J-Man Undead Creep may technically be from Italy, but make no mistakes - the music on this debut is raw, old school Swedish death metal in its purest form. Early albums from bands like Entombed, Grave, Edge of Sanity, and Dismember are the most obvious influences here, and Undead Creep clearly take a liking to the chunky riffs and twisted melodic sensibilities that characterized the early nineties' Swedish death metal scene. The Ever-Burning Torch is best described as a 'clone' album; the sound exemplified here is far from groundbreaking and a few riffs sound eerily familiar, but I still find myself enjoying what this band has to offer quite a bit. People who just can't get enough of that old school Swedish death metal sound will probably want to check out what this promising young act has to offer.

In addition to receiving ten new tracks on The Ever-Burning Torch, this release also includes Undead Creep's self-titled demo from 2009 in its entirety. The demo has a much rawer production and is much less developed than the album, but it's a nice bonus nonetheless. The production on the album (not the demo portion) is excellent, to say the least, and I absolutely love how it has that filthy old school death metal sound while still sounding clean and powerful. Undead Creep is also a pretty tight-playing unit, and there are plenty of times throughout The Ever-Burning Torch where I'm left impressed by their craft as musicians.

The Ever-Burning Torch is far from an essential purchase, but it's a recommended listen for anybody in search of some quality Swedish death metal worship. Although Undead Creep will need a slightly more original approach before I'm too impressed, the music here is strong enough to justify a solid 3 star rating. I've had a pretty great time listening to The Ever-Burning Torch lately, and even though my mind is left relatively unchallenged, this is one damn good debut. Undead Creep has a very bright future ahead of themselves if they can make a bit more of an effort to stand out from the crowd.