Quebec's Ion Dissonance have never been an easy pill to swallow and "solace" is about the last thing anyone aside from a demented serial killer will find on their latest album. Instead, what will be found is some of the most instrumentally challenging, discordant technical metal this side of The Red Chord and Into The Moat.

An utterly ruthless album, the band are hellbent on destruction and through spastic part changes, blindingly fast riffing and murderous blast beats, they insure the destruction of whatever obstructs their path. The vocals are barked and screamed, the guitars whir about like demonic chainsaws and the percussion sounds like hell's drum line.

While there are a few breaks for some sludgy barbarity and enough traces of grind, death and metalcore to fill a "Hellfest", the one thing that seems to set this album apart from its peers is the lack of free jazz and melodies. It's pretty much unabated brutality from the word go.

The constant collisions provided by the caustic part changes, plus the all-out malevolence will probably only appeal to the most extreme of metal fans. But if some of the most violent music ever committed to CD is what you're into, then Ion Dissonance will be more than willing to bash your eardrums to a bloody pulp.