Born Of Sin, a band from Sweden playing death metal, and playing it pretty much in Swedish way. However, they add more than a few pinches black metal in. Still they sound Swedish! To me, this sounds something like Centinex's cool 'Bloodhunt' EP from 1999, but I am not complaining, because...

We get, overally, a good EP here, no doubt about that, and let me explain, why it is so. First, I like these short-ish songs, which aren't built from a couple of parts only, but include some cool twists. And secondly, it sounds quite lethal, both production-wise and performance-wise. The true con about this is that, that the elements used aren't unique by any stretch, but actually very far from that. Still, I really cannot recall any other rather similar thing as that Centinex EP!

'She Must Be Gods Whore' has some extremely familiar tremolo guitar playing in it; I am sure I've heard that chord progression somewhere (could be Dutch band God Dethroned, my guess without checking it out)... 'Deceiver' and 'Hell Will Walk the Earth' contain some seriously 'Slaughter of the Soul' style parts. Then again, I've heard bands that sound wholly very alike to that At The Gates' 1995 album. The closer has that more melancholic Swedish vibe, and huge power chord wall of guitar. With this song-writing, the band is left faceless. Okay, some of these songs are re-recorded ones from the band's demo-era, so I certainly can forgive them to some extent. Each of the songs include both heavy-handed riffing and tremolo playing. Mostly, the tempo is fast, punched in with double kick drumming and blast beats, but there are some mid-paced moments for band to sound more evil.

The guitar tone is rusty and bruising, not that Sunlight Studios type typical sound, and it is refreshing. Well, the closer has some of that power chord wall effect... The voice can be croaking and raspy blackish-voice, or meaty growl, and one can hear spit flying; uttering good and atypical lyrics about demons and God. The drums sound lovely acoustic, definitely not triggered. The bass guitar is low in volume, or shadowed by guitars, but sometimes is booming therein. Generally, the sound has some reverb, and it suits as it adds into ominous atmosphere. It also sounds attacking.

If you are hunting for another piece of Swedish death metal with black metal elements in it, this is one to check out. Not a masterpiece, but enjoyable songs and it has balls. Do not judge this by its cover: It is dark and doesn't look good, but the booklet contains some suitable imagery.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/04/2020 22:23