[8.5/10] Keen to capitalize on the momentum they built with the release of their debut full-length effort Truths Of The Blood last year, Wyong (N.S.W., Australia) act Black Asylum are back with something new in Anthem Of Order.

Despite the overwhelming high praise from some quarters for Truths Of The Blood, I found the release to be more than a little lacking in terms of direction and well short of the mark in the song writing department. It seems that there was potential within Black Asylum, but the band were still some way off before that could truly deliver on their promise.

But sure enough, 18 months after the release of their debut, and the five piece act (comprising of vocalist Troy Harris, guitarists Daniel Ford and Travis Klerck, bassist Peter Langford and drummer Daniel Hewling) have finally hit their stride with their follow up release.

Perhaps due to a greater presence on the live circuit (with gigs alongside Cannibal Corpse, The Amenta, Alchemist, Psycroptic and Parkway Drive), or maybe it’s a case of the band’s concerted effort to gel their creative ideas into one cohesive direction, but either way, Anthem Of Order is easily the band’s most thought out and consistent release to date.

At six tracks long, and running for just under the 25-minute mark, Black Asylum waste little time in getting straight down to business, with “Smoke And Mirrors” opening up the EP in a truly rabid fashion. Darren Jenkins’ production is raw enough to give the guitarists a bit of bite on metallic front, but at the same time providing enough sheen to smooth out the edginess on the vocal and rhythm front. The song itself is a great song, with the band’s mix of modern thrash and groove elements coming together to produce something brutal and memorable in equal measure.

“25 To Life” follows a similar path to the opener, but with some cleaner lines being added within the chorus sections, while “Face the Silence” is undoubtedly the strongest song on the disc with its huge innovative riffs, the song’s strong melodic elements, snippets of sampled spoken words and Harris’ vitriolic performance.

“The Last Day” is something a little different from the band, with the use of clean vocals taking on a greater role (which I might add, works well), while the mid-paced “Subtlety” and the catchy heavy riffing of “Black As The Crow” keep up the high standard laid down at the start of the EP.

Despite the disappointing short length of the EP, there’s little to fault on Black Asylum’s latest effort. Consistency problems of the past are virtually non existent here, and the band have well and truly found a sound that flows through without too much diversion. Overall, this is everything the band hinted they were possible of, and then some more. In other words, this comes highly recommended.

www.black-asylum.com