STURMTIGER are a Danish band that has relocated to the UK, named after a German tank from World War II, it is perhaps unsurprising that their lyrical themes are concerned with war, and in this, their debut full length, the First World War in particular.

Make no mistake though these guys are nothing like everyone's favourite history teachers, SABATON. STURMTIGER deliver an unbelievably thick and heavy slab of Death Metal that only the most hard-core lovers of Metal will like and understand. This is most certainly not Heavy Metal for the masses. It's Heavy Metal for those that can handle it, and unfortunately the reasons for this aren't always positive.

After a short intro, depicting the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which was the spark that ignited the First World War, the first driving assault begins, heavy guitars and incredibly low, gravelly vocals are the signature of STURMTIGER's sound. "For Our Fatherland" doesn't disappoint at all and may well be the best track on the record. The main problem I have is that the production just sounds sloppy. Metal elitists may well claim that it's just inaccessible for people not used to music of this level of brutality. I'm perfectly accustomed to that however and it just sounds poor. The vocals have an annoying knack a slipping under the radar due to the sheer intensity of the music. "Tank Attack" is an example of this, while the vocals become more noticeable as the song progresses they are nowhere to be found in the early stages.

Problem number two: Aside from the introductions that some songs get in the form of an artillery bombardment, a tank revving up, or a good old army sing-along in the form of "We're here because we're here" etc. all the riffs sound nigh on identical. There is only two points where this changes, which is "Knivdrab", which is a much more Black Metal styled song, complete with blast beats, screaming vocals and guitars so hot you could fry an egg on them. However the simple fact is that while I've complained that PB's vocals can get lost in the mix, on this his screams are perfectly prominent and sound awful. Ruining what otherwise could be a very good, albeit short, track. "Mordet I Hammer Bakker" is another Black Metal track, a touch slower but with a very good guitar line. But of course a Black Metal track requires screams not growls and sadly this guy's screams are nowhere near the standard required. It's a shame really because the instrumental passage towards in the middle and end of the track is really quite good.

The problem I have with this record is that for everything it does right there is a wrong to match it. The guitars while similar for the most part are perfectly good, enforcing a punishingly quick pace, and it's certainly aggressive. How could they go about mixing it up? Well, for example, they could give some tracks a more militaristic rhythm, it would suit the subject matter, and would be very easy to do while keeping it aggressive and heavy.

In short, when it's good, it's good enough. But the screams either need to be improved or scrapped, and some variation with the rhythm would do the world of good. It's as simple as that. "World At War" is an honest enough effort for a debut full length, but these days in Death Metal, you need something to help you stand out, which in STURMTIGER's case is sorely lacking at present.