Abstract, freeform and inventive are three adjectives that go far to describe the music that Chicago, IL's Yakuza have crafted on this, their Century Media debut. From jazz and hardcore to Neurosis like experimentalism and psychedelia, the band choose not to limit themselves to any single genre and instead often creatively traverse through a number of them like the passing stages of an ominous storm.

Bolstering such an ambitious musical vision with a wide range of instruments that includes the likes of horns and ethnic drumming to name a few, this is by no means your average metal album and while comparisons would be hard to tag upon them a mix of the likes of Candiria, Neurosis and the Dillinger Escape Plan would probably be a fair indicator of what one can expect to hear on this record.

Many apocalyptic sonic landscapes are visited as the album progresses, leaving band frontman Bruce Lamont's charred, almost desert rock reminiscent vocals to serve as a wandering guide. But while Lamont's contributions point the listener in the right direction it is the organic transitions that the band employ which help them to avoid the typical posturing of most genre bending bands out there today. Such statements are backed up by their decision to keep a number of the pieces instrumental - a testament to their development as a group over the past few years. However, with that being said the album does hit quite a few snags, most of which are a result of the lack of a continual structure being implemented throughout the songs, a quality which generally keeps the bands music in the avant garde territory and suggests that it may not go down too well with mainstream oriented fans. Such discrepancies lead one to believe that though this may not be the most focused effort this talented group could construct overall, it is still one that lives up to their namesake as the music contained upon it is both mysterious and deadly, not to mention it will probably sound foreign to anyone without an open mind.