Opening tune "Barnburner" is a slice of pure mid-tempo rock 'n' thrash goodness, with not a Scandinavian melody or clean-sung chorus to be found. Instead, Tulsa's native sons focus on what 2005's _The Darkest Red_ proved them highly adept at and its successor is subsequently awash with monster hooks and seriously heavyweight riffing. Mike William's vocals likewise come across as infinitely superior to the band's previous outings, managing to salvage even those moments -- and unfortunately the record does have its share of those -- when The Agony Scene appear to fall back into old habits.