Vext's "brutal" voice is not entirely unlike one Burton C. Bell's vocals in his prime. The singing? At times a dead-ringer for Bell (see more below), Vext approaches high degrees of lameness, particularly on "Savior Self" (did Mushroomhead leave that name on the cutting floor?) and "Rise of the Scorned." Ultimately very valid comparisons will be made to Fear Factory. And while some variation from that sound does indeed exist on Bleed the Fifth, there is more than perhaps an accidental nod to Dino's former band. "Failed Creation," "This Threat is Real," (which has a killer guitar riff 66.6% of the way through) and "Impossible is Nothing" would not have sounded out of place on a ~1996-1999 FF record.

That once potent FF vibe actually sounds no less vital than it did before, it just isn't new or important in this day and age. Still, though, at least Divine Heresy ain't full-blown Metalcore. The riffs are easily more brutal and the drumming more maniacal. That Dino thinks his playing consists of "legendary machine gun riffs" is perhaps unfounded. Not as "devastating and unique" as the press release would have the uninformed believe, this listenable hybrid of Fear Factory and Hate Eternal is decent at worst. Not mandatory, but still pretty solid. Now, if those soft vocals could just be excised and more Death Metal tendencies allowed to dominate.... To wit: the album closer, "Closure," sounds more like Nickelback or Creed than anything approaching the extreme.

written by Tony Belcher

Playing time: 38:49