This brand new "The Powerless Rise" gets started on a hefty note whose empowering message of selflessness is hidden under layers of buzzsaw riffs and Jordan Mancino's seismic percussion artillery. Though Tim and the gang are a cohesive unit in fine form throughout the eleven song here, this writer feels compelled to single out Mancino for special praise. His drumming lends every tune a larger set of cojones, elevating them above the dross that's the result of so many similarly styled bands who go by names such as Unearth, All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, etc. etc. "Anodyne Sea" marks a change in direction as the band go the melodic route without resorting to clean vocals. This particular device doesn't show up until the muscular "Without Conclusions" showcasing the band's death metal urges. But it all goes full circle as the quintet are soon knee deep in the catchy stuff for the chest thumping "Parallels" where Tim sings his heart out with such vigor, he might just have a stroke.

As is their wont, "The Plague" is a step back into aggressive territory and this marks the pace of the album as a whole: brutal song, melodic song, brutal song, melodic song… That said, the less frantic tempo of "Anger And Apathy" should come as no surprise. On its flipside, the incinerating two minute and a half thrash jaunt "Condemned" is As I Lay Dying at their harshest and, rather predictably, it's followed by the staid "Upside Down Kingdom" and from here on in, it's pure filler. Rather disappointing, but hey, when bands usually reach their fifth album, the consistency begins to suffer. "The Blinding Of False Light" is pretty epic though.