Crossbreed's Artemis debut is a veritable modern metal explosion, as this Florida based six piece come out shooting with a reckless abandon that is fueled by a brooding intensity, combining new metal ala Korn with the electronic sounds of Spineshank and Orgy along with perhaps a touch of older Filter or Pitchshifter.

Band frontman James has a somewhat grating voice at times, similar to Filter vocalist Richard Patrick, but with more grit. Switching between dark melodic verses and aggressive choruses on the groups less antagonistic tracks, while resembling Spineshank's Jonny Santos during the more unhinged moments, his range is fairly solid and his furious screams convey his emotion authentically. Guitar work is a bit detached however, with a fairly standard new metal approach carving out grinding bottom heavy riffs that swat at the listener like a vicious animal, while the mildly downtuned basslines primarily follow the guitars lead, making for a fairly thick blast of distorted sonic mayhem. Not to be outdone though, band drummer Travis puts his kit to the test, using a hard hitting style that is amplified by the bassy tuning and abundance of thunderous rolls. But the final piece of the bands musical puzzle comes in the shape of their two keyboardist's Flip and Izzo, who both take great strides to giving this album a very futuristic feel. The tweaked out sounds and large bass drops they enlist are intriguing and at times hypnotic and though there's a slight industrial undercurrent, the overall vibe is quite digestible and entertaining.

Crossbreed are definitely one of the more interesting entrants into the new metal scene as of late and though this disc does have a rough around the edges sound to it, it still seems to work quite nicely when coupled with their over the top intensity. The sampling and electronic aspects are fairly accomplished and the raw dynamic that is created between them and the fierce riffs and caustic vocals help to generate an ever present sense of tension. Whereas most bands who incorporate electronic instruments into their fold try to make everything sound inherently slick, Crossbreed instead loosely compacts it all together, which in the end leaves the music retaining an almost organic tinge. Still, it is also this looseness that could turn away some listeners who are accustomed to a more polished feel and though the band do kick the disc off with some brutally heavy tracks, the momentum soon falters off, seemingly becoming trapped in a pile of songs which don't really make any effort to differentiate themselves from one another, especially in means of tempo. But as it sits, this album is still a solid, albeit somewhat uninspiring debut, that should catch on with the modern metal market quite quickly if ever presented with the right opportunities.