Band:	Anyface
Album:	The Cult Of Sickness
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	November 2010

01. Suicide Urge
02. Stabbing The Core
03. The Cult Of Sickness
04. Infecting Human Ground
05. Happy Tantum [O.L.D. cover]
06. Dead Corpse Walking
07. Unspoken Son
08. Portrait Of A Nihilist

Italy's death metal scene is sure in full bloom, given the number of albums that come out of the land of pizzas and Rhapsody Of Fire. Sure, quite a lot of this scene is more hero-worship than anything else, but where do Anyface stand on the map?
Well, they're not ultra aggressive like Hour Of Penance; they're technical, of course, somehow similar to bands like Decrepit Birth, or Suffocation, only quite a bit slowed down. The riffs don't go at breakneck speed here; it's upbeat for sure, but not blisteringly so. They are quite twisted, with odd time signatures and what-not; OK, it's a staple of the style, but they do not sound cliché, and that alone is great. The drumming is good, precise, but not blatantly original; the bass lines are good, crunchy and powerful. And the solos are nicely melodic affairs, quite a contrast with the pounding rhythms.

Oh, and it seems the band already knows one of its main weaknesses: the vocals. No, they aren't bad at all, grunt-y enough for sure, but way too monotone for their own good. Not completely boring, but still.
And I said the band knew about it? I guess so, because they invited no less than three guest vocalist to add some spice. There's Domenico Roviello (ex-Gory Blisters) on the eponymous track, and Mick Montaguti (of the old, now split-up, Italian death metal outfit Electrocution) on "Infecting Human Ground". OK, they don't always add that much diversity, but the idea is here.
Wait; I said "three", right? Here's the highlight of the album: the cover of O.L.D.'s "Happy Tantrum", featuring O.L.D.'s own vocalist Alan Dubin. Yes, this is a song out of The Musical Dimension Of Sleastak, this weird grind/industrial/avant-garde/whatever piece of music. Well, this version is not as mind-blowingly strange as the original, it's much more 'regular' death metal. I think the Anyface guys wanted to listen to a more normal version of the song, as if O.L.D. didn't go all avant-garde? But it sounds good!

So? "Anyface" does not sound like a great band name, but this album is a good, solid death metal release, no doubt about it. While it lacks this little something, the spark that differentiates good releases from great ones, it's certainly a recommended listen for fans of the genre. But hey, Anyface could become a force to be reckoned with; they already have the riffs, and the will to try some things a bit different (an O.L.D. cover, for one), so bring it on, guys!