I’ve seen the animated show that features this “band,” but beyond that had not really heard them before. I have to say that extreme metal vocals are not my thing, but they work pretty well here. There is a great variety of differing heavy metal styles on this disc. It’s a potent set, although it does suffer a bit from too much similarity later in its running time. Still it’s a strong set, cartoon band or not.

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The introduction here is quite lush and powerful. It gives way to killer technical metal with extreme metal vocals that work well. This thing goes through some changes, but is frantic, technical and very crunchy. It’s an aggressive cut that never loses sight of its complex nature.

This is even more intense. It’s incredibly aggressive, fast and heavy. This is like thrash taken to its most extreme possible outcome. Still, though, there’s a melodic jam mid-track that’s almost progressive rock.

While there is no missing the fact that this is heavy metal, it’s more melodic and proggy than anything to this point. In fact, I think I’d call it progressive metal. If the rest of the album were like this, I’d actually land it in the realm of progressive rock. That said, whatever you want to call this, it’s an incredibly strong and epic styled piece with a lot of changes and alterations. This might be my favorite cut on the disc.

There is clearly no way to miss the metal of this cut. It’s aggressive and raw and yet also technical. A crazed, nearly progressive rock instrumental section is included in the middle of this thing. It’s an extreme tune that’s also quite complex and intriguing. There’s no mistaking the talent involved here.

This might be the most intensely raw and aggressive piece here. Considering the competition that says a lot. It’s also one of the most interesting in terms of complex song structure. This thing is like adding a big dosage of steroids to the sound we’ve heard to this point. It’s sort of ultimate Dethklok.

Frantic, angular and very technical. This is another killer slab of Dethmusic. The melodic guitar solo section is both technical and particularly tasty.

While this is another great slab of the classic Dethklok sound, the mind-numbing assault is starting to blend together a bit. That said, there is some cool melodic work on this that elevates it beyond some of the rest. It also keeps it from fading into a mass of sameness.

Overall, this isn’t that much different from the song that preceded it (and a number of other ones). Yet, it manages to stand by itself and avoid seeming like one long piece of music. This is frantic, a little off-kilter and very crazy. But, there’s still melody along with lots of intricate and complex lines of music in the piece.

I really like some of the guitar work on this better than just about any other point of the CD. This thing is otherwise more of the same. But, that doesn’t mean it feels repetitive or stale. They manage to create enough variation here that it keeps a cut that’s in general pretty much like the bulk of the stuff here from feeling anything less than distinct. Some of the melodic guitar work near the end is particularly noteworthy, too.

I love the thrashy rhythm section on this. That and some exceptionally tasty melodic sound manages to elevate this one beyond that rather monolithic wall of much of the rest of the disc. It’s a great to end the set in style.