UK based alternative post-punk outfit SYSTEM OF HATE are back with a follow up to their debut full length record "Unhallowed Ground", released in 2016. Their newest effort, "There Is No Madness Here" is due out August 3rd via Louder Than War Records. The band bills themselves as a post-punk piece, but in "There Is No Madness Here" we hear them push their sound forward with more risks and aggression than their debut effort.

The resulting sound takes on a distinctly more thrash and power metal feel, particularly with the vocals and choruses, along with a distinct classic metal chug in the verses. We do hear a lot of punk in the drumming and general tempo aggression, but for my money they have become quite far removed from their self-ascribed punk/alternative feel. The vocals really define the album. Suty brings out a distinctly thrash style, reminiscent of James Hetfield, but with more of a power metal aggression and even more so blurring the lines between singing and screaming.

The unfortunate reality for this album is this, however: it's stuck in the past, and in and of itself, is derivative. Outside of a couple more upbeat songs, each track is a pretty standard half chug of anti-religious angst, with the same general themes and song structures throughout. Opener "There Is No Madness Here" is rather solid, but it sort of leaves everything out on the table. There are only a couple other songs that match the intensity, and none that do better than that track. This leaves everything after the title track feeling a bit "less than."

And while normally I don't like more upbeat punk tracks (I like my slow chug) this album was SO self-similar with that style, some of the fast more upbeat tracks like "Your God Is Dead", "Tears Of Blood", and "Rising" actually ended up being my favorites. That being said, on some slower numbers like "Black Fire" and "Who Will Walk With God", the dark and slightly doom metal atmosphere they create is super cool, and does serve well to carry into the more upbeatt middle of the album.

I do love the anti-religious sentiment, nothing beats some good ol' fashioned metal bitching about religion. But, unfortunately, even that got old after a while, as they brought nothing new or constructive to the table to fight against religion, and instead was just the same general bitching and moaning we've heard for years and years. It's cool because fuck religion, etc, but it was also just meh when it comes down to it.

All in all, this is an okay punk/thrash/power metal album from a young band (although the musicians are veterans), and it has its fun moments. But with the style, lyricism, and production value all lagging behind the pace of modern metal, and becoming derivative even when compared against itself, there's nothing to write home about. If you vibe with this classic style and are looking to headbang to some anti-religious angst, give it a listen and enjoy. But there is nothing here that is going to blow anybody's mind.