I would like to believe that when a band enters the studio they do so intent on improving their sound and capturing an aural essence that would floor the listener. The truth, however, is that most bands are seemingly content to merely jam away and to record the end result for posterity, regardless of the quality (or lack thereof). There’s no other way to explain how a stillborn effort like this managed to make it to the market. Blame me for being a negative bastard spouting hyperbole but “Newcomers Of Sin” is one of the most insipid and lethargic efforts I’ve come across since I started writing for this site. It has no reason to exist.

A common complaint leveled at this type of Swedish Metal is that it is “half-Thrash” but that can’t even be said of this album because there is NO speed or even the faintest whiff of aggression to be found anywhere. This tripe can make CARNAL FORGE sound like classic Thrash. Look, I’m not totally averse to melo-Thrash, and I will give it a chance, but this band isn’t helping matter sat all. HYPNOSIA’s “Extreme Hatred” and the first HAUNTED album are classics of the subgenre if you ask me, and totally worthy of your support. Just a pity they were both released in the previous millennium… Nope, this kind of thing generally doesn’t age well. With the exception of the first half of “Provoking The Prophet,” the relatively upbeat “Cardiac” (interesting drum work here), this album is a turgid mess of plodding B-grade riffs and totally emotionless vocals that carry no sense of conviction whatsoever. It’s a small miracle that these guys managed to stay awake in the studio long enough to plop this shit sandwich out. Where’s the energy? God, this unit is a crippled horse begging to be put out of its misery. With a sledgehammer.

I’ve listened to “Newcomers Of Sin” multiple times, often taking notes along the way, and the adjective that most consistently sprung up was “boring”. Hence the '3' rating. If you can find anything of worth in these eleven tracks then you simply don’t have very high standards I’m afraid. Toilet Metal like this kills our music and I fart in this band’s general direction. Fuck off!

(Online March 20, 2008)