Kev Rowland As soon as I started playing the latest release from Centinex I was impressed, so much so that I felt it was almost as if it were a brand-new band. It was only later I was reading the press release and discovered it actually was! Although this is the third album since the reformation with a new line-up, only bassist Martin Schulman is here from the group which recorded the last two albums. There has been a complete shift and he has now been joined by guitarist Jörgen Kristensen (Dead Awaken, ex-Abhoth, ex-Suffer), vocalist Henrik Andersson (Macabre Decay, ex-Incarnated, Dogpound) and drummer Florian Rehn (Moth, ex-Skulldrain). With a new line-up, an additional set of ears to assist on production (Johan Hjelm), and a very strong musician to take care of the mixing and mastering (Ronnie Bjornstrom) here we have a band reborn.

While still very much playing at the lower end of the register, this is classic Swedish death metal which is both bright and exciting. Whereas when they slowed it down in the last album it felt dreary, here it is just providing a small interlude for the band to return. It is polished without ever being overly commercial, and while the rough edges have been sanded away this is still a slab of brutality. I was playing the two albums back to back and when the last one finished and this one started I immediately started paying more attention – I didn’t need to check what was playing as the difference between this album and the last one is simply immense.

Martin Schulman has been at the helm of the band for their entire existence, and here he has created something which shows the line-up of today is as relevant as any in the last 30 years. Many Swedish death metal bands have become more melodic over the years, and while this is quite different from American death metal, this is staying true to its Swedish roots and combines slower riffs and groove metal something is very palatable indeed.