It was not long after I first moved to London that I started becoming actively involved with the local underground extreme metal scene and it's been numerous times since then that I attended shows featuring performances of some of the scene's strongest representatives such as Akercocke, Gorerotted and Ted Maul. Having said that, though, I cannot recall ever coming into contact with the extreme metal quartet DAM before, which is strange seeing as their bio mentions them as being closely related with the above mentioned outfits. Anyway, none of this is really important now seeing as the promo of the band's latest effort "The Difference Engine" has been flirting with my CD player for the last couple of days now and all my questions regarding this band were finally answered in the most appropriate way.

The main thing that Dam have in common with the majority of the bands that represent this young and ever evolving scene is their tendency to invest in multi layered and technically demanding compositions, thus betraying influences from a variety of different extreme metal genres. Now, much as I am in favour of such daring outfits and naturally inclined to provide them with my utmost support, I am also quite demanding towards them, the reason being that some of my all time favourite bands such as Death, Atheist & Cynic have managed to set the standards of the genre quite high in the past seventeen years. Did Dam manage to reach those high standards with "The Difference Engine"? Unfortunately the answer to that question is no.

The band is quite keen on exploring many different musical avenues and that would have been perfectly fine by me, providing that there was a certain level of coherence that would bring these nine compositions together - unfortunately this is something that I never felt while listening to this release. Much as I admired the multiple changes in the rhythmical structure and some of the melodic performances throughout this album, I often felt slightly confused by what was on offer and inevitably lost interest in the album.

Having said that, though, there were three compositions, which made a real impression on me. Influenced by the progressive spirit of Akercocke, "Eyeballing" is a dynamic composition that features the best drum performance of the album whereas "Mirror-Image Ritual" seems to be more focused on recreating the vibe of classic Death ("The Sound Of Perseverance" era). Finally I would urge you to tune into "This Has Nothing To Do With Apathy" - a four-minute composition based on a slow/mid tempo groovy riff, which will almost certainly enchant you.

One thing that I definitely believe for DAM, based on what I was exposed to, is that they are one of those bands that are capable of producing a variety of different reactions towards their music and with that in mind, I will not be surprised if I was to find that there are a few people who will not particularly agree with my evaluation. What is really important, though, is that some of the compositions that are featured in "The Difference Engine" seem to promise better things for the future - something that I hope we all agree on and hope for these young Londoners.

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Review by John Stefanis