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The sophomore release from Finland's Cyphosis, To North and Under, is a truly cold and dark experience. I was interested to see how the mixture of modern Death and Thrash, with melodies, would blend together in an album with epic themes. What I got was an album that was sometimes plain, other times boring and I ultimately felt like it simply didn't go anywhere. The bland production doesn't help, either.

Putting aside the material, I have to say I like the vocals, provided by Tero Mustonen. Adding low grunts to his Hetfield vocal patterns took that aspect of the music up a level. Mustonen's greatest performance can be heard on the song "Servitude." The Thrash vibes on To North and Under were also a highlight as the band really kicks on "Filth Within" and the Death/Thrash "Forged."

If you are a fan of Finnish Metal, my guess is that you will like this one. Personally, I think Cyphosis has a long road ahead of them in the songwriting department. More melodies, to make their music recognizable as melodic extreme, would also help.