This Canadian quintet, formed back in 2010 has taken the genre of Groove Metal and stuck with it. This is their debut release, a full-length consisting of nine tracks that are pure LAMB OF GOD worship. From the moment that "The Pledge/Project" kicks in, it is absolutely crystal clear that this band has taken the majority of its influence from the Virginian heavyweights. Granted, there is a dose of Thrash sensibilities within some of the well-executed guitar work but the feel, flow and (without a doubt) the vocals of Shawn Mailloux are wholly derivative of LAMB OF GOD.

"View From Up Here" shows off a love of Thrash Metal with some very good, harmonized guitar leads that take on a moment of SLAYER-like atonal madness but even by this midway point on the record, it is impossible to escape the LAMB OF GOD siren that is blaring from inside this album. Even the few spoken word parts are recited in a southern accent, which is just odd for a Canadian band. In fact, it feels superficial and a little pretentious. "Rise And Fall" comes in faster again, showing a bit more of a Testament vibe in the riffs, some of which are sinister and cool enough to warrant some repeat listens.

For an unsigned band, the production job on this record is pretty much flawless though lacking any serrated edges. These days it can be achieved with any home studio software but it's still worthy of praise. The songs themselves are good enough, to the point that if they had been on any of a certain Virginian band's records, they would likely have become favourites to some people. "The Devilution", for example, may start out with a very cringe-worthy spoken word section but it turns into a song that would easily start some good pits in the live setting.

The serious frustration with this comes from the fact that this band has been active for six years and yet hasn't managed to conjure up an ounce of originality. It's mind boggling, considering that it sounds like there is a lot of talent to be spoken of between these five musicians. Perhaps they set out to be just like their heroes, in which case they are right on the money! On the other hand; if they are looking to carve a reputation for themselves then they have some serious problems on their hands.

Albums like this are tricky to come to a conclusion about because the songs contained herein are not bad by any extent of the imagination but my issue lies in trying to figure out what place this band would realistically have in the increasingly globalized metal scene. To my mind, there's no shout-outs for a band doing what DEVILZ BY DEFINITION are doing and with the kind of copycatting that is on display here, I can't praise this record very highly at all. That said; maybe I am wrong and the Groove Metal crowd will eat this up the same way that the Metalcore crowd has swarmed over countless KILLSWITCH ENGAGE clones! I hope, however, that the band go back to the drawing board and start from scratch.Production  6