Some parts of this disc pleasantly surprised me, but overall this was rather disappointing. Several songs on the album draw from the crossover roots of the band's first two demos--such as the hyperfast "Smash "Reset Control"--which was totally unexpected, especially considering they had shed the punkier elements completely by the time of their Eyes of Tomorrow debut. The second half of the CD focuses more on progressive thrash stuff in the Eyes... vein. Fine with that too.
There are two big problems here. This album is one of the worst examples of overusing small soundbites and various associated effects that I've ever heard. Early on, it seemed like they were just intros and segues between tracks--maybe not the greatest choice in my opinion, but tolerable. But they seemed to get more and more intrusive as the album went on (or maybe I was finally getting ear fatigue from the constant barrage). "Handful of Dynamite" and closer "Expulsion" are dedicated entirely to these effects, and feel like tracks that would be more at home on a noise or industrial album.
The other issue is the vocals, which often take the form of irate shouting and/or unhinged rambling, usually disrupting the music in the process. I know Eyes of Tomorrow had some staccato vocal patterns, but this is just ridiculous. Again, they're something that would probably fit better in an industrial band or even something like Rage Against the Machine. The super fast crossover sections tend to have more fitting vocals, at least.
Although it was interesting to hear what the band came up with after a long hiatus, the histrionic vocals and overdone audio samples/effects make it hard to enjoy any of the underlying music in a straightforward way. It barely squeezes by in terms of being worth the 2 bucks, and I'm glad I didn't have to pay more for it.
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