Exhumation - _For Personal Consumption Only_ (8 out of 10)

As with Demonstealer Records' previous compilation, the strongest band is chosen to open the album. The lyrics are centred on an oxymoronic story of a vegetarian cannibal who craves the flesh of beautiful young women. To the astonishment of absolutely no-one, this is an exercise in brutal death metal. Despite remaining well within the narrow confines of the genre, Exhumation are never boring, adopting a varied approach. Combined with potent execution and songwriting, this will nullify any complaints about a lack of originality.

Narsil - _Carcinogenic_ (8 out of 10)

Narsil have stronger inclination towards goregrind than their predecessors, and a simpler approach to songwriting. What they lack in technicality they make up for by the bucketful in brutality. The vocal approach does take some getting used to though -- the usual grunts are present, but the vocalist at times adopts a more high-pitched tone, which sounds more like a sodomised pig than anything resembling human.

Warface - _Demo_ (6 out of 10)

The other bands featured here and on the _Fine-Tuned Disasters_ compilation are all Indian bands, so the appearance of this demo by an American trio is more than a little unexpected. Even more surprising is that the axe is wielded by a woman! I raise my beer to this rare creature who is in a metal band and is not there to warble beautifully or tinkle the ivories quietly in the background but takes centre stage musically. The production quality isn't as good as the other bands however, and this partly explains why they don't have the impact of the preceding bands.

Reptilian Death - _Intestinal Feast_ (6 out of 10)

This is a side project of The Demonstealer, better known for his work with Demonic Resurrection. Whilst Demonic Resurrection is a melodic thrashy death project, Reptilian Death is clearly nothing of the sort, and follows a similar style to the other bands. The music is not as bad as the rating above normally indicates; it's just that I have heard The Demonstealer main project, and in comparison to that it doesn't sound as if he is really making an effort.

Surprisingly, all songs are sung in English. Given that I have heard extreme metal sung in various languages from Gaelic through to archaic Swedish and Berber, I would have expected at least one song in one of their native tongues. But this is merely a tangential observation, and this compilation proves not only that there is an interest in extreme music on the subcontinent, but that talented bands are also there. Now that I have been treated to metalcore, nu-metal, melodic death and brutal death from India, I have one question: where are India's black metal bands?