DAMNATION DEFACED from Germany is another outfit that is active in the underground now since one decade. After two full-length albums and an EP, they will release their third album now via Apostasy Records and again, Apostasy had a good sense for talented underground outfits. I like melodic Death Metal a lot but really dislike 95% of the monotonous Metalcore releases as this style kills itself with tons of bands sounding far too similar, same we had with old school Death Metal back in the 90s. The first tunes of “Invader From Beyond” sounded to me like another Melodic / Metalcore outfit, even though their vocal style is grunts. Also the used crazy sounding keyboards made me a bit skeptical but somehow the band caught me anyway and the album ended up spinning in my car for a week in a row and gave me the chance, to discover the quality of the band and their material. Their melodic Death Metal is quite modern but they manage to create an own sound out of their influences, which are surely melodic Death Metal but also enriched by a good doze of groovy old school Death Metal, just mixed together in a modern soundscape. Occasionally some Core elements found their way into their sound but all this mixed together is just modern melodic Death Metal which lives from their good songwriting and fine sense for melodies. Especially the lead guitars and the incorporated solos and melodies really make this output worth checking out. Songs like ‘The Key To Your Voice’ and my favorite track ‘The Creator’s Fall’ are really small hits already and together with their cooperation with Apostasy, who really work hard for their artists, the band will surely make some steps forward. Fans of bands like SCAR SYMMETRY but also THE DUSKFALL should really give these guys a chance and check out the well-produced “Invader From Beyond”. More info can be found here: www.facebook.com/damnationdefaced, www.apostasyrecords.com