Sometimes it is really refreshing to run across a band that reminds me of why I liked a genre to begin with. I hear so much down-tuned, badly-written, by-the-numbers Death Metal that a band like this, who are actually interesting, are a breath of fresh, murderous air.

Maat are a German band who are mining the same strike of imagery as Nile for their lyrics, but in execution they are much less technical and more melodic. The major similarity I hear in this is to Behemoth, with the blasting riffs and the bellowed vocals. This is nowhere near as overproduced as Behemoth, and Maat leaven their aggression with a strong dose of melody integrating their Middle Eastern aesthetic and making the whole into a strong, individual sound. Maat are not doing anything really audacious, but they have cranked out a riffy, crunchy Death Metal album that remains solid all the way through its running time, and sometimes that's all you could ask for.