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A huge step up in terms of songwriting and quality for French Melo-Death act Dividead with their debut full-length, the slick and uncompromising Exile. While their Beyond Death EP a couple of years ago showed promise, this is far tighter, more compact, and just a grade or two below the biggest players in the genre (and that's only due to an overall lack of variation, a common caveat of the style). Very much in the keyboard-led, early Children Of Bodom vein, Exile sits as close to sugary Power Metal as Melodic Death Metal, though the gruff vocals keep its material firmly rooted in the extreme.

The guitars and keyboards flirt with each other well during "Sealing My Fate", "Eye Of The Storm", and ass-kicking opener "No Retreat", sounding a lot like the Finnish bands who tender this style. However, with so many bands currently worshiping at the altar of COB and Kalmah (recent arrivals The Last Hangmen and Nothgard come to mind), it'll be difficult for Dividead to stand apart. Still, Exile defies expectations, and genre buffs will lap up every moment.