It's been 8 years since the last album from this California-based hard-core band. They are just as angry as they were on "You Will Never Be One of Us". The grind-core influence on the band has them spitting out minute-and-a-half songs, and something finds their momentum causing them to run together. This means I am having to give repeat listens to pick this apart, so it's not one sonic battering ram hitting. Normally when I hear a band this extreme, the jaw-dropping heaviness leaves me stunned so I do not bother asking if they can write a song til my ears stop ringing from the opening track, but these guys are one of my favorite bands on the more extreme of the spectrum, so I know they are capable, my only concern is are they going to let this intensity run away with them?
One noticeable thing is rather than relying on a breakdown-style riff they just ease off the gas enough for a big moshing chug, which works really well. "Give Me the Painkiller" has a little more rock n roll in its more Motorhead-like DNA. This reminds you that the vocals have a purpose here, though moodwise they share a feral nature like Converge. The production is very raw, and I imagine it is close to what this band sounds like live. "Lacking the Ability to Process Empathy" is killer all the way through with its more deliberate riffing, as the chug is powerful. 'Trapped' finds it easier to make a song in 38 seconds than I would have expected. Though it's not the album's best song it's the shortest. "Made Up In Your Mind" is a pretty solid piece of metallic hard-core.
"Dehumanized" finds them continuing to pour on the speed. The drums blast with fury until they throw in another one of their hooky riffs. "I Can't Turn it Off' is another chugging beast that moves in a direction more aligned with hard-core. If you were accusing them of writing a more accessible song this would be it. After all, there is even a guitar solo. "No More Rivers to Cross" is not just the album's heaviest song it might be the year's heaviest song, with a deliberate pounding that is equally catchy and powerful. I am going to go ahead and round this one up to a 10, as some of the faster moments that create a frenzied wall of sound are balanced out by the intentional songwriting masterstrokes delivered here, and find this album as being with the wait and puts the band on the top of the heap, this time it's the hardcore heap rather than the extreme metal one.
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