Second album of DETONATION, “Portals To Uphobia” marks an impressive evolution in the band’s sound. Incorporating a strong amount of melodies into their Death/Thrash Metal, with some nasty Black Metal parts, this may be one of the best Gothenburg influenced Death Metal album released this year. This tells a lot about the talent of the band, as DARK TRANQUILLITY (Niklas Sundin even made their CD artwork), which heavily influenced these guys obviously, has also released an incredible album this year.

CHILDREN OF BODOM, NORTHER, SKYFIRE and SUIDAKRA could also be named as heavy influences for DETONATION. Still, with the amount of talent and energy these guys have, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were emerging of the lot real soon. For sure there is already enough amazing band that display this kind of talent in this overcrowded style, still, the level of execution (especially on drums and guitars) is remarkable. To achieve such a level of strong song writing is astonishing for a band that as only to full length album released as of yet.

Highly recommended for fans of the style that may think it has already become stagnant. (Online January 18, 2006)