Having formed in 2003, RUSTED CHAINS is a relatively new band from Germany. A country known for its strong Metal history having produced bands like KREATOR, DESTRUCTION and SODOM with said bands becoming legends / massive influences to countless bands not just within their own homeland but all around the globe. These bands are a true testament to the glory of Germanic Metal. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for RUSTED CHAINS. In fact, they’re a band to be forgotten and discarded into the sea of the ever-growing and ever-stagnating Metalcore scene. Don’t let their Death / Thrash label fool you for it is nothing more than a musical euphemism given to bands of the bastard offspring of the crossover genre known as Metalcore who fear becoming the bane of real Metalheads everywhere upon the very mention of the genre’s name. If not evident through the band’s instrumentation (which, even to the most amateur of Metal fans who cannot even distinguish Power Metal from Deathgrind, is), the vocals are definitely a dead giveaway (yes, Mr. Gerlach, you’ve revealed your band’s horrible secret with your shitty vocal style that you try effortlessly to pass off as extreme! The angry hordes amass at your doorstep but you can still make it out the backdoor and catch the next train to Belgium! Go, now! Before they finish hacking away at the front door and spill through like a zombie plague ready to slaughter the weak that reside within!). Sure, the influence of Death / Thrash Metal is there but the music is predominately Metalcore… really bad Metalcore for that matter. The album occasionally employs some of the generic Metalcore clichés such as pseudo-AT THE GATES harmonies and melodies (what would this derivative genre be without every band ripping off "Slaughter Of The Soul" to some extent?) which makes listening to this album anything but pleasurable ad nauseum. There really is nothing good or spectacular about this album. It’s just another run-of-the-mill Metalcore album with songs that blend into each other which makes it hard to distinguish one track from another. Considering Metalcore bands with an "extreme" influence are a dime a dozen these days (not to mention ones that execute this style far better (DESPISED ICON immediately comes to mind), this band’s very existence couldn’t be anymore redundant. Sorry, boys…you’ve failed to impress me and make a significant (using this word may imply the band has some relevance in music and for that, I apologize) mark on the Metal world. Don’t fret, boys. I’m sure your legions (another euphemism for your worldwide fanbase consisting of only 10 people) of mop-top, hoodie and tight jeans-wearing transvestites who appear to be fighting invisible ninjas in moshpits and frequent MySpace to engage each other in discussions of what new bands of passive-aggressive music (ie. RUSTED CHAINS) are to be (or not to be (ie. RUSTED CHAINS)) listened to will provide you with some solace and bring a bittersweet smile to your faces as you realize these people are your only means of walking around with an undeserved sense of accomplishment until the day that the inevitable rebound effects of your hubris entangles and drags you down into the abyss never to be heard from again just as the mighty Cthulhu had done with Gustaf Johansen and his crew in Lovecraft’s epic tale "The Madness from the Sea". One of you may live to retell the story, but the scars and horror of failure and losing it all is too great to recall anything. Maybe then you will have learned to never again toy around with the powers that be. So in conclusion, would I recommend this album? If the answer wasn’t painstakingly clear to you by now, then this is definitely the album for you. To those who got the jist of my feelings for this album (I assume it’s all of you, if not, humanity is doomed), be wise and go listen to some Metal that made German Metal great like KREATOR’s "Pleasure To Kill" and makes stuff like RUSTED CHAINS appear to be nothing more than a soon-to-be popped zit. Here are a couple links to the band and their "music": www.chainnation.de, www.myspace.com/chainnation, www.7hard.com