Damn, this release marks quite a change for this Canadian metalcore outfit. Their style is still chunky and heavy as hell, but rather than focusing on straight up NYHC styled metallic hardcore there's a lot more melody on this one, not to mention some raspy singing vocals mixed with the shouting, and... honestly... the singing and melodic aspects sound almost exactly like Sum 41, just without the snotty pop punk elements. I actually like some of Sum 41's stuff though, so I don't really care, but it is a surprising move coming from a band whose former efforts were on such a pure hardcore label as Bridge Nine. There are definitely still some no bullshit tracks: "Modern Eyes" is faster and more straightforward, clocking in at just under two minutes of pure metallic hardcore with a killer breakdown and some thrashy picking patterns, and "Live Through Me" has some faster moments with more of a punk take on the hardcore vibe (ala The Exploited or something, musically speaking). For the most part things definitely take on a catchier direction though, never shedding heaviness, but throwing in a lot of hints at singing in the vocal performance and subtle melodic layers of octave chords and such - just check out tracks like "Hopeless Case" and "Back to Life". "Bleeding Insanity" is one of the songs that blends sheer heaviness with a really effectively memorable chorus, and that style is pretty efficient overall for this new direction of theirs. "No Don't Think So" is one of the only tracks where the melodic metal-ish riffs don't really fit and the chord progressions get a little slow and groovy for me, basically making for the only weak track herein. The recording is really good, though. Nice and polished, of course (a major label is behind it, after all), with crisp percussion, solid bass, and thick guitars. The vocals are well placed against the music, and everything gels nicely, so I have no problems with the production at all. Maybe the guitars are slightly overproduced at times, but that's not a significant issue throughout the disc in any way. The layout was handled by Jacob Bannon and bears his trademark filthy textures and fiery color scheme, so everything looks pretty nice. The lyrics are pissed as hell and speak for themselves: "Down, the weight of it all has almost swallowed me, I've found like every other day no second chance to see..." The lyrics are a little longer than most such bands, surprisingly, and not necessarily repeating the same things over and over or anything like that. The CD-Rom portion of the disc has an electronic press kit and some wallpaper images and stuff, with links to some brief little QuickTime videos online, but it's nothing to write home about or anything. In the end, I'm surprised they've gone this route, but I don't really mind it. I like their older material a little better, and I can definitely see why they'd lose a lot of their hardcore fans with this record, but whatever. I'm all for catchy songs, and they maintain a good level of heaviness, so I definitely still enjoy this. Who would've thought?
[Machine Shop]
Running time - 28:28, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Modern Eyes, Hopeless Case, Bleeding Insanity, Live Through Me]
Machine Shop Recordings - http://www.machineshoprecordings.com
