EnragedFormed in 1997, this Dutch melodic death metal band has a healthy back catalogue of demos and mini cd’s, this current release is a rather tasty slab of metal right from the first listen.

Death metal can easily be technical without the need for presenting over the top tiddly guitar masterstrokes. Enraged do mix a bit of this but with a healthy dose of classic death metal, thus making this release sound more organic, almost timeless. There is a clear wealth of talent in the band but there are also guest appearances from some formidable musicians such as James Murphy (‘Dictated By Miscanthropy Pt II’), so it’s not surprising you hear elements of his former band Death in the mix. Other musicians feature, but the stand out one is the one and only Andy LaRocque on the track ‘Confusion’.

‘Global Conspiracy/Invisible Oppressors’ sounds like the aforementioned band Death or some other free-flowing guitar monster band. The bass pumps up in volume later into the song like classic Atheist, then you get to a tried and tested but damn fine groove. This is rather varied and quite busy in nature, but there is an element of control. ‘Tribulations Climax’ stands out as my favourite tune on the album as there is so much depth. You start with a momentary slow intro before the track breathes new life and powers into action with vocals that could be crossing the genres into melodic black metal and back into death metal. There is no buzzsaw tone, no knob twiddling and no one is spared from this tirade of musical expression. When you encounter many of the melodic guitar riffs you really are rewarded as the sound is so warm, sometimes this leads me to feel that certain tracks could be classified as being epic. You certainly hear all sorts of influences and none sound out of place or contrived into current popularity. The track ‘Intolerable Misconduct’ for me evens dips further into early black metal circles which had more death metal influence, but still manages space and does not restrict the albums flow. Listen to the instrumental track ‘Respice Finem’ and tell me that you feel nothing from the guitar tone. I doubt you will be able too, but this sets up your senses for the following brutal track ‘The Cleansing’.

All in all, this is really cool music, it possesses power, aggression and technicality, Enraged certainly have an art for delivering fulfilling and varied death metal arrangements and this is one of those albums that I will turn to each time I want to hear some awesome musicianship.

(8.5/10 Paul Maddison) 

http://www.enraged.nl