Hailing from Santa Barbara, CA, Pressure 4-5 have managed to carve themselves out their own admirable little niche in the past few years, through a number of different demos, shows and their independently released EP, "Antechnology". However, one might be best not to draw any preconceptions of what to expect on "Burning The Process" from their older material, as quite frankly, the songs included here are light years ahead of anything they've done in the past, so much so that in fact one could be justified in mistaking them for two entirely different bands. Long gone are the more ambient, rap influenced dirges and in their place is a revitalizing blend of post NY hardcore in the vein of Helmet, combined with a shade of emocore, alt. rock and a dab of new metal overtones, which when mixed altogether make for a blisteringly aggressive slab of melodic modern metal.

Headed up by the slightly Page Hamiltion of Helmet reminiscent vocals of band frontman Adam Rich, the music settles into a fairly timid, yet explosively dynamic pace as Adam's performance is rich with polished melody, hitting with a harmonically detached charm through the verses that eventually funnels off into vivaciously potent choruses. The guitar work is full bodied with a sense of urgency and plays out with a kind of emocore meets Failure type of feel, though the tones and overall aesthetic tends to draw from the alternative rock/modern metal field in the long run. The riffs played however are quite large and driving, generating enough energy to singe the listeners ear hairs, while also soothing them afterwards with some dizzying effect tinged harmonics and ambient styled plucking. Meanwhile, the bass lines played are empowering and full of aural electricity that helps to bolster the tracks with a punchy energy, while adding a sense of conviction and depth. Drum wise, the effort is littered with a vigorous display of off timed hits and generally hard hit percussion that capitalizes upon thunderous rolls with a spacious playing style that generates intrigue and heady grooves. The incorporation of strings is also somewhat present, showing up on the track "Into Yesterday", and their inclusion definitely takes the bands craft to huge proportions, with soaring epic grace.

After only a few listens, its not hard to see how welcome of a debut this album really is. It has a degree of positivity to it all and sounds authentic as it combines aggression and melody in a way that is catchy, yet honest. The songs are addictive and have big choruses, yet they accomplish it all indiscreetly, sounding well written rather than tailored for radio. Sure the music may not be extremely innovative, as it does contain a definite influence from the mid-90's NY post hardcore scene, but despite this, it does call back to a time when musicianship and strong song writing were a lot more predominant, allowing it to sidestep the tired cliches of today's modern metal bands almost entirely. Truthfully though, their music may not be heavy enough for some peoples tastes and it can at times feel a bit glossy, but aside from that this is easily one of the most impressive and well rounded debuts to land in stores this year. Its passionate and motivational, utilizing both sullen emotion and positive aggression to penetrate the listeners senses in a constructive way. Perhaps its things like this that make "Burning The Process" such a gem of a release, or perhaps its the fact they actually did burn the current trendy process and instead set their sights on creating a sound that feels fresh in contrast to their contemporary peers, a feat which almost always deserves instant recognition and admiration.