Into Death

Fredrik Andersson, best known as the ferocious viking behind the the drumkit of Amon Amarth, felt the need to start a side project, where he not only plays the drums, but also the guitar and bass. This is a good thing, as this is one fantastic demo. Almost all of the material was written by Fredrik (except for the song Frail, which was written for A Canorous Quintet, just never released), and it all shines. Although the songs bear a sound somewhat similar to Amon Amarth with their 'viking melodies and rhythms' (I don't know how else to explain it), the two songs Kill All Life and Into Death stand out as more conventional melodic death metal songs. There is just the right amount of melody and harmony mixed in with sheer brutality. Also, the double bass drums that most of us know and love from Amon Amarth are an immense factor of the sound that Curriculum Mortis conveys. Now, the other thing that just so happens to sound a lot like Amon Amarth is the vocals. Former Guidance of Sin vocalist Mattias Leinikka's voice sounds so much like Johan Hegg, that if someone didn't know any better, Curriculum Mortis could definitely be mistaken for the mighty Amon Amarth...not like thats a bad thing. Anyways, I sure do hope that Fredrik Andersson will find the time to record a full length, as this demo holds a lot of promise, and for only 5 songs, it puts a lot of full albums to shame.