When I first heard this CD two things stuck out in my mind. The vocals of one Claudio Sanchez are rather high pitched and the music is something inbetween metal and melodic punk. Well, I can get past the vocals, they don't bother me or set me off as they may other listeners, but I'm wondering why they combined the metal and melody. Why couldn't it be one or the other? I don't know. There are times when I hear songs that I just want to be pure melody and not have any sort of break downs or screaming. Then at the same time, I'll hear songs and their thrashingly violent parts and think why can't the whole song have this fierce, direct danger.
Either way, it's still giving and taking and never settling at one medium or the other, so I'm screwed and discussing it any further is useless.
There are definitely strong points to the music, and definitely weak points. It's just a matter of some pop punk-like chords here, then a metal guitar riff... I mean, really, this is nothing that hasn't been done before. Musically, these are sounds you have heard before (or should have at least). It's not like they're using touch tone phones for melody or something really far out there, so this should be fairly familiar ground for most listeners.
If you want this CD to take you places you have never been before, read through the lyrics. Most CDs kind of have lyrics just about girls and how hard life is, you know how it goes, and that's all right because not having a job and struggling in relationships is something we can all relate to easily. But a lot of these songs have this kind of eerie sci-fi hint to them. I guess that's what makes me like them. In "Delirium Trigger" there's a chorus of "Dear God, I don't feel alive when you're cut short of misery will you pray it be the end? Give a look surprise wide eyed to me then you'll know just what I am. The scare that triggers your fear. Come know me in a different light, come know me as God". But wait, there's more. In "Junesong Provision" there's this verse: "Dear Newo Ikkin, how's Apollo been treating you? Has he been a good boy since the day I left? Give him my love and a sweet kiss for his head. 'Cause I won't be coming home. When you get this I'll be dead".
Songs you should hear on this include "Devil in Jersey City", "Everything Evil", "Hearshot Kid Disaster", and hell, it takes a while for the CD to actually get to the first song after a long ass intro, but once you're there, you're set.