Entombed
"Morningstar"
(Koch Records) 

Swedish underground metal legends Entombed are back with a brand new album. This band, who have been a popular underground act for over a decade, have been known for changing their musical direction frequently throughout their career, but this album appears to be a return to their metallic roots. It's definitely a metal album! This music is heavy and aggressive, dark, sinister, and evil! The singer (I assume it's still L.G. Petrov. No info came with the CD so I don't know who's in or out of the band, and they have gone through many lineup changes over the years) growls in an evil voice, not quite death metal but close, and the playing is good. The guitars really scorch on many of the songs, and the musicianship is skillful and technically proficient. Some tunes really thrash out, like "I For An Eye", "Ensemble Of The Restless", "Young Man Nihilist", and "Year One Now", while others are slower and doomier, like "Chief Rebel Angel" (the album's opener), "Bringer Of Light", "Out Of Heaven", and "Mental Twin". Somebody even slipped a couple of Slayer tunes on here-"City Of Ghosts" and "About To Die"! Are you sure these are Entombed songs? They sound just like Slayer! And as if that wasn't enough, there's also a couple of Pantera-ish tunes on here, "Fractures" and "When It Hits Home"! It seems to be becoming mandatory these daze for every metal band to put at least one Pantera-influenced song on their albums! Well, anyway...Pantera/Slayer influence or not, this is quite a good album. Entombed appear to be in their classic form here. Fans of the band should like this. If any of Entombed's fans were disillusioned by the direction the band was taking on pervious releases, "Morning Star" should make them into renewed fans!

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