CoC : My Darkest Hate - Combat Area : Review

My Darkest Hate - _Combat Area_
(Massacre Records, 2006)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)

When I saw that My Darkest Name (or whoever wrote their promo sheet) had jutted down Six Feet Under as their first band on the usual list of influential acts, I expected only the worse. Fortunately however, _Combat Area_ is reasonably far from such pedestrian fare as SFU -- their website does mention Bolt Thrower and Vader first. It is clearly old-school death metal though, no question about that. With a rusty guitar sound and a mixture of deep death vox and screams, powered by a potent production job, My Darkest Hate pummel their way through the album with little or no subtlety but plenty of conviction. The riffs and breaks are really nothing new, but innovation is not the point here: the fact remains that My Darkest Hate are actually quite good at what they do, and it's only too bad there aren't some more standout tracks. Still, _Combat Area_ is the kind of unassuming album you can throw on at any time for a quick spin and some guaranteed fast-paced, pummeling death metal enjoyment.

Contact: http://www.mydarkesthate.de

(article published 27/2/2006)