Artifact is a band coming from Stavanger, Norway. Formed in late 2002, after several line up changes, in 2004 the band was joined by Tor Arne Fassotte (of Unpure and This Negative Karma) which along with Bjørnar Landa (which also plays with Sirenia and Deathfare) and Pål Evensen recorded their first release, the ABANDONED E.P. Musically the five tracks of the MCD show very well the band's influences which goes to Type O Negative (check Tor's deep vocals), Sister Of Mercy (for some vocal melodies, like on "Scapegoated & Demonized") and Rob Zombie. Even if being influenced by rock metal, the band didn't forget to insert also electronic moments or metal eruptions (check Tor's vocal which goes bestial along with the guitar distorted riffs). Energic guitar riffs duet with guitar arpeggios creating calm moments which turns into metal industrial explosions (like on the opening part of "Mask of apathy"). I appreciated the energetic moments and how they were mixed with the calm ones but sometimes the influences sound too evident. This isn't a weak point, because the five tracks already show the band's peculiarities and I'm sure the guys are already working on these...