Kavara are a Canadian melodic death metal band and this is their debut album.

This is sharp, energetic, melodic music that takes influences from a number of death metal avenues, and then sprinkles engaging melodies over everything quite liberally.

For starting reference points, imagine a mix of The Black Dahlia Murder and early In Flames. Then combine this with a few more contemporary influences from the modern metal scene, and add a touch of Death’s progressive melodies in some of the leads and solos.

The songs are well-constructed and do exactly what you would want them to do for this sort of thing. The band’s incorporation of both old and new death metal elements works well, allowing them to walk in both worlds while being fully beholden to neither.

The vocals mix harsh growled shouts and serrated screams. The singer has a good voice for this sort of work, and her performance hits the spot nicely.

Rounded off by a decent production, Kavara’s debut album is a strong foot forward into the international realms of extreme metal. I look forward to seeing how they develop their style further.