by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Following the towering Wolverine Blues, Entombed left Earache to sign with EastWest, where they recorded one album. It was never released and the band was unceremoniously dropped, leaving them to move to the indie Music for Nations, where they released To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth. The band may be battered and scarred, but they're not worn out, as the guitar-driven record proves. If anything, the turmoil has added depth to their music, making the best moments of To Ride cut deeper than before. Musically, not much has changed, though the band has turned up the gain on their guitars a bit and plays with less discipline than they did on Wolverine Blues. This regression back towards the onslaught of their debut album, Left Hand Path, brings an added sense of brutality to their sound; unfortunately, it also detracts from any hint of well-thought out songwriting, making the group sound sloppy. Where Wolverine Blues, and to a lesser degree Clandestine, found the group both disciplined and brutal, To Ride finds them being just brutal.