The Failure In Drowning

The third Victory release by this six-year-old band, Failure in Drowning finds the group sharpening and tightening its sound, creating a blend of East Coast hardcore and West Coast melodic metal that takes familiar elements and blends them into something that isn't exactly new or original, but still lots of good, grunting and roaring fun. Whether or not "fun" is what they had in mind is a separate question — song titles include "The Silence of Sorrow," "Face Plastered in Black" and "Relive the Curse" — but the band's combination of lickety-split tempos, sludgy breakdowns, hoarse shouting and anthemic choruses is definitely exhilarating. The only real problems are those endemic to the genre: the songs are all exciting, but they're all pretty much exciting in exactly the same way (and sometimes in exactly the same key, making it all too easy to miss the transitions between songs unless you're paying close attention). All of this means that the album's 35-minute length is more of a benefit than a liability, keeping its impact sharp and brief and more effective because of it. Not bad at all.