Most people normally wouldn't associate Bulgaria with extreme metal including myself. Actually until recently I wouldn't be able to name one single band from there. But after finding Smashed Brain Collection among my mail I once again got a little richer on knowledge.

The music is death metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse around their first three albums, but also with a few references to Suffocation as well as a few others. This off course doesn't exactly set Enthrallment apart from so many other bands and musically they aren't any better or worse for that matter. The music isn't an exact copy of the abovementioned, but the similarities are far too many to ignore. The bass is upfront and gives the music that chunky feel that was a trademark for Cannibal Corpse back in the day. A thing that is a bit different, but not very appealing is the bass-drum who has a very hollow and flat sound which makes it sound almost programmed. This is most certainly not an asset. The songs are fairly varied, but they never get under the skin and that is the biggest problem. There's absolutely nothing that set Enthrallment apart from the vast majority of bands and this does set its fingerprints on the overall impression.

It's not all bad and clearly Enthrallment do have lots of ideas, but many of them drown in their Cannibal Corpse worship and I find that to be a shame. A more independent sound would have suited the music better. Smashed Brain Collection is not a bad release it's just very mediocre. There's nothing arguing why this should be preferable instead of the thousands of other albums out there.