Ekbom syndrome is nasty indeed; a delusion that one's body is infested with invisible bugs. Perfect for French death/grinders Benighted to base an album around, then, after thrilling with comparatively icky outings about Oedipal freaks and whatever necrobreeds are! And on their tenth full-length the band are comfortably vicious, opening with atmospheric creepy-crawlies on synth-drenched intro Prodrome before launching into a full-frontal assault with first track proper Scars. All the elements that we know and love from the band are present, widdly guitar leads and vocalist Julien's alternating bree-ing, grunts and growls atop the usual grinding morass, at times sounding like a more exciting Cattle Decapitation with some of the grandiose atmosphere present before a protracted breakdown.

Existing fans will be pleased to confirm that Benighted are still skilful songwriters, capable of kicking your head in with post-Aborted ragers like Morgue but ensuring that they stand out from other tracks thanks to little touches like gang-retched choruses and dips into jittery tech-death riffing. The title track sounds almost industrial thanks to imaginative percussion and some whirring guitars beneath the chaos, making up for it in terms of brutality with some of the most relentless heaviness and guttural vocals on the album. Highlights come aplenty; the likes of Le Vice des Entrailles tinkering with blackened melodies amidst the grinding intensity, and Oliver of Archspire pops up on the grooving Nothing Left to Fear to provide speedy gutteral counterpoints to Julien's retching.

There are even touches of prog on Metastatis' engaging instrumentals, although the band soon make up for it with A Reason For Treason's galloping thrashiness and Fame of the Grotesque's dip into punky goregrind. The groovy Scapegoat adds some almost Sepulturan tribalistic drumming alongside sheer blastbeats, and closing Mother Earth, Mother Whore has a lengthy voiceover describing someone affected by the syndrome of the album title. Perhaps it could have been cut down a little as it's slightly energy-snapping, but it's a minor complaint given how quickly the band resume the aural violence afterwards, Julien downright ranting. All in all it's a more than solid album, although perhaps lacking a little when directly compared to its predecessor, a career highlight. Still, Benighted remain an excellent band that make compelling death/grind, and Ekbom is a fine addition to their increasingly mandatory recent catalogue.