Deaf to Our Prayers

Of all the bands credited with helping to formulate the merger of and so popular in the mid-2000s (including , , and , to name the better known), Munich, Germany's have always been among the heaviest and most uncompromising. And, as illustrated by their fourth full album, 2006's appear more committed than ever to turning their backs on the accessible songwriting elements (things like clean vocals and forced melodies) adopted by most of their peers, and even themselves as recently as their preceding effort, , in 2004. That's not to say that memorable melodies are entirely absent from monstrous new songs like -- just that take great care to weave them into their inexorable rhythmic thrust, rather than use them for impact-softening counterpoint. Additional strong tracks like see the band treading latter-day Gothenburg terrain a la , and even the album's less striking, workmanlike offerings don't do without 's typically thought-provoking lyrics. At the end of the day, with the exception of 's solitary piano coda and hardly noticeable, almost subversive little synth effects introducing and snuck midway through is about as brutal an album as the German quintet has ever procured. In other words, if you are a metalcore fan looking for catchy hooks and choruses, deeply personal instead of daringly political lyrics, and those lovable mosh pit breakdowns in every song -- well, you better look elsewhere. 's is a far less forgiving extreme template, once again. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia