Review by JD on August 18, 2010.

Canada is getting known for it’s heavier metal with every passing day. Take it from this Canadian Rocker who has seen the rise of his country’s metal scene. They are coming into it’s own and showing the world, learning from others and then fashioning it into their own warped yet infection brand of Metal. They are taking over piece by piece. With that been said, please take note of Edmonton Alberta Canada’s Death Metal Masters - Death Toll Rising.

All through the forty three minutes of the album, it is clear what Death Toll Rising are doing. I hear shading of the likes of Death and Obituary mixing with a this injection of Thrash inspired melodies and bad to the core, gut-wrenching growling vocals and ground shaking drumming. The clear thread through it all is awe inspiring power that is hard to ignore for very long.

Songs like the commanding 'Blood Stained Ceilings' and the monumental paroxysm of 'The Bludgeoning' are prime examples of the band sheer potency they already have. The are working to be original, but for a young band like this... that is expected. It is not a bad thing to sound like the ones that are your contemporaries, but it is good that it is very clear that they are striving to make their own way under their own terms.

Death Toll Rising is a band on the verge of having the world seeing them. A little work on their music will poise them for metal supremacy. As they are right now, they are missing the pinnacle they are seeking by a hairbreadth from their goals. If their next album has that certain level of maturity and growth that I hear is needed (I feel that they will have without a doubt), they will finally have become a band that will have no boundaries that could hold them down.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality:7.5
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.1 out of 10