Sweden has become synonymous with Death Metal. This was the nation that gave us BLOODBATH, AT THE GATES and ENTOMBED, and shaped the blueprint of what is now known as Melodic Death Metal. Kiruna's THOSE WHO BRING THE TORTURE are on the heavier end of what is considered Swedish Death Metal, adding a bit of Grindcore, and a lot of riffs. And the end result, as is evidenced in their new album "Piling Up", is an eclectic mix of different forms of Death Metal all rolled into one album.

Most albums begin with a song that builds tension and anticipation for the rest of the album. The first song on this album, "Under Twin Suns", however, sounds like it would be more suited to being in the middle of the album. It has an air of CARCASS about it, only with deep growls as opposed to Jeff Walker's shrill rasp. "Through the Aeons" is a ferocious sounding song, and has an old school sound set to a modern production. "The Gateway" is a song that is driven by the power of its drums, which are particularly powerful here, and are almost impossible to ignore. The albums title track is a very groovy slab of Brutal Death Metal. It's really catchy, heavy and above all has plenty of hooks. It's a short track, clocking in at just shy of three minutes, but nonetheless it grabs your attention and will probably prove to be a fan favourite. "In Orbit" is heavy, but nonetheless more accessible to people who aren't necessarily into really heavy Death Metal. "Lifesucker" is another song which is lighter than your average Death Metal song; it sounds closer to a straight up Heavy Metal track with Death Metal vocals, which is meant in the best possible way. "Incomprehensible" again has a slight sound, to me, of CARCASS, if they were just a bit heavier. "Towering Structures of the Damned" is one of the slower songs on the record, but it still manages to have the strength only achieved by some blisteringly fast Death Metal. In fact the whole album seems to have slowed down a bit by this point; "A Dead Cold Space" initially starts in this way, but it gradually gets slightly faster, and becomes a crunchy, mid-paced chug with a really cool guitar solo. And with the final song, "Turrets of a Forgotten Castle", a suitable song with which to close on. It has a strong Black Metal sound to it in parts, and is an incredibly dark, heavy way to end the album. The only real criticism of this record that I can think of is that the production sounds slightly off; don't get me wrong, this album is well-produced, but some of the songs don't sound anywhere near as fierce as they were probably intended to be, a fact which could have been remedied by a slightly rawer production.

This band doesn't really opt for really over the top guitar-wankery in order to make this album good like some Death Metal bands. The vast majority of the songs stand out from the rest of the songs on this record, which again sets them apart from a great swathe of other Death Metal acts. There is no one track on this album that sounds like another one, with the odd exception. Definitely check these guys out.