Reviewed by Gareth Hills

The third release from the Dayton, Ohio bestsellers is a brutal outpouring of metallic heaviness with an intensity that often soars above most other metalcore releases. The riffs are nutritious, the breakdowns tight, and vocalist Mike Hranic screams with raw emotion. They are truly a band to be reckoned with. However, while their lyricism and technical prowess are never in question, sometimes the tracks feel less like individual songs, than jigsaw pieces from a bag of riffs and breakdowns. This is not to deny that the band are good: they are. Even within metal, it's relatively rare that you come across a band playing consistently with this much energy, and lyrically they are probing far deeper into the human condition and questions of faith than many other bands. It just feels like the songs could be more cohesive. That being said, the release is so technically accomplished metal (drummer Daniel Williams deserving special mention), and the lyrics so challenging that 'With Roots Above And Branches Below' has to be recommended. The moment in "Sassafras" when the clean vocals finally break through the distortion is heart-stopping, and the juxtaposition between the strings and guitars in "Danger: Wildman" is superb.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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