I own the 2009 debut album, Stand Up Straight, from these self-proclaimed death ‘n’ roll Swedes, but I can’t say it’s been in regular rotation. Frankly, I’m more likely to just reach for Entombed’s Wolverine Blues and beyond out put if I want some groovy HM-2 death metal.

That said, I also will listen to anything metal that legendary producer Tomas Skogsberg touches, and I haven’t heard anything he has worked on since 2019s years In Pain album The Sound Of Death. And her here, mastered the effort, and it sounds amazing, and as you’d expect with a hefty HM2 buzz and low end to die for. It also appears The Generals has changed their sound just a tad from the debut ( I have not heard 2013s Blood For Blood), with now much more of a focus on bouncy, cantering melodic death metal akin to a beefed up Dimension Zero, and when combined with the Swedish buzz saw tone, its a pretty fun romp.

There’s still a little semblance of groove and rock ‘n’ roll (“Deadlock”, “Bombardment”, “Undying Death” ), but this isn’t Reek or Turbocharged anymore, as it’s much more energetic, uptempo and memorable. The title track as well as ‘The Evolution of the Flesh”, “Thrill Kill”, “Locate Decapitate Incinerate” and “Demonical Trait” deliver a standout trio of fiercely hefty, galloping melodeath of a very enjoyable quality, like they have been at it since the mid 90s.

The album ends with “Undying Death”, a pure Wolverine Blues/Morning Star era worshipping track, showing they can groove it up still. But the other killer riffs that litter the rest of the album’s more urgent tracks far outshine the more groovy stuff, making for a pretty damn solid melodeath record in 2021.

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