Anterior - Echoes of the Fallen

It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since Anterior's debut record on Metal Blade Records.  Anterior was a shining star, which stuck out in 2007, and I vowed to follow them, if they were to make it to a second recording.  Their sophomore release Echoes of the Fallen, picks up where their debut The Age of Silence left off.  These guys are all about the Swedish Death Metal, even though they're a British band.  The sound is that of the great At The Gates, but with a modern twist.  The songs are well structured and the musicianship is out of this world. 

Guitarist's Leon Kemp and Steven Nixon are absolutely amazing.  These guys rip like no other.  Their intricate rhythms matched with their melodic solos will have any guitar aficionado creaming their pants.  These guys are monsters.  The vocals by Luke Davies are your standard death growls, which do not venture into clean territory.  Unlike many of the bands in the genre today, Anterior has decided to keep the gutteral vocals and have resisted the clean style.  The music is so strong on this release, that the vocals don't really matter.  All in all, a solid release that will stay in the rotation for awhile.

Bottom Line: Anterior are back and do not suffer from the sophomore jinks.  The new CD actually surpasses the debut, which is a tough thing to do.  Solid melodic death metal with guitars for days.  Gets better with each listen.

Standout Tracks:  By Horror Haunted, Blood in the Throne Room, Sleep Soundly, No More and Venomous.

-Ragman's fingers are tired from air guitaring.