Punk sneer has long twined itself with metallic bombast -- thrash and black metal ancestries shout that fact to the oppressive heavens, and death metal only a bit less so -- too long and too tightly to be comfortably extricated without leaving jagged, stinging scabs behind. _Meridian II_ wears these scabs plainly as it attempts to sand down the edges and dodge a miles-wide extreme legacy of pain, hate, and disgust. New avenues for driving, electrified rock should certainly be sought and traveled, but _Meridian II_ is mixed to relegate any musical darkness to small-type footnote -- odd, since the story that the band apparently wants to tell involves a well-intentioned healer inadvertently causing the sick, violent destruction of all life on the planet. Terrifying stuff for such a pleasant recording.

If _Meridian II_ were graded solely on Elizabeth Matson's rare, compelling voice (heard throughout the record), the album would rank a solid 9. Matson carries the magical tale forward naturally and perfectly, without resorting to standard growls, shrieks, or any sort of off-putting melodrama. But the musical accompaniment -- the very structure and reason for any vocal performance at all, one might say -- rarely connects with enough sheer force to merit the levels of concentration required to unravel the story and its musical framework.

I appreciate the existence of Unexpect but don't especially enjoy listening to them. Phavian generally slide over me the same way. There are ideas here. I just always hoped the end of the world would be more... well, brutal.