Picture yourself caught in the middle, crossing between opposite sides, as if to stop two individuals from sparring or stuck in purgatory, trying to understand what didn't add up. This is madness, probably painful, a bad dream that must end but waking up is not possible. The Babylonian hell was created when people tried to be something they are not, and they were punished for it and awarded with a gift of noise, and it came down raining in many shapes and forms. "Babhell", by the veteran Italians SAWTHIS, is a scenery of confusion, an endless struggle between two clashing forces that controls the human emotional storm. Sounds rather deep and even worrying doesn't it? Believe me this can go way beyond these few paragraphs. Anyhow, newly signed to the Danish Mighty Music, the groove bashers pushed harder to escalate their previous effort into a mighty juggernaut.

The formula is fairly known and put into the test many times. Charge with intensified chunky down tuned riffs, smear it with growl vocals right up to the chorus where suddenly an angel would arise to harmonize his words. It is the thing in Modern Metal that made it much more accessible to others, to become one with the community that already followed. Let's be honest, it can be tiresome, because if constantly used it can lower the focus on parts of the song, which I assume not something that a band wants. However, this formulaic pattern proved itself right, at least for now.

SAWTHIS, in their own special way, swung from a sort of mingled Thrash with Death Metal into the lungs of excessive groove. "Babhell", to date, is the best recognition to this swing. Throughout the album I heard the screaming echoes of MACHINE HEAD / LAMB OF GOD / PANTERA / SLIPKNOT but also a few merits that could be traced to melodic Metalcore, Hard Rock or Pop Punk, values that came to be in the chorus sections to be exact. The essential exercise of melodies, even if not similar to what has been a key element in Heavy Metal, boosted up a notch, attributing the songwriting with an additional flair. I was astonished by the level of solo playing and composition, possibly one of the key features that this album ticked. Adjoined the lead guitaring there was the vocal line that showed toughness and dexterity, a spiteful of youth engrossed by soaring grunts.

Several tracks that danced on the plank are "Through Hell", "Start A New Game" and "This String Is For Your Neck" show clearly how SAWTHIS successfully implemented the mentioned formula into their works. "Empty Wall" and "Never Alone" are sorts of a different face, a newly bred essence that appeared to be quite unique in comparison to the band's past. Catchy tunes with a measure of taste that could end up being hits.

SAWTHIS isn't an all-around band, they are devoted to the Modern niche in Metal that they strongly follow. With "Babhell" they smoked it, made a bashing release that positioned them high up on the ladder.