What can be said about a band like Living Sacrifice? Few groups out there today could hope to carve themselves out an admirable niche in the metal genre and still remain relevant 12 years into their career and yet this is exactly what this Arkansas based act have done. For lack of a better description Living Sacrifice's last few albums have rooted themselves within the metalcore genre and "Conceived In Fire" is in theory no different.

Following up the primal and at times even tribal tinged venture that was 2000's "The Hammering Process" is no easy task, especially with that releases nearly cult status, but it seems to be one they are up for if "Conceived In Fire" has anything to say about it. More surgical and precise than they were last time out, this release seems to draw from the bands earlier efforts at times and yet still enlists enough tricks from their past few outings to remain cutting edge.Throat charring vocals, chunky distorted guitar riffs, dense bass lines and towering drumming performances that exude enough force to pound reinforced concrete into dust are all still present and should leave few disappointed.

Still, the above could describe pretty much any Living Sacrifice release so what makes this one different? Well, first of all the mixing was done by Andy Sneap (Killswitch Engage, Skinlab) and the dense sound he has pulled out of the material has really added a much dark edge. There is also a sharper focus present and an increased amount of intent with which the band convey their messages, a factor which is immediately prevalent with the thinly veiled lyrical content being offered up. While such qualities are a definite plus for the band "Conceived In Fire" is unfortunately not an album without faults. Pacing is perhaps its biggest stumbling block as each song tends to roll forth at a methodically mid-tempo pace and while a few melodic elements are still in place, they are even more rare than they were on "The Hammering Process", which causes them to do little in the way of dynamic change. By all means still an empowering album however, Living Sacrifice are without question a mainstay on the Solid State roster and one of the best Christian metal acts period. This album will do nothing but cement such a status, even if it isn't their finest work to date.