Review by Tomek on February 12, 2018.

Carcass.

This was the first thing that popped in my head when the album started, so, naturally, I kept listening. My initial feeling quickly dispersed, and when the whole album ended I found Arch Enemy, In Flames and maybe some Disarmonia Mundi and Soilwork in there, too. Using set schemes and concepts, even putting your twist on it and releasing something that you can call your own is not the newest formula out there; taking what you consider the best bits out of your favorite bands, yet still moving against the coming current with the right proportions for your own concoction and creating something fresh and original – that is a feat that is different entirely. I think these guys come out victoriously from this challenge.

II – Interitus is a name that kind of points you in the direction of this being a second album by Nero Doctrine, but nothing is farther from the truth. These Germans created a new band (raised from the ashes of Dystopia, their previous project) and decided to play music that is diametrically opposed to the previous initiative. What we have here is their first release. Lots of influences are thrown together into this mixing pot, but there are also plenty of ingredients that they brought on their own. There is a big part of Swedish melodic death metal present here, but there is also a lot of thrash bits (the aggressive kind), some progressive leanings, and bunch of other stuff that Nero Doctrine figured to combine and do it in such a way that I am already looking forward to the next release.

What I like the most about this album is the diversity. Song after song, Nero Doctrine is relentlessly attacking the listener with amazingly constructed riffing of constantly busy guitars gushing a plethora of melodic lines. Every song has a few or more memorable melodies or hooks that are simply phenomenal and very 'sticky.' Those riffs and motifs stay in your head, and whenever you play the album you know exactly which song you are listening to. Drums are supported by the evident rumble of the bass, dominating with their energy and bursting with liveliness. There is also a ton of crunchy breakdowns and a lot of slow and heavy sections bringing even more variety and adding to the tempo changes. All this melody and catchiness is served without losing a bit of heaviness or any of the dynamic. After listening to this album numerous times, I am truly ecstatic about it.

Not everything is top notch and all taken care of on this album of course, but considering how much those guys got right on the first release I am not even going to start any complaints. The First album has the right to be a little 'off' in some places and to have some musical holes that needed to be filled, but all that is to be taken care of next time. At this point I can only recommend listening to this album and simply enjoying it.

Nero Doctrine came up with an excellent release, and if ‘III’ is going to be better than ‘II’ is, then it probably will be ‘I’ on the podium.

Rating: 8 out of 10