2008 proved to be a strong year for battle metal, releases from the likes of IRONSWORD and ARGHOSLENT ruthlessly dominating playlists around this site and others. Judging from this latest entry by Diety Down's Dutchie draftees ESCUTCHEON, the battlegrounds should continue to rage throughout 2009 as well.

Stylistically speaking, ESCUTCHEON's dust-up seems to draw from 90s Swedish death and black metal heavies, particularly DISSECTION in terms of the swooning, harmonized guitars, fits of rapid-fire drumming, and the evil crows of vocalist Herman Hofman. But the band's distinctiveness quickly reveals itself as drums fall away into brazen riff structures that provide plenty of adrenaline surges throughout the recording. The rugged, metallic chugging in the title track and "Shadow Zone" alone are worth the price of admission. The only possible chink in the armor lies in the production, which at times sounds flooded with too many tracks (the drums particularly sport an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink sort of domination that could make use of more lights and darks in the mix). Even so, it's hard to resist getting sucked into the world of futuristic battle robots, corpse-littered battlefields and other dark fantasy themes courtesy of this Dutch death machine. Here's hoping these boys keep the flags flying and the guitars barking for years to come!

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.escutcheon.nl

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