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I did not expect much from this, as gore/horror-themed Death Metal is so cliché it actually makes my brain hurt. Bone Gnawer is a kind of supergroup made up of vocalist Kam Lee (Death, Massacre, etc) Drummer Morgan Lie (Naglfar) Guitarist Ronnie Bjornstrom (Ribspreader) and Bassist Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Demiurg, Edge of Sanity, Ribspreader, about sixteen other bands). I remember Kam's guttural work from Massacre quite well, and I expected this to be pretty dull. Happily, I was mistaken in at least one regard: Bone Gnawer may be generic, but they do kick some serious ass.

Sonically this is every possible cliché of Swedish Death Metal that could possibly be imagined. The guitar tone is pure Dismember, Kam's vocals are an homage to old school Entombed, hell even the drum sound is straight off Clandestine. The only thing unexpected is how visceral and entertaining this album is, and how much verve the band members display as they rip through this cannibal feast of an album. The lyrics are puerile, and the songwriting is completely predictable, but the riffs are chunky and vicious enough to get your head flailing no matter how many times you feel like you have heard them before. This may be Death Metal junk food for the Swedish side of the palate, but it is such gooood junk food.