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The return of Forest Of Impaled. I was a big fan of their last disc Forward The Spears. It wasn't flawless, but it was a lot of fun. This new one is a little neater, a little less chaotic and messy, but still a blazing chunk of Death/Black mayhem.

The good and the bad thing about Rise And Conquer is that Forest Of Impaled sound more pro this time out. The production is cleaner and tighter, the songwriting is less chaotic, and the band sounds tighter. The downside is that the arrangements are more conventional, there's less energy and atmosphere, and the flailing, insane evil glee that made the last one so fun is less in evidence. I like this album, and it kicks a lot of ass, but what FOI have gained in production and cohesion, they have lost in aggression and attitude. This is a much less underground-sounding album, which may well get FOI a wider audience, but I cannot help but be a little disappointed. Overall this comes out even with Forward The Spears - some pros, some cons; but this is a solid album of a more conventional stripe, make of that what you will.