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Finnish Death Metal outfit Ravage Machinery is perhaps the northernmost Metal act I know of these days. They come from Rovaniemi which is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland.

Non-music facts aside, Ravage Machinery left a positive impression on me with their previous 4-EP, The Dystopian Tide, released in 2011. Four years have passed and the guys in this Death Metal combo have taken their time to make sure our ears get mangled by their debut album, Subordinates of the Mechanism.

Happily, Ravage Machinery does not sound like your typical Finnish Death Metal act. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that typical murky, gravelly and grave-reeking Finnish sound. But just for a change, it's refreshing to hear a band not following the same path most Finnish Death Metal bands tend to these days. Ravage Machinery has put more emphasis on elements that link them to US death mongers with nods toward Hypocrisy and Denmark's Konkhra. Ravage Machinery's Death Metal varies between mid and faster tempos with occasional slower moments here and there, giving the album needed variation and nuance. The song called "Evolution of Malevolence" makes me happy as it's a majestic Death Metal torpedo set to sink any ships around. Along with "March of the Consumed" off The Dystopian Tide EP, "Evolution of Malevolence" is one of the best tracks they have ever written.

As for constructive, and in this case negative, criticism the occasional pig squeals in the vocals make me sick. I hope they leave them off the next release, they'll do just fine without them. It's a trend that a few US Death Metal bands started years ago and it's fucking awful. Otherwise, Subordinates of the Mechanism is a decent release with enough punishing elements to make it worth checking, for most of us anyway.