Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

The straight edge New Zealanders must have made a good impression with their last album, as they have been promoted from the Strike First roster up to the parent label, Facedown Records. They appear to have been listening to their old metal records, as this is more reminiscent of Sepultura, Pantera and Slayer than the hardcore of their previous releases. The riffs are deep and meaty and combine with the dynamic drumming to bludgeon your ears. I challenge anyone not to headbang along to "Shekinah", "Deathless" and "Beware The Apostates". The latter along with "Cross Contamination" show that they can also do some more melodic moments, along with (almost conversely) the more hardcore sections on the album. There are only a few downsides here. Rather predictable is the now obligatory hardcore intro track with the build up from silence and the gang vocals and the slow heavy riff and the strange noises. Despite this though, if you fancy some "Spirit filled. . .brutal melodic hardcore" then this may just be the record for you.

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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