One can immediately tell the difference, on certain times, between what meets our expectations as music lovers, and what doesn´t. Within the very first notes of "Apotemnophilia" I felt something that told me that "Gratification Eternal" by the Belgian Death Metal band SKINWEAVER. In accordance with its title, this debut album released on Great Dane Records, is gratifying to the core, for the energy which is depicted on the first two tracks is without a doubt one of the best features of SKINWEAVER, along with production, songwriting and the thundering vocal and instrumental massacre to go with it, hell even the cover art is a perfect companion to the whole concept of this first full length album.

There are bands that struggle for years to acquire a true style and identity, the very struggle in which they are involved becomes one of, as the records and tours come and go, self-discovery rather than creativity, which is to me the fundamental objective that any musical project must have; This is not a problem with SKINWEAVER, for as I stated in the beginning of this review, the thread from which this band has been sewn is strong and full of character, an essence of its own is perceived throughout the hole album, and as the tracks advance from first to last, the instrumental construction and evolution of the whole record becomes clear to the listener, as the method to the mayhem for this melodic brutality. Like a sharp blade tearing through flesh driven by an insane mind, deprived of any sense of beauty, at least in the traditional way, this is a debut album which I enjoyed from beginning to end without feeling the need to skip tracks or experimenting any weariness as it naturally happens to the human mind with some cases of extreme Metal Music.

A valuable addition to the Metal Temple and all its followers, who will surely find my words accurate and this debut album by SKINWEAVER an outstanding example of modern day Death Metal with its own concept an identity.