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Able-bodied, fevered-clip momentum notwithstanding, I’m a bit confused and disappointed in this would-be corker by El Paso, TX compatriots Derek and Dustin Spear. The guitars alternately swing and thrust with equal parts thrash and groove metal gusto, with a certain prog stateliness (but not overindulgence) to them as well. “Requiem for the Undead” bulldozes along for six minutes with authoritarian heft, “Critical Mass” has riff after intelligent riff from the Countdown.../Youthanasia-era Megadeth playbook and every song resolves itself in meaningful, minimalist fashion. I’m positively braced to love this indie fucker, but it all comes undone in the manner of the best Greek Tragedies via the double-whammy of vocals and mechanical drum programming.
Of the former, the spoken-word style (mercifully stopping just short of stilted rapping) is a clipped, modulated, performed-through-a-faulty-megaphone mess that has no relation to the underlying musical accompaniment. Of the latter, the less that one says about thin pop-pop snares and filthy hi-hats mixed closer together than they ought to be, the better. Barnstorming tracks like “Curse You All” and “Dead Risen” are sapped of their nascent power by virtue of the machine providing the backbeat. In summation, this has all the good and bad earmarks of a ‘90s throwback: plenty groovy, somewhat alt- and wrongheadedly industrial. It makes perfect sense, seeing as how this band was formed back in 1995 and spent eleven years in hibernation before getting resurrected by the bros, who could perhaps stand to soak up a few more contemporary influences along with my affectionate criticism. Love the riffs, guys. Hire a singer. Bribe a drummer.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Calm Before the Storm |
| 2. Driven |
| 3. Requiem for the Undead |
| 4. Critical Mass |
| 5. Gypsy |
| 6. Curse You All |
| 7. Dead Risen |
| 8. The Traveler |
| 9. Witch Hunt |
| 10. Marching On |
: 38:47
| Buy other 237 albums |
