In 2000, issued its debut LP, , an album heavily -- heavily -- influenced by the gimmicky cross-pollination of and favored by aggro types like . A full four years later, returned on a new label ( ), with a new album ( ) and a fully rehabbed yet no less problematic sonic exterior. seems to have been one of the foremen on this reconstruction project; he handles most of the production and mixing, as well as a few instrumental turns. The band's foment is still intact, but it's been steamrolled into slick sheets of clicking, processed electronic mush. The result? White noise, blips, and smatterings of voices and synthesized instruments filling the gaps between 's enormous, guitar-heavy loud choruses and its meandering, go-nowhere verses. and mixer have capably refitted 's previous sound for 21st century marketability; unfortunately, the band itself still has very little source material to bring to the table, which makes resemble an enactment of formula instead of an album of songs. And then there's those odd, ham-fisted attempts to fuse elements to aggressive . are as gimmicky as anything on ; they sound like covering ' 's thick, buzzing guitar line is pretty catchy, but even here insistent processing cleanses it to the point of utter blandness. is even more aimless, wandering between shimmering organs, guttural vocals, gargantuan guitar tones, and the usual bed of electronics. It's possible all of this is supposed to sound like an updated , but there's just no real songwriting meat underneath all the rancid bluster. Confusing records like only further muddle a / movement already afflicted with the wheel-spinning doldrums. ~ Johnny Loftus