Carnal Forge have already established themselves as one of the premier acts in the Swedish metal arena, and unlike most other acts trying to do so, they actually hail from Sweden. Their meticulous and often merciless blend of thrash metal mixed with Bay Area combativeness is one to be reckoned with and they've clearly proved that with their numerous prior releases. Now, hot on the heels of their crushing 2003 opus "The More You Suffer", this group once again emerge with enough sinister tools to make both their proverbial parents of Slayer and At The Gates proud.

The first thing that sticks out about this album in comparison to their past work is just how tight the band have become. The production featured here is top notch and it helps to interlock the songwriting on hand with draconian-like tenacity. The grooves are vehemently rigorous and vengeful, proudly dripping with venom as they plow through the scorched earth the band so eagerly mutilate. There's relentless chugging, acrobatic shredding and absolutely thunderous drumming, and somehow the band ensure that everything they hack out remains sinister sounding in nature. There's no doubt that these boys have now honed their craft into a point sharp enough to easily pierce through bone. But while their material is razor-sharp, it hasn't necessarily evolved all that much from their past album.

Besides the ability to nearly suffocate the listener with a dense array of speedy thrash oriented metal, not a lot has changed. There are a few stabs at more focused melody on hand, with gruffly sung parts dynamically complimenting the throaty bellows and screechy wails. But such elements aren't really implemented whole-heartedly and sound a bit out of place as a result. Having a lack of progression as a shortcoming leaves this album an interesting place for this outfit to be. They freely show that they have the talent and ability to hang with the juggernauts of the scene; and yet their songs often lack the standout identity or innovation required to make audiences instantly stand up and take notice. Still, for an album this astringent and menacing, one can't really fault it. Even if it is only the searing brutality rather than the uniqueness of the material itself that keeps them coming back for more.