Some bands break the mold and are destined to be leaders of musical movements. Others are convicted to toil away in mediocrity, desperate to capture some of the limelight that escaped past the current scenes figureheads. On "Sirens", It Dies Today inch closer to the latter, offering little more than an illusion of an identity that could quickly be picked apart and attributed to the stronger aspects of their peers.

Considering that on their past outing, "The Caitiff Choir", It Dies Today showed some glimmers of hope - particularly in their darker vibe and contrasting elements, this may be disappointing to some. But while "Sirens" has a number of heavier standard-fare metalcore thunder, nearly all of it seems like a calculated setup for the looming emo-ish melodic chorus tailored for the Myspace generation.

Not entirely formulaic, the band have developed as songwriters and this does give them a bit of longevity, but it all becomes cliche and tiring after a few tracks in. Bland aggression, recycled riffs, glossy melodies and the ever-presented conflicted metal vs emo trade-offs do little to impress. Essentially "Sirens" is a perfect representation of everything that is both right and wrong with the metal(core) scene. Eleven tracks of perfectly produced banality that unwittingly goes through the motions and once again only takes a step up, rather than a step out.