Pointing fingers is never polite, but someone – or something – deserves the credit for starting the new wave of Swedish Death Metal. I place the thanks squarely on Daniel Ekeroth for bringing Sweden’s dark past to our attention again. He and REPUGNANT and KAAMOS, it appears, championed Swedish Death Metal like no others. Since then, however, the town of Uppsalla has seemingly taken off on its own. Spearheaded by the Blood Harvest roster, home to bands like KATALYSATOR, EVISCERATED, DEGIAL and TRIBULATION, the last few years witnessed a tiny, but powerful, explosion of new talent. VETERNUS is one such newcomer. Their demo is very limited, so grab it while you can. The strength of this band is overpowering; a palpable darkness shrouds each song. They could have gotten away with adding one or two more songs, but the three that made it on the demo are so good that to add anymore might do more harm than good. Too many times do bands add filler material that brings their otherwise strong records down. Buy this if you can. If not, wait for more, because VETERNUS can’t quit now. More info: www.myspace.com/veternusuppsala