One of those is Melbourne's Praetorian. While I thoroughly enjoyed their first album, Threnody (2003) what held me back from giving it a 10/10 rating was a few issues in the sound mix. Those flaws have been ironed out on Praetorian's second release Crushing Torment with a brilliant mix by Theron Rennison (the fellow who produced Alarum's Eventuality album) and another slab of killer tunes.

So, I popped the second release from Praetorian into the CD player for the first time, hoping that the album wasn't going to suffer from "second album syndrome" with nothing but filler songs and more of the same... and I pressed the play button. The opening guitar chords for first track "Manipulate To Desecrate" pour out of my speakers and ring out, then go straight into the song's signature riff, and quite a catchy one at that. I say "hey I quite like that riff", then some tricky drum beat follows, some harsh growling from Jonothan Cach - I mean, guitarist/vocalist Ian Ahles (got it right this time) - and a very unusual chorus passage. I'm still liking the song, and nodding my head with interest as it goes on. Then just before the third minute, the band slows down and we go through a very ambient, atmospheric passage with a very melodic sounding lead guitar break. That's one thing I like about this band, while they do flaunt their ability to shred and let loose a couple of virtuosic solos, they also like to play lead guitar breaks that "sing" a melody. Then the song charges back into its original tempo and proceeds to finish.

I've said it once, I've said it twice, I've said it a BILLION times (about as many times as I've said that line), but without a killer opening track, your album is horribly stained, and not in a good way. Try as you might to redeem the album with the rest of the songs - even if they are killer songs - the stain left behind on the opening track is going to haunt the rest of the album.

Anyway, I won't go through a lengthy review of the songs one-by-one, although the tracks I must point out the most to new listeners are "Soulicitation", "Tunguska" (a sci-fi metal song!), "I Fall to Pieces", and of course, opening "Manipulate To Desecrate". If we were to compare Crushing Torment to the last album, I would say the songwriting on here is certainly more complex (the band stray even further from verse-chorus structures on this album) and the guys still show off a bit of musical flair without being too wanky. There are more light/dark passages in the music, and the use of keyboards, as well as the polished production help carry out a certain atmosphere. There are only nine tracks on this album, and they don't drag or go on for too long either, which is also good.

Crushing Torment doesn't suffer from "second album syndrome" at all. In fact, this album smashes Threnody to pieces, in terms of song substance and quality. The sound of the album is brilliant, and the band have pushed up the ante on their songwriting, which is another good thing. The band have managed to create a follow-up album that dwarfs a debut album that already had a lot going for it. Go on, call me a fence sitter, but I'm not giving the album the following mark because I'm sitting on the fence, or know an ex-member personally, I'm giving the album the following mark because it bloody well DESERVES it. It's just a shame that Praetorian aren't as big a name in Australian melodic metal as say, Black Majesty or The Eternal, hopefully this album will put them on the map. Let's just hope that the next album doesn't flunk in comparison!