Andy and co. are back with another release entitled Become Death.  This particular release has a lot of hype behind it for fans of the band because it is rumored to be their heaviest album.  This puts a lot of speculation against them because how many bands, can anyone honestly say that when a band makes such a statement they follow through?  Is the record going to be good? Will it be nothing but guitar distortion? Or god help us a stripped-down version (coughSt. crapAngercough) Only time will tell...
Since I reviewed the last SYMPHORCE album Godspeed just a little over a year and half ago see the link for a biography.  Since then however Steffan Theurer joined the band behind the kit dismissing Sascha Sauer and essentially that is it.  Become Death comes out in February via Metal Blade Records.
The album starts off justifying the claim that this was going to be their heaviest album to date.  The song begins with an excellent series of sweeps (though it might just be scales I am not a music student) and into a very crushing riff that is also very catchy at the same time.  On the whole this songs contains probably the most overall heaviness from beginning to end.  The second track In The Hopes Of A Dream is a step down in the heaviness to more along the lines of a regular SYMPHORCE track, but the really redeeming quality about this song was Andy's vocals on the chorus were very soothing as well as having a nice croon to his voice.
Towards The Light stands out in my mind because of the vocal contrast between the chorus and the verse.  It's not like Andy is using death vocals by any means, but these are possibly his heaviest vocals from any SYMPHORCE album.  Though in contrast is the chorus where the vocals aren't necessarily the smoothest sounding he has produced, but they are very top notch.  The programming really adds a lot I think to the chorus adding a lot of emotion to his voice.  The fourth track is overall not that impressive; it is the most melodic track on the album in my opinion.  Even though it is the most melodic doesn't make it the worst song; it just lacks the crunch that usually accompanies a SYMPHORCE song.  Condemned is really excellent song definitely helps redeem for track five that I didn't find to be that interesting.  The groove from the guitar on this track is particularly intriguing.  The verse sounds to me that is structured slightly different from the SYMPHORCE songs.  The programming once again adds very nice touch to the track.  My complaint about this song is the chorus.  There is a line You hear my screaming out your name and I almost 100% for sure that somewhere in tracks 4-7 on Godspeed where Andy sings the exact same line in a chorus.
Death Has Come has an interesting sample at the beginning, but overall just an average SYMPHORCE song. The next two tunes are very melancholic and dark, not real head turners but good solid songs.  The album finishes up with a strong number by the name of Lost But Found.  The song has a very intense guitar riff as well as a totally savage guitar solo but ¾ of the way through, which happens to be the best solo out of the roughly 6 on the album.
It may or may not seem like I am awfully two-faced when it comes to SYMPHORCE throughout this review but that is only because I am very critical of one of my favorite bands.  So you also have to realize that an average SYMPHORCE album is a good album for almost any other band.  So I must finish with praise for the review, though the entire album is not the heaviest it is easily the most diverse.