After a six-year hiatus, Virginia’s Arghoslent return with HORNETS OF THE POGROM, stirring the pot once again with their bastardized combination of controversial viewpoints and scolding death metal. This veteran unit’s latest eight-track affair contains a bevy of the most well thought-out riffs and sheer brutality put to disc in the extreme genre, as tracks like “Oracle of the Malefic Rhizome” and “Swill of the Knaves” slay with barbaric might while undertones of undeniable melodic beauty echo beneath. This underground act may be better known for their offensive lyrical content and left of center school of thought, but the musical output displayed on this album is chock full of death metal magnificence and should be rendered as mandatory metal listening for the most unflappable. www.drakkar666.com –Mike SOS