Review by JD on May 14, 2012.

With a name like Charlie Shred for a band, I was expecting a few things. Wild guitars, over the top riffs and Dragonforce styled rip-off shred-o-rama. Let me tell you, how fucking wrong it was to assume this shit. This album surprised me, and then got my collective juices flowing. This is shredding 101... but musically.

After many name changes for the band, not to mention some frustrating line-up juggling and possibly more than a few prayers added in for good measure, Sweden’s Charlie Shred was born to burn up the six strings and the metal world give a collective smile. Reminding me sort of if Helloween and Theocracy mixing with some American Power Metal... you get what this band is all about.

I was in awe the instant I heard 'Panic', a song that was polished, yet retained a little roughness that made the track that much more bold. Other tracks that are as good are the mid tempo almost a heavy ballad like 'Welcome To Hell' (not the Venom classic) and the straight forward, intense and sweeping instrumental 'The Ancestors Guide'. Even the controlled riffing opus to video games 'Game Over' soars and takes flight showing maturity and yet youthful chaos. Perfect showcase for these amazing Swedes and their melodic take on shred.

Over production seems to be one of the few problems with the album as a whole, because it seems to let the power of the music get seriously handcuffed in favour of the overly controlled and almost stifling processed sound that ends up choking the feel of the music. Setting that glitch aside, Charlie Shred is musically so impressive, yet each track is memorable and enjoyable. I found myself replaying the album over and over again.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

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

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by JD on May 14, 2012.

With a name like Charlie Shred for a band, I was expecting a few things. Wild guitars, over the top riffs and Dragonforce styled rip-off shred-o-rama. Let me tell you, how fucking wrong it was to assume this shit. This album surprised me, and then got my collective juices flowing. This is shredding 101... but musically.

After many name changes for the band, not to mention some frustrating line-up juggling and possibly more than a few prayers added in for good measure, Sweden’s Charlie Shred was born to burn up the six strings and the metal world give a collective smile. Reminding me sort of if Helloween and Theocracy mixing with some American Power Metal... you get what this band is all about.

I was in awe the instant I heard 'Panic', a song that was polished, yet retained a little roughness that made the track that much more bold. Other tracks that are as good are the mid tempo almost a heavy ballad like 'Welcome To Hell' (not the Venom classic) and the straight forward, intense and sweeping instrumental 'The Ancestors Guide'. Even the controlled riffing opus to video games 'Game Over' soars and takes flight showing maturity and yet youthful chaos. Perfect showcase for these amazing Swedes and their melodic take on shred.

Over production seems to be one of the few problems with the album as a whole, because it seems to let the power of the music get seriously handcuffed in favour of the overly controlled and almost stifling processed sound that ends up choking the feel of the music. Setting that glitch aside, Charlie Shred is musically so impressive, yet each track is memorable and enjoyable. I found myself replaying the album over and over again.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

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

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Adam M on March 31, 2011.

Vicious Death Metal that has a strong Grind influence is performed by Disentomb. The songs have the chunky riffs and low register vocals that you’d expect from a band from this genre. They follow a similar trajectory to Suffocation, but have an even greater focus on the Grind aspect of their music. Every song here has a deep, low sound that vibrates throughout.

There’s an attempt to mix up the blast beats to maintain the interest of the listener. However, one can’t escape the feeling that the music sounds sort of generic at times, though not nearly as much as a band like Six Feet Under, for example. The drumming maintains a tight backbone for the band even though the remainder of the instruments sound a bit buried in the mix. An example of this is during the track 'Abhorrent Expansion' where the rhythm section is particularly solid. The band tries to bring a furious approach to the fore, but a reasonably short album length doesn’t quite allow the songs to fully shine through. The music is enjoyable enough, but far from compelling. Those looking for a rough, pulverizing approach to Death Metal riffs will find appeal on this album, but those looking for an ingenious approach to Technical Death Metal may find "Sunken Chambers Of Nephilim" somewhat lacking overall.

Disentomb proves to be adequate, but far from anything special. The musicianship is one of the high points of the album and the production, while decent, is a low point. There’s definitely an audience of Death Metal fans that will find the work here appealing, however. As long as your expectations aren’t overly high, there could be something for even the most average of metal fans as well.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 5.5
Originality: 6
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 6.5 out of 10