Axis Powers

The intro track to this Swedish band's second full-length is subtitled "From San Francisco to Stockholm." That alone should be enough to reveal their fusion of metal styles. The reality is that Axis Powers lean more towards the older European death metal sounds of the late '90s than the Bay Area thrash movement. With fast-paced, war-themed death metal, it's no surprise they draw early comparisons to bands such as Bolt Thrower or even Venom. When the additional vocals kick in fans of Marduk may even become interested in the more sinister-sounding speech. At its core it's a very solid and very Euro-entrenched death metal album. It's only their second full-length, so be sure to keep an ear out for their future battles.