You could be forgiven if your first impression of Inexorum on Lore of the Lakes is incessant, non-stop blastbeat. Carl Skildum, the man behind Inexorum and also a live guitarist for Obsequiae, wanted it this way. Coming from what I suspect is an overused drum machine, since no drummer is listed for the project, blastbeat is up front, strong and overwhelming. And so the success of whether this album will be accepted largely depends on how you will be able to handle these pounding rhythms. It starts on Raging Hearts, continues on Let Pain Be Your Guide with a bit of a punky D-beat incorporated for good measure, and grows even faster, almost maniacal, next to higher tuned tremolo on Years in Exile. Yet, if you manage to disassociate from the drums, you will be able to hear melodic tremolo inflections in Raging Hearts, and attractive, easy to follow, native warrior motifs with spirited heroic voices in Raging Hearts and To Omega. Growing up in Northern Minnesota, a tough barren country, Inexorum depicts this old generation warrior who fell in love with surrounding harsh nature, but this man only knows one tempo - blast and blast fast. Unlike Thousand Year War or Wolvenguard, Inexorum has decided not to vary their always forceful approach, but the aforementioned bands are evidence that being different and evolving is more enriching. Only on the closing title track Inexorum realizes its potential. The tempo becomes more deliberate, and there is room to breathe, stop and imbibe all the openness and vastness the land of Minnesota lakes can inspire. The epic spirit permeates, acoustic close soothes, and you keep on thinking how Lore of the Lakes may have been better throughout.