California based bands have been making great strides to try and reclaim the hardcore/metalcore crown from the long undisputed East Coast champions and if they can keep producing bands along the caliber of In Reverent Fear, they just might have a chance. Rife with a sun drenched take on post hardcore and screamo, In Reverent Fear sound violent and unrelenting on this full-length effort, slamming melody over the top of aggression in a way that should easily appeal to fans of Glassjaw, Poison The Well and Zao.

By merging a variety of different styles, In Reverent Fear never fail to remain relevant on this outing, thrashing it out with the best of them as throaty screams unleash their wrath while sullen melodies with interestingly spacious instrumentation bring calming relief. In fact, there's even a healthy portion of modern influence handy here which can bring to mind faint traces of bands like the Deftones and perhaps even a touch of ambient post rock - qualities which rarely leave the music feeling cliche or uninspired. These pleasing elements aside though, without question the bands two strongest features are their insatiable appetite for intense scorching, vocal content and their love for depth and drawn out musicianship.

They capitalize upon these strengths in nearly every track and create some viciously cathartic and at times even dizzying emotional release in the process. But while this whirlwind style often works well for them, it can also bring some damaging flaws to the surface as well. The main gripe that really comes to mind when listening to this album is the fact that while the band often change up their tempo and rhythms with jagged intersections of breakdowns, verses and choruses; There just isn't any overall guiding direction that justifies them to do so. With this being the case, a lot of the songs often drag on and leave the listener with little sense of progression. That aside, this is still an above average listen from a highly talented band who only need to map out their ideas in a more effective fashion to be able to break out and become major players.