Until We Are Outnumbered

A thrash/death metal band from Denmark, the Kandidate keep things as straightforward (not to say generic) as their name on Until We Are Outnumbered. The first song is called "Strength Through Diversity," but that's clearly not a motto the Kandidate have taken to heart where songwriting is concerned; their music follows a pattern laid down decades ago in neighboring Sweden. Downtuned guitar riffs; harsh, raw-throated vocals; a deep, rumbling bass sound; and drumming that's indebted to Motörhead and Discharge in equal measure — this is the classic death metal formula of Entombed and Dismember, with just a little more punk-rock desperation to vocalist Jacob Bredahl's cries. There are some interesting sonic touches here and there, like the screeches of feedback in the background on "Shut 'Em Up," but for the most part this is old-school death metal in the Scandinavian tradition, and fans of the genre will be pleased, but there's not much here to draw in neophytes or the idly curious.