The brief run time and memorable song writing is what makes Legacy of the Ancients an endearing effort. Pathology stick with their strengths - this is an album of blastbeats and breakdowns, massive in production tone and ready for mosh pits. Frontman Matti Way gurgles up his insides over all 11 tracks, backed by crushing grooves and the occasional gasp of frantic grind metal. Every time the formula wears thin, the band surprises listeners with abrupt tempo shifts or bursts of fiendishly-memorable melody. The icing on the cake is the lyrical content, which moves away from the gore and perversion of the band's older material and instead zeroes in on conspiracy theories.

It is a shift which works wonders for Pathology, given it changes Legacy's sense of atmosphere. The paranoid subject matter combines seamlessly with the booming production, making the band's performance a pulverizing one. "Code Injection," hits with all the force of bricks plummeting off a skyscraper, its thick, churning riffs relentless in their chugging. "Among Giants" begins with blastbeating and ends with grooves as gargantuan as the song's namesake. "Abduction," for its part, speeds by with drumming at the speed of light before collapsing on itself with a breakdown as massive as a black hole and vocals every bit as inhuman as the song's extraterrestrial subjects.

Such grotesque growls are usually indecipherable, but to Pathology's credit they come through crystal clear on "Afterlife." Initially seeming like a straightforward death metal anthem, it eventually morphs into a sickening sing-along replete with titanic guitar slams. "Tower of Babel" features razor-sharp riffs and equally slicing tremolo-picking, the whole affair transforming into a short romp-and-stomp. "The Extinction of Flesh" rushes by in a torrent of percussion, only to alternate gears by becoming a slow, sludgy behemoth.

Legacy of the Ancients doesn't reinvent the wheel but then again it shouldn't have to. It's a single disc in a crowded genre, made more accessible by the fact there's comfort in hearing something played with dedication and competence. The real conspiracy theory here is why Pathology aren't ranked near the top of the slam death metal heap. For those craving that style, Legacy of the Ancients is just what the doctor ordered.