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There's something infectious about The Rotted; you can't help but bang your head to their riff cycles, no matter which genre they reference (and that's a lot, in any given song). One of the UK's best kept secrets on the live circuit, they play an accessible brand of Death Metal that borrows heavily from Thrash, Punk, and Black Metal. While their manifestos are certainly heavy, they have a melodic charm to songs like "Non Serviam", with its shout-along refrain, and "The House Of Bedlam", which captures the band at their catchiest moment. The guitars manage to bounce without touching the dreaded groove staple, and the growls of band leader Ben McCrow are actually decipherable throughout most of Ad Nauseam, especially during the slower segments.

The sections during which drummer Nate Gould hammers his unstoppable blast-beats are by far the most entertaining, but there is more to The Rotted than simple Death Metal pummeling. This album is full of surprises, and any fan of accessible extremity would do well to check it out.