If you can look past Gory Blister’s rather silly band name, it is clear that these Italians mean business. It has been three years since their last studio venture, but after one spin of ‘Graveyard Of Angels’, it will be pretty clear why. Technically astounding and extremely well-written, a lot of care has been put into this record, which puts most of your ten-a-penny death metal bands to shame. It’s hard to draw comparisons with other bands as the sound varies so much, but it will be safe to say that this will be a wet dream for fans of Quo Vadis, Death, and Necrophagist.

    Perfectly produced (as technical death metal should always be), this album never stays in one camp for long, changing from one brilliant riff to another. Whether it’s a down-tuned chugging hook such as in the instrumental ‘Emit Despale’, a groove-based riff, or a more pinpointed melodic lead, Raff’s guitar work always surpasses itself, and is helped bounce along by the dynamic skin-smashing of Joe Da Viola. Clode’s vocals are just as interchangeable, between high-pitched squeals, brutal grunts, and later Carcass-style screetches.
 

    It’s a shame that this album only runs at half an hour, but it packs one hell of a punch into that short space of time. Technical death metal at its most bombastic and diverse, ‘Graveyard Of Angels’ was most certainly worth the three year wait.

9