Honestly, I admit that I truly, deeply adore Iceland and its culture / nature (I have not been there yet, physically, but a befriended couple recently did, and I am so f*cking frustrated that I was not there - Ivan). And besides the natural, and at the same time the cultural aspects, quite the same goes for, at least a part, of the Metal scene going on out there - on an island with less people than an average European capital. I will not come with a list of bands that I know, or adore, for it would be, yeah, quite stupid. So f*ck it, and focus on what’s next to come.Narthraal are quite a young collective, known (or not) for just a limited amount of mini-recordings, which did sort of show a certain Swedish-oriented approach in both song writing style and execution. Historically, Iceland and Sweden have not that much in common, but when talking about Death Metal, this is quite an idiot remark – once again, forgive me… But Death Metal does not search for forgiveness, yet rather for brutality and anger, so here I am: f*** you all! Sweden and Iceland might be connected for sure!Sorry, I just let myself go (yet still: f*** to almost all of you, and f*** for those who deserve it – but that’s another thing…). Anyway, Screaming From The Grave does sound quite Swedish-styled, and hey, who am I to dislike this approach. As you have to know, the Swedish scene used to be one of the protagonist ones that made the Death Metal community sort of ‘popular’. Grave, Dismember, Dissection, Entombed, Paganizer, and hundreds of others (the list would be too extended…), and so on…Screaming From The Grave stands for Nineties-oriented Swedeath stuff, hugely inspired by the scene from thirty years ago, at least when it comes to the sound and performance. Though, that sound quality is much better than – but hey, we’re talking about several decennia of progression – yet still here I do adore the lack of some imbecile clinically-polished and exaggerated stupidity! An overwhelming rawness absorbs the (to my opinion) über-clean mix and mastering, and here too the initial filthiness of that Swedish-oriented scene reappears.Song writing-wise, this band now seems to go deeper, when injecting the Swedish-styled Death Metal with some samples at the one hand (in Millions Graves To Fill I think it is just a fabulous thing to do, supporting the wonderful guitar solo to come!), and with that timeless performance attitude. It’s energetic, pushing, pounding, and at the same time somewhat deep-emotional and melancholic too. Yeah, once again that old-styled attitude comes to mind. The better part balances in between mid- and up-tempo beats, with some slower passages and a couple of fierce outbreaks, permanently accompanied by fine guitar lead riffs, a monolithic rhythm section and blood-spitting growling vocals. The faster parts are like thunderous constructions of malignancy and terror, like an old schooled band being resurrected through modernised elegance, while the main slow pieces truly exhale the superior grandeur of the Old School (and hey, this is the part that turns me on!!!). and what about the energetic Thrash-solos, the groovy rhythms, or the punky excerpts? Yes, indeed, everything is included, referring permanently to the scene from more than two decades ago – but it’s a nice experience to get through…So, I can be quite to-the-point. If you prefer modern craftsmanship with progressive twists and some other f*cked-up artificiality, then – no further comment); but in case you can deal with the initial origins of the Swedish-oriented brutality, Narthraal’s Screaming From The Grave might be a (more superlatives to come…)…