Oh, great, just what the Death Metal world was waiting for, a new Severe Torture album! Forgive me if, during the course of this review, I sometimes get a bit overexcited at the sheer awesomeness of this event, because it’s something I feel so passionately about that restraining my emotions will be completely impossi-

Yeah, so let’s face it, Season Of Mist signing Severe Torture isn’t one of the best decisions they’ve ever made. As much respect as I have for the label (and I do have buckets of respect for them, they’ve become one of (if not) the best European underground metal labels there are) I have to wonder what on earth they were thinking. Severe Torture make meat and potatoes Death Metal, always have, always will, and I knew what was awaiting me before I even started to play this, the Dutchmen’s fifth album. Furious blasts, Cannibal Corpse-esque guitars, grunts from deep beneath the earth’s surface, it’s all present and correct, and adding up to the kind of brutal beat-down that anyone listening to the genre for more than two weeks will have heard before.

Still, credit where credit’s due, the band can play. The melodic leads on opener Grave Condition prove that guitarists Patrick Boleij (also of Nox) and Martin Vreisde (Dew-Scented, anyone?) know their stuff, and drummer-with-a-cool-name Seth Van De Loo can outbeat Paul Mazurkiewicz. The likes of Unholy Misconception and Deride Jesus have an enjoyably frantic feel, and Defective Fornication has some great soloing, whilst the title track blasts along like it’s being chased by a nutter with an axe.

And yeah, once you’ve gotten past their energetic speed and the above-averageness of their soloing, there isn’t really much more that can be said about Severe Torture without repeating yourself. There’s one moment of excitement when Inferior Divinity makes an effort to be different with its intro, but soon falls back into the band’s comfort zone. What Severe Torture do, however, they do well enough to be worth listening to if you’re a fan. It never falls into the boring sort of territory that would really dock the band points, it’s just... meh. Start comparing them to any other band, and the (good) points vanish fast. It’s a pity that they came along in the same week as that superior no-we’re-not-a-tribute-act-honest mob Aeon, whose album is the superior of the two this week and deserves your money far more. The score given is generous.