’Transmutate’ is the title of the Italian band AS MEMORY DIES debut album and we are talking quite progressive thrash/melodic death metal here.

The music shifts from acoustic passages to mid-tempo/up-tempo metal with lots of twists and turns. But I must admit that most of the songs seem to go on forever and this CD really needs several spins to sink in. And I’m afraid that the average metal-listener will give up on ’Transmutate’ before it blossoms.

We get both clean and aggressive vocals and especially the aggressive vocals reminds me of Kreator’s Mille Petrozza. So now you know what to expect.

The production could have been better in my humble opinion. It could have been more powerful but don’t worry... the production is okay.

Fans of progressive melodic death metal should at least check this CD out and I will keep an eye on this band... because I’m sure they can do better on their next release.