Flame - March Into Firelands

Flame
March Into Firelands
2011 Hells Headbangers / Primitive Reaction
Been a while since we heard from Flame. But they're finally back, with a slightly different lineup, and an album boasting of superior production when compared to the debut. Judging by the opening track, I'd have to say that Flame have come the closest to matching the unbridled insanity of the first two Nifelheim albums. They do keep things held together though, so there's no feeling like the whole thing is going to descend into utter chaos at any given moment. Or at least they usually don't have that feeling. The second minute of "Doomed..." stops just short of proving me wrong. With bands like Flame, Urn or Hell Spirit, Finland has really managed to corner the market on the thrashing black death market. Yeah, there's other bands out there from other countries that have been doing it longer, but they're all scattered about the globe. Finland, on the other hand, has a very concentrated assault force, and they seem to be doing the style better. I really have nothing bad to say about this album except that I wish they'd kept the old logo. Ah well, can't win 'em all.