I sat with this one for ages blissfully unaware that it was Bruce Dickinson’s son behind the mic, which allowed me to form an unbiased opinion on it that would be pretty tough had I realized it was the son of metal royalty involved here. And that opinion more or less hasn’t changed in the time spent with this disc since: this is by-the-books metalcore, the kind that creates a buzz over in Britain but doesn’t make too much of an impact here for the longhairs. But, man, for the metalcore circuit, this is as solid and tight as it comes, every song sounding like it was written by computers and played by robots, the good cop/bad cop shtick done to such a fine point that it’s lost all impact (listen to ‘Illusions’ and tell me how a song this perfect can leave the listener feeling absolutely nothing). But, on the other hand, it sure sounds good and it’s relaxing to listen to, in the same way I enjoy listening to my daughter’s CD of Alvin and the Chipmunks covering Lady Gaga. It has nothing to do with music how I know it, but in a perverse way, it’s pretty amazing. And, you know, the melodies are nice. It ain’t rocket science and there’s something to be said for that. Anyway, the band excels when avoiding the bad cop crap altogether (uh, Rise to Remain, not Alvin and the Chipmunks, but I think I could be talking about either at this point), as on the more melodic ‘Roads’, which stands tall as the album’s most effective track; it’s also where the band gets the most daring. For the big earring/neon shirt metalcore crowd, this one is going to be amazing; for the average bravewords.com reader, it’s a pass.
