By the late '90s, the list of Swedish extreme metal bands trying to formulate an identity via one part melodic death and one part something else (usually a closely related genre) was getting out of hand. But outfits like
Darkane just kept on coming. Released in 1999,
Rusted Angel introduced the underground metal community to
Darkane and their melodic death mixed with a liberal dose of thrash. Speed is the key component to this group's onslaught, and they generally use it to fine effect. If the goal was to create a vertiginous feeling inside the heads of unsuspecting listeners, then
Rusted Angel has to be a smashing success for
Darkane. The music is measured and focused to within a nanometer, giving it a punch that should stun even experienced extreme metal aficionados. Vocalist Lawrence Mackroy is rendered inert by his bandmates' instrumental punishment as the whole lot of them roll gleefully over the top. Comparisons are difficult, but fans of
Arch Enemy,
Meshuggah, and
Forbidden's heaviest might find something to like about
Rusted Angel -- a brutal, if not entirely memorable exercise. ~ Vincent Jeffries