That is still the case as this album has far more Metallica and others than say Kreator, Sodom or any other German thrash act. Where this band excels is in making some instantly likable and catchy riffs. You start with those and you get the listeners attention and that is a sound approach that works here. Off the top of my head I would say that “Cancer”,”Storage of rage” and “Trust in God” has some of the best main riffs and are prime examples of how this band can capture your attention early on. They don’t hold back and obviously their experience comes into play here and they could sure show some younger bands a thing or too.

So if you want driving riffs and solid vocals you get that, but don’t expect Vendetta to go beyond that style. There are not a lot of solos or much of any attempt to progress beyond a limited sound. Maybe I didn’t expect that, but there are a lot thrash bands both young and ancient playing this style and to get noticed a band probably has to push ahead a small more. This is still a likable album, but not really impressive enough to be anything special.

Neither does the album stay in any sort of rut, as there are plenty of moments when the atmosphere is broken by energetic bursts like the head banging chug in the middle of Infinite Fields of Mind. In many ways the album reminds me of Agalloch’s newer material, and at other times of more purely atmospheric black-metal bands (some parts really made me reckon of Leviathan, maybe it was the effects surrounding the vocals). Becoming contains a wealth of moods both grim and triumphant, making an album filled with dramatic depth and a fantastic listen from start to end. I’d say it was both a fantastic way to start 2012 and the perfect soundtrack for the winter of any year.