After a nearly three-year delay that saw line-up changes and a lengthy drawn out creative impasse with their former label American Recordings, American Head Charge have finally returned and with them they have brought "The Feeding", their follow-up to 2001's "The War Of Art". Jumping ship from the American Recordings roster and saddling up with Nitrus/DRT this time around, the band understandably have a lot to get off their chest and this latest album seems to be their chosen platform to express it.

While their earlier output was fairly industrially oriented the group have been progressing further away from their roots with each successive release. This trend is continued here with little signs of their electronically-augmented roots surfacing, save for the odd sample or manipulated passage. Instead the group have updated their brand of modern metal into a more streamlined monster, enlisting the harmonized shades of Faith No More and the brashness of Slipknot to compliment their groove-driven assaults. With the rhythm section generally given the reigns, the band bash about with blunt rage that is filtered through surprisingly polished song structuring. Ultimately this usually amounts to introspectively melodic build-ups and harshly screamed riff-heavy choruses with the occasional screeching instrumentation in-between; but there are some moments that should catch more than a few listeners off guard.

While the bands sound is now more or less dated in comparison to the current state of metal, it still has its positives and this release generally extols them. That's not to say that the material here isn't a bit too by the numbers and threadbare at parts, as songs like "Dirty" sound like they were resurrected straight out of 1999. But with a weighty atmosphere and a keen eye for song progression and tightly knit segues, "The Feeding" does avoid becoming bloated. If anything its lean demeanor leaves it a bit anemic and uninspired, even if the band do deliver a lively performance. Those unimpressed by the so-called "New Wave Of American Heavy Metal" will likely revel in what this album has to offer. But those who gorged themselves throughout the nu-metal meets modern metal explosion would probably rather go hungry as they've long since had their fill of what's being served up here.