(hed)p.e. are soldiers of the game. Despite having been around long before the idea of mixing rap and metal made one sick to their stomach, these Orange County natives never really cashed in as big as most of the bands who opened shows for them did. Sure their heavier sound and jagged pairing of punk, rap and metal was never as friendly as that of their peers; But despite their aggressive nature they still managed to become widely regarded as one of the only bands who were ever able to get the mix down right. Times have changed however and the expiry date for the aforementioned hybrid seems to be rapidly approaching and as such, the band have now returned with "Blackout", an album that is not only a reinvention, but also a decided stab at commercial success.

Simply put, "Blackout" is the bands most commercially accessible effort to date. They still take on a variety of styles as per usual, yet they now play them with a steady focus and exercise a far less rap oriented perspective. Admittedly the album does start off with a somewhat typical hip-hop oriented number, but it soon spins off into previously uncharted territory with frontman Jahred vocalizing harmonies, singing and screaming more so than ever before. While this does work well on a number of the latter tracks included there are still a more than a few songs that wind up sounding lackluster, with a lack of heart shining through underneath their aspirations to win over the ear of general public.

Heady grooves and crunchy riffs are still key weapons in the bands arsenal this time out, but on the whole this album is definitely a much more mature and unfortunately less dangerous affair. Sure tracks like "Crazy Life" fit right at home in the groups back catalogue, but songs like the album's title track seem flat and contrived, really failing to capture the 'don't give a fuck' energy this band made their claim to fame with. In the end its still a (hed) record and should satisfy many, but one can't help coming away having hoped for a more gritty experience.