Are you a BOLT THROWER fan? Check INFERN out, thank you! Well, I could’ve just ended the review with that single question and answer and it would’ve made absolute sense. INFERN from Brittany, France are an absolute delight with their debut full length “Turn Of The Tide”. I was not expecting this at all! I hadn’t had the opportunity to watch BOLT THROWER live, but I saw MEMORIAM live and INFERN takes me back to that very day. Gosh, this is stellar Death Metal. Traditional guitars married to melodic solos that attack your soul, whilst the vocals add in another dimension to the ongoing attack. The drumming is perfect, the album has been produced brilliantly. I can hear the entire band do their thing with precision. The band members shine as needed and sometimes the sound feels like the soundtrack to a raging bull. I’ve seen FROZEN SOUL a bunch of times, they’re quite popular here in Toronto and frankly, INFERN and FROZEN SOUL need to tour together in the future. Both bands concoct their take on the classic BOLT THROWER and OBITUARY sound. While FROZEN SOUL try and stick as close to the original sound as possible, INFERN take a slightly different path. Their songwriting focuses on aggression entwined in melody, while not compromising on heaviness. This is exactly the album you play as you’re coming home from work and just want to forget the day and immerse yourself in the entire cavernous atmosphere, whilst sticking to a modern approach to skull crushing guitar solos. INFERN needs to be experienced live and I’m optimistic they will not disappoint. Do check out YouTube as the band has released three songs so far in support of the album and they should convince you to simply pre-order this brilliant album with no second thoughts. The vocals delve deep into the underground, whilst the guitars mercilessly meander around the drilling site, as the pummeling rhythm section adds in colour to the entire scene. Dolorem Records has managed to put out a stellar record for the year and I’m forced to add this release to my year end list just due how well this album sounds. I don’t want to mention any specific songs here for the fear of turning this into an essay. Anyway, at just under 40 minutes, INFERN manages to cut off the oxygen at the right moment, without letting the experience decay. Recommended! As an aside, in the music video for their track ‘Tormented Paranoid’, the members are wearing CANDLEMASS, ORIGIN, UNLEASHED, POWER TRIP and SUICIDAL ANGELS shirts, do I need to say more? Check INFERN out for your mandated dose of crushing Death Metal. For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/inferndeathmetal or www.facebook.com/doloremrecords