Entombed AD: Back To The Front

The Rock and Metal scene has in recent years become such a soap opera of band splits, court wrangles and infighting over who, if anyone, owns the name of a band, that it really deserves its own theme tune. In the case of Entombed, it would appear that all four original band members now legally have a claim on the "name" and hence, with there seemingly no motivation to reunite that line-up, Entombed are no more. Other than, of course, that vocalist LG Petrov has other ideas, even after the departure of guitarist Alex Hellid (the event which set the ball rolling on the name chasing), his cunningly named new (or not) band Entombed A.D. containing Olle Dahlstedt (drums) Nico Eldstrand (guitar) and Victor Brandt (bass), all of whom were previously in the seemingly final version of, eh.....Entombed!

So with none of that really being particularly clear cut, what hasn't changed is what Entombed A.D. are all about, with the Death n' Roll that made the band's name firmly in place across an album hoping its title, Back To The Front, states its intentions. However as is so often the case when a band hopes to strive forward while undergoing public evolution, what they in essence do is stand still, leaving tracks such as "Second To None" "Eternal Woe" and "Vulture And The Traitor" to simply sound like Entombed by numbers. There's little doubt that the intention was to prove that Entombed A.D. are, for all intents and purposes the true continuation of the band they are derived from but in truth the effect is to simply prove how vital Entombed once were and how safe this all is. Yet the yardstick Entombed A.D. are being measured with is a mighty one, for what has come before from this outfit truly is genre defining, so while Back To The Front may fall way short of that kind of accolade, it is, in the cold light of day a decent enough Death n' Roll album, just not one you'll take the time to listen to very often.

Rather than break new ground, this is the sound of a band treading water.

Track Listing
1. Kill To Live
2. Bedlam Attack
3. The Underminer
4. Second To None
5. Allegiance
6. Waiting For Death
7. Eternal Woe
8. Digitus Medius
9. Vulture And The Traitor
10. Pandemic Rage
11. Soldier Of No Fortune

Added: August 20th 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Entombed AD on facebook
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Language: english

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