Tank Gasmask Ammo

When a band is named Those Who Bring the Torture and their album has a title like Tank Gasmask Ammo, it is easy to assume that their music is metal-related in some fashion — and sure enough, this Swedish combo offers death metal with a strong thrash metal influence. Thrashiness, in fact, is a high priority on mosh pit-friendly scorchers like "You Should Be Brutally Slaughtered," "Mutant Slut," "Radiation Blessed," and "Riders on the Mushroomcloud," all of which are played at breakneck speed and favor the type of stereotypical "Cookie Monster" vocals that death metal has long been known for. Sometimes, Those Who Bring the Torture slow things down to a medium tempo; "All Hail the Goat (Lord of Great Mutation)" and "Upon the Bonethrone," for example, are among the tracks that aren't played at a lightning-fast tempo. "Upon the Bonethrone" even has a Black Sabbath-ish riff and incorporates a slight doom metal/stoner rock/sludge influence. But on the whole, Tank Gasmask Ammo is textbook death metal — and more often than not, thrashiness prevails on this 2008 release. Tank Gasmask Ammo doesn't pretend to be the least bit groundbreaking; anyone who has been listening to death metal for a long time has heard it all before. But the performances are focused and inspired — and in their own vicious, head-crushing way, Those Who Bring the Torture make sure their grooves are catchy and infectious. Die-hard death metal enthusiasts will find that this decent, if derivative, effort is worth checking out.