WARKNIFE is an Italian Metal band, formed in 2006.  They were influenced by the American Bay Area Thrash scene, but that also had melodic and Hard Rock leanings. Later the band changed their sound into a more Death Metal approach, with complex structures and sped up time. As time passed, they changed, drawing inspiration from Post Hardcore sounds as well. "Amorphous" is their second, full length album.

Following a tone setting instrumental, "The Infected Enigma" roars in, with a dirty, grinding riff.  I hear a sludgy groove, and potent, dark Death Metal.  The riffs vary here and there, adding some flavor to the track. It definitely has a head-banging rhythm. By contrast, "A Bleeding Sunset" settles into a slower, more melodious groove. It's an interesting dichotomy. The main riff dances around with the bass taking center stage at times, while the harsh Death Metal vocals carry the sound. An interlude connects the other passages very niftily.

"Behold Regression" brings the album back to the fray of lunacy and brutality. Here again we have some riff and meter changes that keep the song fresh and varied. WARKNIFE is not afraid of experimentation and genre bending in the creation of their unique sound.  Indeed, "The Veil Fragments" captures this mission very well, as the opening riff sparkles with beauty and frailty among the heaviness. Marco Landolfo whispers his vocals in the early parts of the song and the words fall off his lips like droplets of water... here one moment and gone the next. This is not the kind of song I would expect, which makes it all the more special. When the brutality arrives, it arrives in grand fashion, with a powerful groove and crushing weight. This is an especially well-crafted song.

But the hits keep coming. "Hateseed" has a strong, oppressive rhythm, and full on assault. It has a commanding quality to it, almost as if it swallows up everything around it. "Ill Becomes Order" swings back to an ever changing sound, aptly describing the album title...a form without a discernable shape. Though there is a definite skeleton of Death Metal and Groovy Sludge, there is so much more variation added from there that you cannot pin the band down. This is what make the album as good as it is... fantastic actually.

"Shining Phoenix" is a very moving piece, with lamentations omnipresent. It has a doomy beauty to it, and the supporting lead guitar solo connects perfectly with the main melody of the song. The closing track, "F.A.I.L", circles back around into a quicker pace, with varying rhythms at times, and a creepy, sterile voice over vocally. I am confident that ardent Metal fans will find this sound to their liking. Everything you would come to expect from the genre is here, along with some really creative additions of melody and groove. I have said before, many Death Metal bands are afraid of melody, and stick hard to the blueprint that defined the earlier works in the genre. Anyone can pull of the brutality, but what separates great bands are those who can work in some musicality to their sound. WARKNIFE has done this very well.