Coldworker

Album number two for this Swedish death/grind machine (founded by former Nasum drummer Anders Jakobson) sees them maturing into a fully developed melodic death metal behemoth. It’s still sort of strange getting used to hearing Jakobson play such relatively tame material — "Citizens of the Cyclopean Maze” is squarely slaughtering the soul but tracks like "Symptoms of Sickness” and "Paradox Lost” deliver some blast beats and old-school Carcass worship. Jakobson plays it all well; the man’s fills are tireless and his ability to play it straight is equally impressive. The rest of the band prove they’re already right up there with the Niles and Morbid Angels of the death metal world. The production by Dan Swano brings out the evidence in all its sonic glory — Rotting Paradise is a success. It’s not easy to step out of the shadows of one of the world’s best grindcore bands by doing something different but with two solid death metal albums under their belt, Coldworker are doing just that.