I've long turned to Abysmal Dawn for trustworthy technical death metal that isn't so technical it becomes unenjoyable, the band a great example of owning chops but also not losing the DM plot too much. Plus, they always have great album covers to stare at while letting the pristine death metal wash over you, the Nightmare Frontier EP being no different. 

The EP is an excellent format for death metal, and Abysmal Dawn put it to good use here, dropping one new song in the form of opener “A Nightmare Slain”, which features excellent glory-ride soloing, tasteful melodies, and, as always, frantic and fluid drum work and great songwriting skills. Then there's a reworking of old cut “Blacken The Sky” from the band's 2006 debut From Ashes; granted, you'd have to be a serious fan to notice that this one is tighter and leaner than the original, with an obvious boost in production quality. Then there are two covers: In Flames' “Behind Space” from that band's 1994 debut Lunar Strain, and Candlemass' Bewitched, from their 1987 record Nightfall. Fun to hear Abysmal Dawn play it straight and melodic like In Flames, and they do a good job of it, even scrapping the acoustic folk-metal ending because who needs that shit; they also do a surprisingly good job of Candlemass' doom, definitely a stretch for these guys, but even the vocals sound pretty good, and definitely convincing. 

A fun EP from a band you can trust, Abysmal Dawn slowly and surely building a confident catalogue of solid death metal, this fun release not an essential part of it but worthy of a listen regardless.