Now, this is one of those cases where I am to review a release by a band I know has been in circulation for ages, but I just haven’t gotten around to actually listening to any of their releases. No skeletons in the closet, no prehistory, no nothing, then. We take it from here.

What I first and foremost hear on German Graveworm’s seventh studio release is death metal with plenty of keyboard ornamentation.

I’m not against the use of keyboards in otherwise good-old-fashioned death metal, but it has to be done with care. If you take a song like Hell’s Creation, I’m not a big fan of the weight of the keyboards. It’s a tough balance and one that is so extremely subjective. For me it’s a tad too dominant.

Apart from that and a snare drum that is too fastly tightened, it is hard to find something to complain about. As I said, this is if anything bombastically arranged death metal with a rocking side (take e.g. Forlorn Hope) with a decent but not divine production.

The song writing is impeccable and efficient, the band is tight and Stefano Fiori has a cool death-thrash voice.

And the cover of The Police’s ‘Message in a Bottle’ is no less than breathtaking as it picks up. Definitely one that is made Graveworm’s own. Nice one.