After this Canadian band dropped their last (and worst) full-length on Victory Records, more than half of the band unexpectedly jumped ship - leaving just the drummer and the lead guitarist, who subsequently rebuilt the lineup with entirely new members. An odd move indeed, though one that has given the band a slight edge in that this is a better record than "Unbroken" was. I'm not wild on the fact that they barely sound like the same band anymore, though. Make no mistake, I'm fucking sick of melodic Swedish death metalcore, so I'm glad they're stepping away from that sound, but it's not like the name of A Perfect Murder is a hugely established draw, so I think they probably should've started from scratch under a new moniker. The only real hints of their collective former self herein are a couple of lightly sludgy midpaced riffs and of course some chunky metalcore breakdowns. Other than that they're basically going for more of a modern thrash direction that sort of sounds like a metalcore band struggling to decide whether or not they want to sound like Pantera or The Haunted. The latter wins out a little more often than the former, but barely, and in either case the point I'm trying to make is that a minor change for the better hasn't done the band any favors in the originality department. Moreover, producer Pierre Remillard actually laid down rhythm guitar with the band on this outing, and further proves himself to be one of the most inconsistent producers I think I've ever laid ears on, because even though this disc also sounds far better than the last, the recording still needs a lot of work. The basslines are incredibly hard to make out, the guitars are taut and crispy but far from dense enough to pack a real punch, and the drums are devoid of any natural warmth - opting for a clicky snap that cuts right through the mix and kind of sounds irritating. Louder bass and heavier guitars could've made a huge difference since the riffs can be pretty slick and the playing's definitely pretty damn tight, but... the mix is off and the end product definitely lacks heaviness. From a writing standpoint, "Snake Eyes" is a little more rocked out and hints at some gruff singing that ends up lending more of a Down-esque tinge to the tune (what can I say, the vocalist really seems to be an Anselmo fan), but I'm much more behind the thrashy influences, as this particular tune sort of sticks out and clashes with some of the others. The same goes for the succinct "Rotten", which is one of the only songs that I actively dislike here, as the southern tinged grooves just seem forced and I don't like the chunky staccato picking patterns either. "Body and Blood" mixes up the tempos a little more and tosses in some dissonant chord phrasings that aren't so bad; but ironically the longest track, an instrumental no less, is what really catches my ear. The bleak clean intro to "Time Changes Nothing" takes nearly two minutes to bring in distortion for a midpaced Crowbar-esque dual guitar surge that definitely boasts far more promise than anything else on the disc as a whole. Wholly unoriginal, sure, but fuck if it isn't a damn well written track! The layout was handled by recently-hired-by-every-band-on the-planet-artist/designer-extraordinaire Paul Romano, and while I don't care for the cover art or the typeface used for the lyrics, the other imagery is pretty damn solid, so it has its moments. Lyrically the material is basically just your usual hardass, hardnosed, hard times kind of stuff: "Castration, frustration, you don't mean a fuck to me. I become stronger by the hour, what we had is soured. Your thoughts ain't shit to me. Intimidation, domination, come taste the strength I bleed..." Ehhh, you know. Maybe if the music was more powerful and in your face I could hang with some of that, but... I can't really get into it for the most part, and the forced rhyming isn't that hot. I don't know, this band hasn't really done much for me in the last several years since "Cease to Suffer" hit the streets, and while this is a stronger effort than their last, it's still relatively uninteresting, so... maybe if they nail the recording next time and get a little more energy (the first track is the only piece that really nails the speedy thrash and the lead bursts) and focus in the songwriting they'll win me over with this revamped approach.
[Victory]
Running time - 42:53, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Strength Through Vengeance, Body and Blood, Time Changes Nothing]
Victory Records - http://www.victoryrecords.com
