Let me start by saying that as far as I'm concerned VITTRA is a band with massive balls. Why would I mention this? Because this Swedish Thrash Metal/Melodeath quintet from Kölback, Västmanland have dared to put a cover of the SLAYER classic "Piece By Piece" as closing song on their latest album "Intense Indifference". It takes some serious testicles and is extremely daring to even try and attempt such a thing. And guess what: they even pull it off! And again, VITTRA is another band that I never heard of before now, so I obviously haven't heard their 2022 debut album "Blasphemy Blues".

As the band didn't send any information with their music, I started to look for all I could find myself, which wasn't much, but also more than enough. The reason I put it like that is that the way that these guys approach making music doesn't matter to me. If they are capable of making this kind of racket just by being themselves, I for one hope that they keep doing this again and again. The kind of Melodeath takes me back to bands like IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILLITY before they got distracted by other musical directions and genres. So, what you get here is very convincing Melodic Death Metal mixed with aggressive Thrash Metal parts, and this combination proves be as much volatile as it is effective. I for one just can't sit still.

I have to mention "Transylvanian Buffet", as the use of piano within this song brings out the redneck in the band as well as me as a listener, as it shapes the tune into an almost honkytonk one throughout some parts. I would not have thought so, but it bloody works. And then you have "Soul Searcher" where the acoustic guitar gives interludes give you a feeling that the band might step out into a mellow song. But thankfully they only come to proceed in an even heavier vein after those parts. The most violent song on the album is without a doubt "Hate". You can feel the anger coming out of your speakers. Impressive. And therein lies the real power of VITTRA. They are able to write and record bloody strong songs that have me at the edge of my seat. "Intense Indifference" will not be offering you any new insights, but what it will do is emphasize that if a band knows how to incorporate the right sounds and vibes into their music, they are capable of producing a very strong album.