Antagonist has been around the metal scene since 1998, and have released great albums time and time again. They keep this trend going with "World In Decline", which was released on August 17th on Prosthetic Records. In a metal scene full of monotonous breakdowns and unoriginal songwriting, it's always exciting when you hear a band doing it right. "World of Decline" is a non-stop attack of pure fucking metal. From the very first song, "Bane Of Existence ", you can tell that this album has the feel of a metal album. The mixture of thrashy riffs, guitar solos, and thundering drums really gets your attention from the beginning and never lets go. Not to mention that the vocals are angrier than I've ever heard this band do before as well. Knowing this album was angrier than anything they've ever written, they made sure not to have clean vocals in any song. Clean vocals work for me, if they are done right, but this record does not call for them. After the first three tracks, your already hitting up your friends to pick up this CD, or at least I was. There is honestly not a bad song on this album, and it's mostly due to the songwriting. The mixture of the different styles of metal is impressive, and the solos are my favorite part. I am a huge fan of guitar solos, and this band does not disappoint me there. Every song has a face melting section, and it does nothing but bring a smile to my face. My favorite tracks are "Disguised In White", "New Human", and the opener "The Bane of Existence". This band has a purpose with this album, and it's to talk about the decline of our civilization. If you don't get that message from the lyrics, you are not listening. With lyrics like “You’re the reason why the human race is dead to me”, do you really need to ask how this band felt while writing this album?

"World In Decline" is definitely a modern thrash masterpiece, and I'm really happy I finally got a chance to give this record a full listen. Like I said before, there is really not a bad song on this album. If your a fan of amazing guitar solos, angry riffs, and crushing breakdowns, than this record is for you. So tell your metal friends about "World In Decline", and let's get Antagonist the proper due that they deserve. They've been working their ass off for years playing true metal, and it's about time they get the response that many lesser bands receive. Much respect to Antagonist!

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