South America has always treated metal very well. Not only does it have some of the most passionate and dedicated fans of the genre, but there's been plenty of excellent bands to come from the continent too, such as Hermética from Argentina, Cultura Tres of Venezuela, and Peru's Mortem. Of course, Brazil gets most of the attention thanks to the likes of Sepultura, Krisiun, Nervosa, and Angra to name a handful, but to the south west likes Chile, who have also had plenty to boast about. This year, they can add to their list as Hellman, from the capital city of Santiago, unleashes their debut album, "Born, Suffering, Death."

After a short intro, the band gets things underway with "The 4th Power," a solid opener which blasts its way through the ears of the listener. It's not the most memorable track on offer but it sets the tone perfectly and demonstrates just how hard and heavy the band are willing to go and is followed immediately by "Desktop Activist." This second song is quite reminiscent of later albums by The Exploited with its meaty crossover thrash sound and is a lot more fun, while still being full of grit and intensity.

Punk does seem to have a role to play on "Born, Suffering, Death," rearing its head on "Bringer Of Death," which is a brilliantly fast and exciting song which will go down a storm live, while "The Cycle" also contains plenty of punk rock mayhem. There's more to the record than the mix of punk and death metal though. "Unnecessary Consuming" has a sweet taste of Motorhead to it, while "Silent Genocide" really brings home the rock and roll elements that make this such an enjoyable death and roll album. Another thing worth pointing out is just how vital the drumming of Pedro Pablo Puente is to the sound of the record, with a rolling intro that gives way to rolling thunder on "Sacrifice Zone," while bringing the vibes of "Chaos A.D." on the third song, "A Waste Of Human Being."

Combining all these parts and aforementioned songs is what made this record such an enjoyable listen, but there's definitely some room for improvement. The second half seems a lot stronger than the first, which, while good, can be a little standard at times. Of course, no one expects a band to release a classic on their first attempt and Hellman can and should be very proud of the work they've done here, catching the audience's ears and making them wonder what a live show must be like. "Born, Suffering, Death" does seem to fall short of crafting a great and consistent atmosphere though, which would have kept the excitement going from beginning to end.

Hellman's debut is one which really should be checked out, especially by fans of the death and roll sub-genre who really miss Entombed, (there's even a really good cover of Entombed's, "Out Of Hand" on the album.) It's not going to be to everyone's tastes and, as mentioned, they can still get much better, but more likely than not, it will get you interested in the group and with such clear talent in the ranks, let's hope Hellman stick around for a long time so they can just get better and better and better.