Rune

What a treat for grind/death fans to find new releases from both Rune and Kalibas hitting the shelves right now. On The End of Nothing, Rune continue their explorations into experimental extreme metal, combining a death metal bottom end with grind technicality and, most importantly, an increased sense of atmosphere and emotion. Not too many bands within death metal open themselves to the wild world of emotions, so it's welcome to see bands like Rune adding in an almost Neurosis-like sense of epic, a feeling of intensity throughout and closure once this album comes to a finale. For the most part, this Ohio band keeps things at a mid-tempo pace here, relying on feeling rather than shredding to get the point across. Slight interludes into the realm of acoustic and electronic add for some nice variety and moments of respite, which is sometimes better than getting beat over the head for 40 minutes straight. The crisp production makes this one inviting and welcoming, and the great artwork and layout don't hurt either.