Orchestrating the Apocalypse

Well, this is the new home for ex-Morbid Angel mainstay Steve Tucker. Tucker has a mixed reputation in the underground, as on one hand he is recognized as being a perfectly good musician, but on the other he was around for too many of Morbid Angel's lousy late-period albums. Still he does not get blamed for those, it's just unfortunate association.

This is, unsurprisingly, a very traditional kind of Death Metal album, highly reminiscent of Covenant-era Morbid Angel. It's got that definite Florida sound, with a lot of speed and atonal riffs that gallop all over one another. Tucker's vocals are solid – a nice, manful bellow that retains a degree of intelligibility above most Death Metal bands – and his performance overall solid. The playing here is sharp and tight if not spectacular, though there are some very good leads to be heard here and there.

There is nothing here that Death Metal fans have not already heard, but it is an enjoyable album in the style for fans. Definitely worth a look.