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The second album of these Finnish brutal deathsters, titled Burned, Barren, Bloodstained, shows clear signs of improvement over their 2014 debut. The band's heavy and slamming Death Metal circus sounds like what would have resulted from Cannibal Corpse spending a booze-infested night practicing together with Behemoth, with some technical elements on top.

US-sounding Death Metal, without the slightest doubt, has been a stepping stone for these Finns; the songs mostly revolve around the brutal and ultra-heavy NY-area Death Metal sound, augmented with more epic and eerie sounding song structures that one can easily find in Poland's Behemoth's latest releases: you know, that strong, masculine type of chest-pounding sound. The true Death Metal pearl, rising above other songs, is "Blood for the Sun God," for which they have also shot a professional video. It's a very well-structured, ears-dismembering tune, and probably the best song they have written in their career, spanning over 11 years. Also, the last song, a bit Nile-inspired, "Smite the Impure" gives my neck muscles an extra lesson in a semi-violent back and forth type of elasticity, which is a good sign I suppose.

Burned... is definitely a step forward in the right direction from these brutal sounding Finns. Good stuff.