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I just knew I'd have to check this band out upon seeing the Dan Seagrave-esque cover art (I'm pretty much a sucker for anything Seagrave, Marschall, Verwimp or Repka-like). Italian's Kadavar look pretty damn young from their band pictures, so it's refreshing to hear some decent Death Metal as opposed to any of the sub-core trash that's being passed off as Death Metal these days.

To sum these guys up, imagine Necroticism-era Carcass, with a few touches of the modern styled US Death Metal pedaled by the likes of Blood Red Throne. Add in a few tasteful splashes of Nocturnus-styled keyboards and then dust with the fantastically clear (and again, mid-period Carcass inspired) melody-laden solo work. Upon listening to the album throughout, you'll be pleasantly reminded of some of your favorite Death Metal albums, so yes, there's a lot of unashamed hero worship abound. But, I'm OK with new bands who ape the classics, so long as it's done well and isn't a total clone. Luckily, Kadavar do what they do extremely well with their own edge and outlook.

Given a chance for the riffs and battery to seep into my psyche, I definitely got a lot of out this album – I mean, it's packed with great riffs and that for me is the most important thing. I'd say Kadavar are well worth checking, but only fans of ‘proper' Death Metal need apply.