By the Light of Their Destruction

Ares Kingdom wowed me with their debut back in 2006, and after that I didn't find their subsequent albums as compelling. They seemed to go off and become more experimental, rather than just kicking ass like I wanted. I am glad to see that this one manages to get back to their Death Metal roots while still flashing some more advanced songwriting.

This is definitely punchier and more aggressive than the band has sounded in a while, with a willingness to use heaviness just for the sake of it, and to mix in more melodic parts without easing off on the viciousness. I have to say the production is not stellar, sounding a bit murky, and the drums sound flat and are mixed a bit too high. Overall, I find this an engaging, visceral Death Metal album that does what I want it to.