The Unmarked Graves

Ornamented with an excellent, atmospheric artwork, Maze of Torment start their fourth attack. The stamina of the four-piece is respectable. How many other formations have thrown in the towel after three more or less fruitless works? But Maze of Torment stay optimistic. Twelve new work results ask for our attention. The main question is whether the band has managed the challenge to write more interesting songs than before. Although their first albums were not totally bad, their pretty emotionless tunes left me puzzled.

The beginning is promising, because the instrumental intro creates an ominous aura. The guitar sound does not lack of depth and Maze of Torment have begun to mix their constantly furious approach with a tiny pinch of serenity. "13th Disciple" shows a face of the band that has a certain similarity to that of Black Sabbath. Thank God, the lead vocalist does not want to sound like the king of strange noise, also known as Ozzy Osbourne. Anyway, this track gets more and more intensive and provides evidence that the Swedes are able to deliver properly designed tracks. No, it is not a mind-altering experience to listen to songs such as this, but the words "solid stuff" can be said with justification.

Anyhow, the coarse mix of death / thrash metal still takes its toll. Even strong songs like the title track or "Satan Descends" are in danger to get lost in the jungle of highly aggressive lead guitars, bombarding drums and rather monotonous screaming. Perhaps I am just a poser in view of the fact that I do not realise the full glory of this album, but from my point of view, a certain opacity remains. Thousands of cluster bombs make the situation on the battlefield confusing. Moreover, the longer the album lasts, the more the songs resemble themselves. Maze of Torment do not run out of puff and that's actually a good thing. Highly motivated like an overly agile lumberjack, they thrash their instruments. Yet the constant hyperactivity of the musicians allows no variations and leads to rather predictable results. Only the punk inspired closer possesses a different charm and sounds like a cover version. Too bad that the booklet does not provide any information whether this song was penned by another band. Anyway, its straightness guarantees a positive ending of this album.

The production can be deemed as vigorous and robust. One can notice that the guys have a certain experience and a clear vision of the technical implementation of their compositions. The well defined mix avoids any blurred sounds. Let's draw a final stroke under this album whose lyrics present the usual nonsense ("Enter the Holocaust" - why should I?). Maze of Torment have some good ideas, but still they are not really to channel them in the right direction. "The Unmarked Graves" does not lack of enthusiasm and idealism, but it fails to serve two or three outstanding highlights.

Sure, it's nothing mindblowingly original. Just looking at the band's name (for those who don't get it, Maze of Torment was a song title on Morbid Angel's debut album, Altars of Madness) made me wary originally. So when I hesitantly picked this album up, even the silly photo on the back of the band members with bloody mouths didn't really help to reassure me this would be an innovative listening experience. But hell, who needs originality ALL the time? These guys are actually plain old fashioned death-thrash with ripping solos, some blast beats, screaming vox, evil riffing, the whole nine yards. And y'know what? It's pretty fucking good. They're not even Morbid Angel clones, I'm guessing they picked the name just for the hell of it. Lyrics are standard fare ("THe Evil Remains the Same", "Formula XXX", and the old favorite "All Hell Breaks Loose"), but still fun to scream along to. Production sounds great too, everything's perfectly audible without sounding overpolished at all. Those who are in the market for a good death-thrash album to blast should find something to like here. Good stuff.