Sweden's Degradead clearly have some good contacts in the world of melodic death metal; they got their break after being heard by In Flames's Jesper Strömblad, whilst this third full length was recorded at the studio of legendary Hypocrisy founder Peter Tägtgren's studio. However, if you think this means the band are a class above the ordinary, you would be mistaken, as this is a painfully bland and generic genre effort.
Possibly aiming to compete with the likes of In Flames and Soilwork yet residing in the lower division alongside Caliban and Suicide Silence, this is in truth closer to the dreaded 'metalcore' genre than standard Swedish MDM. It's the usual formula – kick in with some beefy but empty riffs and half-hearted roaring before we get some emoting from the singer on the chorus, occasionally in tandem with some cheesy keyboard work; add in an underworked guitar solo, times by ten and top off with a modern but sterile production job and, hey presto, you have this album. Yes, it's competently performed and certainly not unlistenable, but it's almost completely devoid of energy, emotion or original ideas.
There's the odd occasion when the band rise from their slumbers, discard the emo elements and come up with something with a bit more life to it, such as the pummelling "The Final Judgement", but these moments are few and far between. Ultimately, this is only worth owning if you're a real hardcore genre fan who has to snap up every new release going; for everyone else, there's far better stuff out there.
Track Listing
1. A Taste of Destiny
2. Human Nature
3. A False Hope
4. The Final Judgement
5. Broken
6. Part of the System
7. No One Prevail
8. Cold Blood
9. Near the End
10. Kept in the Dark
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