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I was kind of blown away by the audacious melody and ferocity of Diminishing Between Worlds back in 2008, but then I found Polarity a let-down in 2010, and then Decrepit Birth fell silent for almost seven years. Now we have their fourth full-length in Axis Mundi, and it is a let-down.

Now I don't mean that Decrepit Birth have skimped on the technicality or the aggression, because they haven't. This is tight, ferocious, and heavy. But what I loved about Diminishing was the hooky, old-school vibe they brought to the melodic riffs and leads, and how it kept the album interesting and engaging over and above just being technical. This time out, they have largely left that approach behind. There is some melodic guitar work on here, but it's just not as good as their old stuff. Mostly you are just left with the technical assault and the unintelligible vocals, and that makes for an album that's decent, but not more than that.