same as the others. There are some riff changes here and there that at least peak some interest in the listener, and some overall brooding to go along with your corpsepaint. Ahh...some acoustic guitar in "A Worthless Breed" is a welcomed change-of-pace, but it just doesn't last long enough to make a meaningful impact. "In Mankind's Rotting Grip" has a little less of the chaos and a little more openness, though the variation from other tracks is just miniscule in scope. "Under Ash-Filled Skies" closes the album, flatly.

This is about as uniform as the genre can be. Purists may find this to their liking, including those who like their music to simply beat them over the head mercilessly and without having to think about it. But in this day and age, where the umbrella of "Metal" is so much more vast than any other genre of music, I question the relevance of this approach. Besides artistic integrity, which in my opinion should be protected and revered at all costs, I am simply commenting on the primitiveness of the album in today's scene.