After listening to the high quality of Portals to Uphobia, you would swear that The Netherlands’ DETONATION were born and raised in the melodic death metal capitol of the world, Gothenburg, Sweden. To be more specific, they sound like the young apprentices to DARK TRANQUILLITY. You’ll see that 90% of DETONATION’s material is lovingly lifted/inspired from the Swedish gods. It goes deeper than just blending hyper speed melodies with brutality. The riffing patterns, the song structures, some of the guitar solo-styles, song dynamics, vocal patterns, and even a lyric or two have been taken from their back catalogue. With that said, DETONATION pull it off with great success! To their credit, the band utilize their own style of melodicism and progressive riffing/song structures (ala OPETH, DEATH). There’s also a tasteful and fresh sounding level of technicality in the musicianship that keeps things vibrant and interesting. Thinking more on it, Portals to Uphobia smokes some of the veterans of this style (i.e. ARCH ENEMY, IN FLAMES) while also pumping new life into what is now an overkilled genre. DETONATION is Osmose’s best signing in years and prove to be a force to be reckoned with. (Osmose Productions/The End Records)