When a band deals with a Metal genre that already exists, it must face a choice: to be a clone that just repeats all the musical clichés of the genre, without doing anything different from what already exists (the easier way, where some use as excuse the phrase 'we are keeping the legacy of a band alive', what is a fallacy); or to make a new reading of the genre and to express it in the way the musicians personalities is pointing. And it's very good to hear that the North American duet SUBLATION follows the second path, as can be heard on "The Path to Bedlam".

The band is on an Old School Technical Death Metal tendency, reminiscent of the early outfit of the 90's (where instrumental technique, aggressiveness and brutality where balanced equally on the same level, without exaggerations), keeping some resemblances with acts as DEATH and PESTILENCE. But hold your horses: these two guys prefer to make a new and personal read of the genre, using a personal set of features and hooks on their music, and the energy that flows from this album is hard to resist to.Danny Piselli is the producer of the album, as is the one who made the sound engineering and mixing of the album. And he wisely did something that is modern and defined, but keeping all those elements of the past. So it means that the blend between 'classic elements + modern demands' was done in an almost perfect way. And the band brought some invited guests to the album: John Norcross on acoustic guitars on "Let the Fire Burn", Rocco Minichiello on the vocals on "Hypnotic Regression", Dominik Winter on the vocals on "Black Monday", and Tom Geldschläger on the lead guitar on "Haunted Shores".

All the songs of "The Path to Bedlam" are very good, point to a band that is developing its musical efforts in a very good way, with a clear tendency to be great in a near future. But moments as "Trepanning of the Evangelics" (a technical and brutal song with excellent arrangements of bass guitar and drums, but it's easy to be understood and loved due the extreme Metal hooks that can be heard on it), "Let the Fire Burn" (excellent contrasts between slow parts and fast moments, all fed with sharp guitars), "Black Monday" (the abrasive feeling can be heard on this one, with some Death/Thrash Metal arrangements and very good grunts), "The Alchemist" (the slow and technical parts are hard to resist to, and the energy of this one is able to hook any extreme Metal fan), "Evoked Through Obsidian" (a fast and furious song in a classic Death Metal way, and what lovely arrangements of the guitars), and "I Will Show You Fear in a Handful of Dust" are showing that this album deserves not only to be heard, but to be brought at any cost.

Yes, SUBLATION is the kind of new band that can be called a revelation, and "The Path to Bedlam" shows how to have a classic model being used wisely and with life.