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Every once in a while, a band comes along that reminds me that "Melodeath" is not just a lumpy agglomeration of worn-out clichés and self-indulgent horseshit, but is actually a viable genre in its own right when it is played well. This looked a bit suspect, but it is actually one of the better Melodic Death Metal albums I have heard in years.

This isn't breaking any molds, it's just going for the throat and doing it better than a whole legion of Dark Tranquility wannabes. The production is heavy but not too much so, the melody is used to accent the music rather than wuss it out, and the heaviness and blastbeats are used in a real way to make actual songs, not just assemblages of hackneyed parts. This disc is a bit short, but that's only a flaw because what's here is actually good.