Canadian death metallers Laika are a rather underground act, but their sophomore album, Somnia  (Filth Regime), is something that deserves to at least be brought to the attention of the genre’s fans. The songs sometime fall into the trap of sounding too generic, the album has some great moments.

‘Restless Mind’ is a beautiful opening featuring a piano and then blasts right into the next song, appropriately titled ‘Escalation of Terror’. Some of the songs feature great guitar parts by Ian Garraway and Alex Kling as heard in ‘Caligae A Galea’. Too often the songs sound the same but ‘Dream of Nothing’ is a refreshing break about halfway through the album. Just like ‘Restless Mind’, it is an instrumental. ‘The Immortal’ provides the band an opportunity to change the sound of the album but it unfortunately comes too late.

What the album has going for it is that the songs are full of power, energy, and metal assault; they are sure to get any pit going. Sadly, Somnia fails in that there is not enough diversity in its sound. Laika are still stuck in their comfort zone but one still hopes that they are able to overcome their fear of stepping out and come back stronger next time.

5.0

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MELISSA CAMPBELL