LIGHT THIS CITY's debut album is a tried, tested and true formula of the Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal scene with a hint of American influence that should catch on to listeners new to the genre. The band, who wrote the album while still in high school, focus on melodies and harmonies very typical of those within the aforementioned scene, so much that none of it will come as anything new to regular listeners of the genre, or perhaps of even many Metalcore bands.

LIGHT THIS CITY are rather unique in that their band is fronted by a female vocalist. This is not a gimmick, as she is just as good for the job as any male vocalist. There's no clean vocals, all rough stuff, and its a bit higher pitched than most male vocalists, but just as harsh.

One of the great things that gives this album its energy is the changing up of rhythms, done particularly well by the drummer. The variety is great through out the songs, it is not just a repeat of the same rhythmic patterns in the riffs, and it gives each song a pretty distinct feel despite there being no huge hooks or obvious catchy parts, like in a lot of today's Metalcore, or even earlier IN FLAMES. For this reason, this album is pretty listenable and can be enjoyed by long time fans of the genre, though it doesn't offer a whole lot new. I'd recommend this album to someone who is new to the Melodic Death Metal genre though, as these songs are very melodic, again, without an obvious chorus hook, and serve as a great example to the sound typical of the genre.

(Online August 6, 2009)