Review by Wiley on August 24, 2010.

Full frontal attack, exquisite sandblasting, twisted and rotted vocals, and melody bare malice on the listener. Lashing about so quickly I am instantly transported back to my younger days experiencing Marduk's first assaults. Things are taken adrift into new waters with each track each evoking exactly the storms called for from the primary movements. Yet never neglecting the chaos and cacophony resonant in those ear rending treats such as early Darkthrone, Immortal, Dodheimsgard and even executing a more polished and sadistic Dark Funeral. There is nice balance and hook to each track, nary a moment falling dull, save for maybe one too many straight blasts - even then quickly recovered by a midpaced groove or sullen break.

This is quite the album it presents itself as. There is no denying the raw black power, even from the raw sketched cover art. No new grounds plowed, but sometimes that is not what is neccessary to stir the fire inside that desires this sort of oxygen. For the sheer weight this album possesses, integrity and pride in the black genre fly high. Fans of those days long gone will definitely enjoy the reminiscing voyage in crystal production - each layer very tangible and dry. These are the elements of "throwback" that keep the genre alive, songcraft is key and passion is the hand that rips the lock off with spite. But isnt that what this sound was supposed to exemplify to begin with????

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7.8
Production: 7.8
Originality: 6.9
Overall: 7.5

Rating:7.5 out of 10

Review by JD on April 7, 2011.

With the influx of so many Death Metal bands from all over the world, it is getting harder to pick out those very few bands that really stand out and deliver something new to the waiting masses - with so many out there, that process is damned near impossible. Looking to the Death Metal capital of Sweden for clarity, we see the five member band Human Desolation looming on the horizon. Perhaps they will bring the true meaning of Death.

They are deemed to be Melodic Death Metal, which they seem to be sort of. They seem to be more of a lackluster take-off (or rip-off) of Metalcore sort of like Killswitch Engage (they do a cover of KE’s 'Fixation Of The Darkness'). Neither of these metal styles they use seems to mesh together, nor do they ever find their own style on this five track EP. It sounds good in theory, but with the lack of any shred of originality in their music, it just does not seem that they have grown enough.

Most of the tracks seem to be exactly like one another, even the badly picked Killswitch Engage cover seems to be almost like the others to the point of sounding like their original songs. The saving grace on this CD is the third song on the disk, one that truly does saves this album from total flopping. 'Until I...' is the lone departure of the bands bland and uninspired style. With a greater style and better song structure, it is a improvement they have offered up. Catchy and brutal with a pulse of pure originality coursing through ever pounding riff. This shows the band has promise if they drop the other unfortunately written material. It is good to hear on an album that is really bad on so many levels, that there is a small grain of hope for that band.

Human Desolation has one track that if they learned from the mistakes of the other songs they have wrote (never copying the song over and over) - they are going to be a band to watch. If they do not, I have my reservations about their future.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6 (exception of 'Until I...' that is an 8)
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Originality: 4
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.4 out of 10