Australia's Death Metal scene continues to amaze with SNORLAX's "II," a record of Blackened Death Metal of the highest and heaviest caliber. Combining the grit of Swedish Death Metal with the atmospheric riffing of Black Metal, the record is filled to the brim with fury. Spanning just six tracks and having a runtime of just 23 minutes, this album is very short, making for easy playability but less material.

"Infernal Devourment" introduces the album with bleak yet infernal riffs. The drums create a very nice groove at moments as the track sets an expectation for the remainder of the release. The track follows a smooth structure and glides to a finish with a heavy, almost Slam-like breakdown.

If anything, Snorlax knows riffs, and this is shown most successfully on "The Chaos ov Iron Oppression." Slow, emotional tremolo riffs build a foundation for the track. They dissolve into cavernous and dismal passages before earning a reprisal later in the song. This is yet another exhibition of great songwriting by the artist.

The record is very well structured with great riffs dispersed throughout. Not only this, but each track plays into the next one in order to create a smooth flow from track to track. It all sounds like one, long song in the end. There is no point where the music is lacking in substance, nor is there a moment where it is dull.

While the album is well-written and nicely executed, there is one part that is troubling: the memorability. There are memorable moments, but they are far and wide. This is not to say the album is less enjoyable, as each track has something juicy to bite into, but large portions of the music tends to sound very similar.

While there is a less memorable quality to the record, the music is undeniably good. What Snorlax has created with "II" is truly remarkable as far as Blackened Death Metal goes. The riffs are grandiose, each instrument shines in its own way and there is an undeniably addictive quality to a few of the tracks.