Three years and several changes had to take place so as we could see THE GREAT DECEIVER releasing their long awaited third full-length album. I believe that no one has managed to describe THE GREAT DECEIVER's music in just one word, so neither will I try to do something like this. What matters right now is not the tag that everyone will try to put on this band, but the fact that the Swedish metallers are back, and we are able to witness the gloriousness of a great band, leaded by a legendary leader.

The Swedish Metal act THE GREAT DECEIVER was formed in 1999 by one of the most important people in the Metal scene, Tomas Lindberg, soon after AT THE GATES split. Tomas has proven his worth with his contribution to many bands like AT THE GATES, DISFEAR, THE CROWN, NIGHTRAGE, GROTESQUE and many more. The frontman gathered some really good musicians (ex-DIABOLIQUE members), and thus THE GREAT DECEIVER was born.

The band decided to leave Peaceville Records, the label that released their first two albums, and signed a contract with Deathwish Music. The result of this collaboration is the band's brand new album Life Is Wasted On The Living, an album full of great Hardcore brutality, melodic breaks and a voice that could easily be a part of your worst nightmare. When I pressed the play button, I became a part of this album from its very first to its last second.

The guitars are really cutting like a razor, while Tomas Tompa Lindberg spits his poisonous lyrics/statements with his well-known incredible voice. The rhythm section can be simply described as kick-ass, since it is one of the best I have came across for this year. As Lindberg has said, THE GREAT DECEIVER is the dark Hardcore cousin of AT THE GATES, the logical continuation of his career, and I think that these words are the best way to describe THE GREAT DECEIVER's sound.

The pounding grooves, the unmatched brutality, the socially conscious lyrics and the alternative aesthetic that floats above every track in this album have paid back every single second of this band's work to develop an original and distinctive sound, in a time when every band strives to find it sown identity. THE GREAT DECEIVER (whose name derives from a KING CRIMSON song) have managed to kick our sorry asses once again, and produce an album that is characterized by the talent, the experience and the honesty of its members. I think that there is nothing more to be said. Let darkness fall upon the deceivers...