Jungle Rot : "Cruel Face of War".

Dave Matrise is the sole original member from this 90s death metal act. He has put together a denser, more modern-sounding band that still gets what he was doing in the band's earlier days. His growl still carries heft and resonance. He also benefits from excellent production, with effects and layering that fall in all the right places. The opening track carries the right kind of energy that you want from these guys, so can the rest of the album hold up?  Well, the title track has a more manic, thrashing feel. Lyrical, he seems to be barking out your typical metal mish-mash. But they are snarled in a manner articulated well enough to cut through the din of distortion around them.

"Maniacal" is stomped with enough purpose to create catchy headbanging vibes before the vocals even come in, and back off to give them room when they do. "Suffer in Silence" has a strong enough chorus to balance out the more speed-obsessed riffs that race by your ears. "Radicalized" has more groove in its weighty accents that pound with a more syncopated refinement. "Blade of Betrayal" is more typical in its rapid-fire death metal approach, which will appeal to fans of that era of the genre, but does not benefit as much from their songwriting skills as the previous songs.

The verse of "When the Elders Rise" is empowered by the album's most commanding, not as effective when they pour the speed into the double bass, but overall, the song works. Dave Ingram of Benediction joins them for "Horrors Vile" that takes off in a faster direction that finds them pressing further to the gas once the vocals come in. They find a better balance of tempo and intensity with " Legacy of the Damned."  At under two minutes," Rot Riffs." does not try to cram too much into that time frame, mainly working off the one riff. "Hollow Husk" is pretty punishing, though pretty straight-up death metal. The vocals just roar along, though on my second listen, I put on headphones, and it became clear how powerful this guitar tone is, excellent production. I will give this album a 9.5, it delivers 90s death metal in a more meaningful way than even the new Six Feet Under.Dropping on Unique Leader Records May 15th

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