I have really liked what these guys are doing, their first album being my favorite. The last album found them going in a more nu-metal direction. This album starts off with more metal core blending with nu-metal to the point of following in Slipknot's footsteps. The breakdown parts feel more natural, but there is some rapid-fire thrashing going on here The sung vocals are not overly anthemic. They keep pouring the speed on and stay locked in this rapid-fire thrashing that makes them sound like every other band who does this sort of thing, I think by not diving into their shadow side they are cutting themselves short since it is what sets them apart from other bands. "Xeroxed Reflection" finds them staying locked into this path. The riffs have ample aggression, and if you just want a new thrash band, then this album might get the job done. But I think just being a thrash band is not what these guys are most effective at.,
"Dogday God" comes closer to tapping into who they really are as a band and might be the best song on this album so far. They are back to try their hand at thrash with "Love Thy Enmity". They keep the thrashing speed up with "Culled and Forgotten" but even the cool half-time riffs do not save the song. This is not to say they have totally discarded the nu-metal thing it is just more sparse, thanks to the chugged guitar that tries to gain momentum. The syncopation to "No Ceremony" is a little more interesting and the song works rather well. The thrashing returns once again on "the Vanity Procession". 'Negative Fix" is heavy as fuck. But they are capable of more than just being content with heavy. The snarled vocals continue to dominate the album.
Sadly, they are not as self-aware as a band. The thrashing of the last song. gets a little redundant. Midway into the song it ventures a more melodic rock n roll sound. It's this second half of the song that is the most appealing and a sound they should have introduced more into the rest of the album to keep it from getting mired in thrash that they really do not stand out when they go into. I will give this album an 8 due to this, They are still darker than most bands doing this sort of thing and you can hear the band they used to be, so they are skilled musicians this is just an unfortunate side step, but still well done in terms of execution and this is the album they set out to make, so I can not fault them in this regard it is just not what I personally want from them or the most original direction they could have gone in.
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