Review Summary: Looks as though the leviathan was tamed for this disappointing release.
When a collaboration between two of death metal's most laudable musicians takes formation, it is only logical for one to become elevated at the thought of what this partnership may disseminate. These two musicians are Jonny Petterson (Wombbath) and Dave Ingram (ex-Bolt Thrower). Such amazing musicians with masses of experience should be indisputably able to craft a record which accommodates astoundingly superlative material. Sadly, it seems this is not that record.
Despite the bewildering content packaged in the latter half of the record, the first half actually consists of somewhat satisfactory death metal. Apart from the unoriginal structured songs, some colossal riffs are unleashed, displaying the monster of a record this should be. The third track, 'Bullet Bitten', is a discernible tribute to Lemmy Kilmister, which even features some samples of him. It is songs like this that stop the record from transgressing into a complete train wreck. They are mid-paced, hard hitting, and rife with dense grooves. These are further carried by strong vocals, which are torrential enough to stupefy the listener.
The enjoyment soon comes to a sudden halt, when the band unveil their first cover track. This is a cover of "Crazy Horses" by The Osmands, and it is an extraordinarily hideous creation. It is an absolute abomination in every sense of the word. The already somewhat underwhelming instrumentals are rendered worse to the point of being unbearable, as they were tuned to death metal standards and are not even being used of riffs belonging in that sub-genre. Everything seems out of place, like it simply should not exist. This could be forgivable, if it was countered by some competent material as shown before, but that is not the case, since there are three more cover tracks here. All share the same problems and prove to be remarkably sub-standard tracks.
From that point on the record is already tarnished with stains of poor musicianship, which simply cannot be rinsed off. This is a tremendous shame, as the record could have proven to be at least standard quality. But, those cover tracks hold this record back from being something memorable, at least in a positive manner. The first half is unquestionably adequate, yet those qualities displayed are overshadowed by the more lamentable aspects found later. Due to this, some respect for these musicians is most likely going to be shed, and rightly so, as this is a very poor effort. Yet, this is more disappointing than anything else, as this could have been something decent, but it turned out to be one of the most unimpressive death metal records this year.
