Certainly with such names surrounding him as Cynic's Sean Reinert and Atheist's Tony Choy, most would expect _Collision_ to literally be oozing with old-school death metal's caustic aesthetics. Yet while the album is by no means timid in any way, in reality it plays like a clash of musical ideologies pitting Faith No More and Dillinger Escape Plan against any number of modern heavy metal's upper tier standard-bearers. While this may initially elicit a fair share of scepticism, the blend of styles plays out with enough panache to put a thousand nay-sayers to shame.

The razor-sharp performance on "Roadblock (D.O.A.)" alone is so poignantly on target that you'll soon forget any disappointment you may have over not being able to hear "Out of the Body"'s younger cousin. Elsewhere, the visceral grooving of "PCP" and "Knee Deep In" shows off the entire band at their best; Reinert's gattling-gun drumming providing an expert palette for the rest of his consorts to kick up one of the freshest and finest rackets to hit modern metal since Lupara's debut.