I know quite a few well-respected veteran metalheads who claim that DISBELIEF long ago passed the peak of their creativity, the highest point of their development, which supposedly fell on the (objectively indeed very successful) albums "Worst Enemy" and "Shine." One must admit that "Spreading The Rage," which followed, was indeed somewhat debatable, but "66Sick" and especially the album under review are in no way inferior to (and perhaps even better than) the aforementioned "golden" records. On this new work, the Germans demonstrate a noticeable shift toward a heavier and slightly faster-paced sound, which undoubtedly not only reveals a new musical facet of the band to the listener but also pushes the group itself to new frontiers of sonic heaviness. Karsten's vocals feature slightly fewer weeping-mourning notes, slightly less core-ish tendencies, and far more juicy death metal fury (the growling sounds particularly powerful). The guitars, which have always been sufficiently heavy, on "Navigator" demonstrate the full extent of their harsh richness, which, combined with the already mentioned increase in tempo, makes the album a mandatory purchase for any lover of all things heavy.
