The sons of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania AFTER THE FALL have soared fourth with a net collection of balls-out, catchy metal.  Taking a leaf from the hymn sheets of the late- eighties, "My Confession" is a credible-work  which transcends almost all their releases from the past decade. Saying it is catchy is an understatement, highly addictive is more on the money.  It may take a few listens but it will become a staple on most playlists for the year ahead.

Opening with the cracker "Scream", the album reveals itself quickly, you know what's ahead.  The guitar-crunch is pretty epic but the real meat is the vocals of Doug Carnahan.  He growls, snarls and demonizes every syllable, at times the warped vocal-phasing is magnificent, an eerie quality of divine madness. Rolling kicking and screaming into the less intense but equally great "Walls", the industrial guitar work of Zac Shepard becomes more unique.  A reason he stands out may perhaps be down to the use of high volume on the solos, producing an old-school natural sound.  In saying that he does invest more riffs-per-square-inch in most tracks creating a very wide variation within a single track.

The title-track "My Confession" has a hint of IRON MAIDEN to it, particularly in the opening.  It swiftly changes direction however, becoming a more relaxed track, not as intense as MAIDEN though wholly enjoyable.  The groove of "Meant To Be" is one of the many highlights here, guitar-cranking glory.  That intensity carries forward into "For Me", almost a riff-crank extension of the previous. "You Would Know" is one those interesting tracks, what can only be described as a rap-vocal over a restrained guitar pattern.  It shifts direction soon after into the more comfortable sound of the rest of "My Confession".  This certainly has a turn-of the century sound to it, LIMP BIZKIT style, it not bad by any means, not a standout but very interesting and brave break in the destructive metal.

There is enough to like here, even the stomping "Remember The Time", has enough of a marching head-banging feel to keep you hooked.  Closing the album with an acoustic sweetener in "Still Here", is a different approach to a finish, not going out with a bang but a more reflective piece of work. From the outset and clever cover art, gives an impression of whomever comes in contact with this release, knows that there is something special contained within.  AFTER THE FALL have put together a magnificent piece of work, it does have the longevity factor which means it is hardly going to be forgotten too quickly and will appeal to a wide range of Metal fans, both new and old.