Reviewed by Shelby Foster

The mood of the excellent cover photography is grim, but it's difficult to keep a straight face listening to the contents within. Yes, it's intended to be brutal, intense and emotive, but it all sounds so farcical. The awkward marriage of sub-Zao metalcore and I-didn't-get-a-date-to-the-prom emo-punk just does not work, and it's time for bands to stop pretending it does. Listen to "American Love" morph from barking to whinging with little sense of continuity and try not to raise a smile. Melody can be successfully fused with hardcore, but not like this. The opening to "Substance" is the album's highlight, but this too eventually breaks down into an incongruent melody. Frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying.

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