On their debut album FIGHTING THE PHOENIX have brought out a terrific sounding record let down only by the song writing itself. Album opener "Falto" throws you straight into the deep end as it starts at 100 MPH and doesn't slow down after that. It's a powerful starter, but the clean vocals of Zach Snyder don't fit in-between the breakdowns and blast beats as much as I'd hope. "Reputation" is another face hitting starter as the double bass kicks of Kyle Snyder are like machine guns shooting you down. The song itself is just one big breakdown which is made heavier by Chris King's grisly vocal performance.

As the album progresses into "Reflections" however, you start to realize the entire album sounds the same track by track. It the same formula repeated for 40 minutes and it's just recycled breakdowns and beats which show there's no originality here. Don't get me wrong, it has some good songs such as "Falto" and "Blood Money," but the lack of creativity pulls the album itself down and it's a shame because it's got potential. Just not enough to pull it out of the sinking ship that's dragging it down. If there was more of a thought process that went into this album than copying and pasting several different bands upon one another, it would actually be a better sounding album. It's just hit flat for me.