Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

A.W.A.S., we are informed, stands for Ardent War Against Satan and this German band play, in their own words, "straight forward death metal with straight forward lyrics." That about sums it up. Musically sharing the same territory as gone-but-not-forgotten bands such as Vengeance Rising and Sacrament, this is powerful, if not particularly original stuff. As with the aforementioned bands, their lyrics pull no punches which is to be respected in the arena they are in, and considering this A.W.A.S. have done pretty well getting signed to mainstream label Open Grave Records along with fellow believers Feast Eternal who I reviewed not long ago. If you like hard'n'heavy dense music (and I mean heavy) then this will be for you. One criticism is that there is nothing much to distinguish one song from another and in truth the band don't seem to bring anything fresh to death metal.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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