Canadian hyper blasters Kataklysm have released seven albums so far and somehow, after all these years, they still manage to sound fresh and hungry. “Serenity In Fire”’s first track “The Ambassador Of Pain” kicks in after a short intro and introduces the main ingredients of this album: furious drums, beaten by new drummer Martin Murais; great guitars and the strong grunt of singer Mauricio Lagono. Third track “As I Slither” reminds me a bit of the new Arch Enemy material, very melodic and with a catchy chorus, though maybe a bit too repetitive.

Peter Tägtgren, Hypocrisy front man and participant in at least a thousand recordings joins Mauricio on vocals on the fourth track “For All Our Sins” and delivers the goods as usual.

The track has a riff in the beginning that instantly reminds me of Swedish black metalers Dark Funeral. I don’t know if they listen to black metal in Canada but this riff, along with another riff on “Under The Bleeding Sun” sounds like it was exactly copied from this band; but maybe that’s coincidence.

I have a few problems with the production of “Serenity In Fire”, the drums are so triggered and computerized that they sound like a drum computer. Especially the beginning of “Blood On The Swans“ sounds way too mechanic. Other than that, this is an excellent death metal album and a statement that Kataklysm is as strong as ever.