Listening to Mushroomhead's latest offering brings up a number of questions. Should a band that helped to pioneer the now dreaded nu-metal sound stick to their guns? Or should they blindly try to evolve it? Sadly with "Savior Sorrow", Mushroomhead do a bit of both, revisiting past territory while desperately stretching the two frayed ends of a style that snapped apart long ago.

The band even seem to know this as well. For rather than primarily talking about being off the majors or having a new frontman in place to get press; they have seen fit to bashing Slipknot to keep them in the spotlight after years of taking the higher road on the issue. So what can one expect on "Savior Sorrow"? Well there's an abundance of loose downtuned riffing with a groove-heavy focus that sounds dated from the get-go.

On top of that, the bands electronic urges have moved more towards adding a faux industrial danceability (complete with vocals that take the Cher road of electronically-aided annoyance.) Basically, the bulk of "Savior Sorrow" sounds like a batch of leftover ideas from the latest Korn record - aka forced an uninspired.

Its chugging trenches leave vast expanses of space that never gets filled - though the band sloppily noodle, flail and flounder while trying to add at least some content. The vocal interplay, which was formerly a strongpoint for the band, rarely ever clicks. Faith No More is still ripped off and while new masks may be worn, nothing ever stands out.

Making it through more than a few tracks in succession becomes a task only Hot Topic shopping Midwesterner's or South Americans will be able to handle. Making it through the entire album means you're probably just deaf or can't hear properly through your homemade Pig Benis mask.