Band:	Baht
Album:	In My Veins
Style:	Progressive death metal
Release date:	October 2012

01. The Trauma
02. Neden?
03. Dua
04. Lost&Found
05. Creedish
06. Secred Enigma
07. Intospection
08. Orientation

Behold Baht, my first contact with Turkish metal. And love at first sight it was. This just might be my favorite death metal album of the year 2012. It doesn't stand out at first. On my first spin, I really enjoyed it, but it didn't seem especially original, and not worthy of particular attention. However, tracks such as "The Trauma", "Neden?", and "Lost & Found" kept forcing me back to listen. If anyone can manage to make it through a single song on this album without bumping his or her head at least once, I'll be amazed.

Baht plays middle-paced melodic-ish death metal. Been there, done that, eh? Well not so fast now. First of all, their riffing is oriental-influenced and fairly unique. I've always preferred occidental melodies to oriental; usually, oriental ones feel out of place or forced in metal. But Baht has successfully integrated their roots, and molded them into an outstanding debut. Worth mentioning is also the production. Mixing and mastering was handled by Mr. Swanö, which means it is perfect (and perhaps explains why I think of Demiurg while listening to Baht).

The album clocks in at 42 minutes: perfect length for this kind of metal. The drummer is kick-ass and varies his playing while keeping the rhythm; there are plenty of fills to keep you interested throughout the songs. Also, the few clean vocals sprinkled here and there are used to perfection, the highlight being "Lost & Found". And of course, the riffs. The riffs slay and progress nicely throughout the songs, keeping the listener from becoming bored. A great example of this would be "Dua", with its stamping pace. Here, the oriental influences are showcased as well.

For being a death metal album, The Trauma manages to delve in interesting directions on almost every song, and there is definitely a flirt with prog going on here. I for one would love to hear this direction taken further by the band. Perhaps a promise of things to come? (The outro of the last song sounds more like an intro as well.)

Unfortunately, there are negatives as well, but they do not detract from the album as a whole. First and foremost, the growls can be a tad grating. They remind me of Holmes' effort on Paradise Lost's self-titled album. Another thing is the pace. It's a groovy pace, but they would benefit from introducing some more pace changes. We see some faster breaks in "The Trauma" and "Dua", and they are a breath of fresh air. Thus it is a shame they walk the safe path much to often.

All in all, friends of groovy death metal à la Demiurg or Bloodbath: be sure not to miss this one!