Prior to releasing their fourth album in 2005, Sweden's had been sidelined for almost two years by everything from solo projects to physical injury to outright exhaustion; but the break did them a world of good and it's a noticeably refreshed -- though still imminently recognizable -- making their recorded return on this accomplished / album. And energetic is exactly what we get, following a typically diversion to open up the LP (and later enriching closer ), but there's a lingering meatiness to 's riffing (derived from their roots, no doubt) that really distinguishes them from their mostly thrashier contemporaries, and marks them as something of a less fashion-prone proposition, to boot. At the same time, representative tunes like and the title track stick with traditional verse-chorus-verse structures -- not anything as free-form as old-school , for maximum assimilation. Vocalist deserves special mention for his versatility, as he adeptly screams, snarls, and, yes, even sings to match each passage's needs; his choruses usually aided by carefully orchestrated vocal backups from his bandmates. Think gone neo- and -- just kidding -- more like circa , actually. Anyhow, the latter can sound a tad forced on and but the surrounding instrumental ferocity generally counters any worries of commercial sellout on the spot. And when they really do break out of character for the trad- anomaly know to keep it short and keep it instrumental -- as if to assure their listeners that they too consider this an experimental aside. Further reason to assume that will probably connect with fans of other Swedish post- racers like , while its added flair for complex riff-changes takes care of those metal-heads who find the latter a little too straightforward. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia