Once again Tainted have delivered an outstanding album full of powerful riffs and massive soundscapes with enough subtle nuance to satisfy even the most refined metal connoisseur.

Combining solid song construction and excellent engineering, Into Temptation merges all the elements required for a successful release. The cohesion within the twelve tracks is a wonder to behold, especially considering the band has gone through a number of line-up changes.

After an old school guitar intro, with a slight effect hiss, Avarice starts the ball rolling with some formidable musicianship that draws you into an exceptionally heavy chorus. In places there’s a big contrast between the bass frequencies where they almost drop out, making it even meaner when they kick back in.

Covering lots of styles, Bleed for Me is sure to get the crowd chanting. Its breakdown is an excellent variation on the songs theme, with a lot of effort going into developing its structure.

Bring the Apocalypse is a lyrically drenched track that, in places, changes into a faster Death (band) like pace. It segues perfectly into Torch the Ground’s slow tempo and opening riff, which is worth the entry fee alone.

Bringing all Tainted’s strengths to the fore Within the Crucible has a number of timing changes and blast beats that make it a head bangers dream come true.

Opening with a lovely acoustic guitar intro Premonitions, one of the main features of this awesome release is Before the Void. Sections of this song are the heaviest you’ll hear anywhere.

An Immortal like lyric starts Nothing Lasts Forever off wickedly. The scope of the vocal delivery is extraordinary on this but some of the riffs are a bit too similar to the previous track.

Wastrel steps things up a gear with faster segments that are sure to get the crowd slamming. The unyielding bass tone really helps the guitars soar. 

The Metallica texture and samples in 8mm make it stand out for all the right reasons. Then with speed, harmonics and fantastic screaming, Worthless has a Carcass quality that’s sure to raise some hell.

With the help of producer Clint Murphy, Tainted have experimented a bit with their guitar sound, which at times gets a bit synth like. It will be interesting to see if they can pull off these effects live.

The standout throughout is Slim’s vocal technique, which has taken on a more Chimaira or Lamb of God characteristic. Despite a few dated solo’s, it’s a flawless performance by Tim and Linly. Bringing it all together is Mo’s solid drum patterns interspersed by unrelenting blast beats that give the tracks a nice sharp edge. Not to be outdone, Liam’s bass lines are most conducive to moshing.

Into Temptation is a sonic improvement on Tainted’s first album The Awakening, released in 2006. It also expands upon the 2008 coming of age release Carved and Created. There’s not much variation, but then again why change a winning formula?

Check it out today.
4/5

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