[7.5/10]Those Who Bring The Torture should be no strangers to fans of underground metal. Returning for a second onslaught with the ominously titled Tank, Gasmask, Ammo, this Swedish death troupe has its marching orders and is fully prepared to execute.

These four pedigreed Swedish metal vets possess plenty of experience to back up their high-throttle assault. Singer/bassist Roger "Rogga" Johansson has done time in Edge Of Sanity, Deranged and shared stints in Paganizer, Carve and Ribspreader with ripping axe-wielder Ronnie Björnström. The remaining members have previously circulated with notable underground acts, guitarist Tomas Elofsson shredding flesh with In Battle and drummer David Ekevärn providing the thunder for Apostasy. The experience counts, as the foursome's musical proficiency roars on this record, which was tracked in just a week's time.

Considering the short time it took to realize Tank, Gasmask, Ammo, the production quality here is very strong, and performances are largely spot-on. Purists will revel in the textbook grinding death herein, with the guitar twosome cranking out riff after riff of unrelenting chaos, ranging from gurgling chugs to wide-open six-string anarchy. From the onset of opener "Napalm God," the tone is blatantly unforgiving. Bombastic typewriter drumming blasts through the mix, the perfect canvass for the sickly wicked belches of Johansson. Popping rounds usher in the skull-thumping "Celebrating Gamma Bliss" as the punishment rages on. Stop-action axework breaks things up as frontman Johansson takes on an almost mechanical tone during the track's aptly-placed bridge.

While the lyrics of band's first self-titled disc focused on gore/splatter themes, on this campaign the topics have turned primarily to themes of war. The Slayeresque introduction of "Riders On The Mushroom Cloud" gives way to some prime Napalm Death-type guitar chaos, this cut throttling away with voracity, flattening weak, innocent bystanders that lay in its path. Incorporating a prototypical Sabbath riff into the mid-paced "Upon The Bonethrone" adds a foreboding sense to the song as Johansson snarls menacingly above the sonic battlefield with the authority of a mighty conqueror.

There's sufficient evidence of brilliance on this record for many to justify this as being one of the prime death metal records of the year. A critical analysis, however, requires a bit more innovation and even more impressive production than what we hear on Tank, Gasmask, Ammo to qualify the record as an outright classic. That being said, this album is very, very good and deserves the attention of anyone who enjoys an old-school death metal ass-kicking.

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