Third Degree

Poland’s Selfmadegod Records is slowly establishing itself as an indie to go to for solid extreme metal. The Antigama CD they put out recently completely rules and this album from Poland’s Third Degree is nothing to laugh at. With 13 songs in 35 minutes, things clip by at a fairly fast rate, with the band grinding and grooving away to a sound that reminds me of Napalm Death in a way no other band really seems to. There aren’t that many direct Napalm clones out there, oddly, so it’s a sound that has yet to go stale. But hold on, Third Degree aren’t strictly Napalm clones, as there are over-riding factors at play here, such as longer atmospheric and dark melodic parts, near-industrial dirges and hilarious lyrics (favourite being, "Let’s hail Satan for promotion of black metal!” in the album’s opening cut, "Let’s Hail Satan”). The playing, while good, isn’t groundbreaking and as enjoyable as this disc is, as the end draws near it’s hard to not get a little tired. Perhaps an EP would pack a bigger punch.