FO/BIK come out swinging on this release with stunted vocals and grating riffs caked with distortion, causing them to end up sounding somewhere between metalcore and rapcore. The band can sound a bit like 40 Below Summer, Relative Ash, Slaves On Dope and Stuck Mojo at times, but do inject enough of their own edge into the music to make it something they could justifiably call their own.

Vocally the album comes off with a brash yet melodic tones that sounds like a demented man spewing out raspy verbal venom through the fast paced verses, while the choruses seem a bit more restrained and melodic with deep winded muted words that remind of classic Stuck Mojo backing it all up. There's a good verbal range exhibited here as well as constant variation and when added to the more volatile aspect of the band, it creates a satisfying conveyance of aggression. Guitars are slightly shrill and pack punch as they rip through scouring riffs that slide through Korn styled build-ups and the occasional Rage Against The Machine effect powered solo. Strong armed and laid a bit thin, the playing style implemented winds up shifting more attention to the vocals, making for an interesting ride. Bass is downtuned and jumps from gloomy, spiraling basslines into punchy notes that are hit with authority and vigor. Some slightly upbeat riffs are worked in from time to time along with the occasional slap and pop to spice things up. Drums can feel a bit lean as they catapult into chaotic rolls and pumped up beats that share a lot in common with hardcore styled playing. Still though, their energy and honed talent manages to propel the songs forward with a hungry technique and elevate the music to a higher plateau.

The groups material is fast paced for the most part and their ability to switch from slow emotional crooning to fast tempo enraged rants as showcased in the opener "See Through" is quite interesting. Sadly though, as a whole the disc can feel a bit scattered and the instruments don't bond together as tight as they could. It's not so much a flaw of the band, as they are all very talented, but they wind up feeling a bit too interested in their own parts rather than blending together to form a tight base and as such its not hard to slip right through a few of the more reckless numbers included on this album. FO/BIK are without question deeply entrenched within their own element, but as is the case for most things, this is a double edged sword. If the band can take a bit of time to tighten things up into a more concentrated attack, then we might just have another element to add to the periodic table of heavy music.
(3.5 / 5)