I was surprised to see this band has been around for over 20 years, and this is their 8th album, despite that I have never heard of them. From the look of this I was expecting a modern, trendy sound, and that's pretty much what is on offer here. The riffs are tonally simple but rhythmically complex, as is the rather excellent drum work. The vocals alternate between a harsh tone that's been filtered through every effect known to man, and a clean voice that's been filtered just a bit less. Some of the lead work on here is really excellent - agile and clean with solid phrasing, but the songwriting is too frenetic and formless to really excite me, and I have to admit this is just not my kind of thing. Fans of more technical bands may find more to enjoy here than I did.
