Whoa… how did I go back in time to 1990? Must be because of this here EP "Approaching the Gates" from Dutch death metallers REMAINS! This four-song bite of brutality is a brilliant throwback to the D-tuned glory days of their fellow countrymen PESTILENCE and ASPHYX, and American counterparts such as early DEATH and BROKEN HOPE. And much like BLOODBATH before they started hiring session lead guitarists, the philosophy here is that "brutality comes through simplicity". The classic style has been captured flawlessly, from the harmonic squeals to the unintelligible guttural growling to the perfectly balanced production that's neither too grainy nor too clean. To add a slightly modern spin, blast beats are employed occasionally, but thankfully sparingly - as I've always said, less is more.

The bottom line here is this: the current crop of IN FLAMES clones and other assorted noise makers out there had better take notice, because REMAINS manages to whet the appetite of the most diehard of death metal fans in only four friggin' songs. Just imagine what sort of hell they can unleash on the scene with their full-length debut! We can only hope that we don't have too long of a wait…

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/metalremains

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