Over the past few years, The Blank Theory's stirring blend of melody and crunchy metal managed to make a dent for them in their local Chicago, IL scene, subsequently establishing them as one of the larger underground acts in the region. Eventually the buzz caught on and with a new label in the form of Scratchie/New Line Records now behind the band and an album produced by James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins fame and Adam Schlesinger in hand, the group finally look primed to break out and take their material worldwide. In an effort to no doubt help achieve such lofty goals, a slightly more commercial version of the bands sound is on display here than that which was present on their past efforts, finding the quartet moving further away from their once dominant Helmet influence and now modernizing their sound into something more akin to say the likes of TRUSTcompany or Linkin Park.

With stern melodic vocals that possess a firm sense of conviction and an affinity for soaring choruses, the album coasts along on a fairly emotional controlled course which occasionally hits some well placed turbulence in the form of a few uncaged screams. The guitar work on other hand comes loaded with modern metal chunk and crunchy riffs that swerve from scratchy effect aided buildups to bottom heavy swats which literally hurl the songs toward the listener. The bass playing compliments this hungry performance by adding its own looming weight to the guitar playing and winds up creating a commanding stringed assault in the process. Perforated by some sharp drumming and a multitude of programming and the like from keyboardist Shawn Currie, the bands music has essentially been taken to colorful new heights that they were simply not capable of reaching on previous releases.

The recent addition of a sampler/keyboardist to the group has definitely given the band a modern edge that was not present before and though his contributions are metered and avoid saturating the bulk of the material on hand, the extra dimension he adds will definitely surprise, and possibly even require some adjustment from longtime fans. Other noteworthy new additions are the few guest guitar appearances from James Iha which add a distinct vibrance to two of the songs featured, while a cover of Portishead's "Sour Times" sees the band admirably branching out. Perhaps the biggest change in store for listeners with "Beyond The Calm Of The Corridor" though is that through the sonic expansions made and an overall modernization of their sound, the group have essentially entered themselves into a scene that is already diluted with acts that sound similar, loosing a bit of the organic rock identity that they had developed before and ultimately beginning to sound more like a lot of the other bands out there. Such a turn is disappointing but it is also a double edged sword as it will make the group appeal to more fans who are already well versed in the style. In the end, despite the occasional flaw here and there, this album remains a solid listen from a talented young act who have a lot of room to grow and though they may have dipped into the waters of what's currently popular a bit more than necessary, they have still created an enjoyable album that retains its integrity and warrants a number of listens, in theory at least.