I was very torn between giving this a 3 and a 3.5. I would give it a 3.3 if possible, but in the end I settled for the higher score simply because of the energy and instrumental prowess heard throughout the album. Where this album falters in comparison to its predecessor, is in the songwriting, as well as the pacing of the album. Very few of the tracks stand out from the rest, or have much in the way of personality. For the most part they are a collection of very solid metalcore riffs, haphazardly thrown together with some decent but aimless/a bit monotonous screamed vocals. Mostly absent are the far from perfect, but somewhat charming clean vocals found throughout much of their previous album. I feel those cleans gave each song more of an identity, and this album's songwriting is at its best when it tastefully uses the very few clean vocal sections that it does. The pacing is also odd. Of the first 5 tracks (out of 11), 2 are an intro and a interlude,1 is the slowest track (yet possibly the one with the most personality on the whole record), and the other 2 have perhaps the least personality on the record. This makes for a bit of a slow start to the record that initially turned me off. The final 6 tracks are the strongest on the record, aside from the very last track, which features some guest clean vocals that I did not enjoy much at all. Overall, this is a mixed bag of an album, and a bit of a letdown compared to their debut, but if you are looking for some high octane metalcore riffage, this album will likely satisfy.
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