Entombed AD : " Dead Dawn"

Petrov is on the mic and the guitar tone is intact all the things that would make this band Entombed, but it appeared due to Alex Hellid they put and AD after it. This is their second album under the AD. The opening track carries and impressive rumble , but does not come close to capturing the grooves of Wolverine Blues, not is this the same kind of death metal that was Left Hand Path". Fans of pre-and post"Wolverine Blues" alike will still find plenty to like here. The first hint of melody surfaces in the darker "Down to Mars to Ride" which takes off at a big thrashing chug. They are at their most convincing here. There is more weight behind the chug of "As the World Fell" . Petrov comes as close to singing here as he does on the "Wolverine Blues " album. "Lefthand Path" seemed like more of a death metal album to me than any of their albums that followed and this album is not changing my on that , "Total Death" feels more like "Chaos AD" era Sepultura , just without any of the Neurosis" worship that colored that album. The guitars are thick as hell, but this one is more like Motorhead powered rock n roll.

Things get into a harder and darker thrash on " The Winner Has Lost" which reminds me of many of the things that attracted me to this band on their first two albums. Many so called heavy bands have taken inspiration from these guys , but many more could learn that their is nothing technical or flashy going on here , it's the intention they attack their instruments with that makes it this heavy, even though I do not think this is death metal, it's heavier than many death metal bands.They are back to the stiffer Sepultura like chug on "Silent Assassin". I know both bands are into hard core punk so I'm not sure if that is where this is derived from or not, as some early hard core had a militant stiffness to it. This is not their most interesting side. Clean guitar opens "Hubris Fall" which sets the stage for a more melodic current to sweep through the song. This brings the vocals to have more of a Neurosis feel to them. Petrov doesn't sing but comes closer to it. Even tough there is more of an old school thrash feel to it "Black Survival" feels like this is being done by way of Soulfly. The darker melodic creep ends the album with more of what I want from this band. They manage to avoid the rule of cool riffs alone do make a good song, by adding just enough around the edges while churning the most they can out of the riffs. Overall I'll accept this version of Entombed , wish the would shed some of the more Soulfly like moments , but I'll round this up to an 8.5, because the moments they nail they kill.