About three years after the predecessor "One To Conquer", Finlands Death Metal horde DECAYING return with their already fourth full-length album "To Cross The Line", this time via F.D.A. Records. The opener ‘To Cross The Line’ is an uptempo track with some Thrash influences but also with all already known trademarks of DECAYING. Pure, devastating Death Metal in the vein of BOLT THROWER, ASPHYX and HAIL OF BULLETS. Especially the vocals of Matias are really crushing in this track before they slow down the pace a bit and the ASPHYX influences show up. ‘From Shield To Storm’ continues with more classic Death Metal again in the vein of the three mentioned bands. Some of the screams are a bit awry here and there and remind me of young Chuck Shuldiner before returning to the known van Drunen styled ones. What makes a good overall impression is the continuously growing songwriting and the matured song structures, which both improved from album to album. Also their overall speed seems to have been increased and the band definitely has grown once again. Especially the really fine lead melodies und solos are definitely worth to be mentioned. Tracks like ‘The End Justifies The Means’ or ‘Decadence’ are really crushing and groovy as hell and very melodic, so it is time that the band gets more attention in the scene and I guess F.D.A. will do their best to promote the band, as they really work hard for their bands. The drum work again is fine, too and the well-fitting cover artwork by Italian artist Roberto Toderico rounds off this fine starter into the new Death Metal year 2018. A small weakness is the production, which could be a bit more powerful in my humble opinion but this doesn’t change the quality of the stuff at all. So if you are looking for a good and solid album to start into the new year, here it is. More info via: www.facebook.com/decayingofficial, www.fda-records.com