At the end of the year CONCRETE ICON from Finland are presenting the successor to their debut “Perennial Anguish”, which was released in 2013. Having in mind the band was founded back in 2007 and the first demo was spawned one year later it seems the band is not the fastest working outfit. But in all fairness it has to be said they released an EP or demo at least every two / three years. Which all got re-released as a compilation called “Through Agonizing Past”, to me it seems like the band is stewing in its own juice. But hopefully things will change with “Rancid Harmony”, because it is a truly well-crafted Death Metal album. As main influence the works of IMMOLATION and MONSTROSITY can be named. Which means the music develops more slow, but by piling up riff after riff a massive wall of sound is created, the deep grunting vocals are evoking an unholy atmosphere. Regarding the songwriting the eight tracks develop dynamic, avoiding repeating patterns. Melodies are sparely used and therefore more effective, like the icing on the cake. At some slower moments, with double bass and vocals being the prominent parts, the similarity to MORBID ANGEL is most evident. The last composition ‘To Kill A Swan’, with its clean chanting vocals, is pure bow to a song like ‘God Of Emptiness’ without being a clumsy counterfeit. Nothing more to say from my side, now it is upon you take a listen. More information can be found here: www.facebook.com/concreteicon, klabautermannrecords@googlemail.com