Cry of the Afflicted

The Unveiling is the second full-length release for Kelowna’s Cry of the Afflicted, but first for Christian heavyweight label Solid State Records. Their approach of mixing metalcore and just enough catchy pop vocals make this album absolutely nothing different than any other band trying to break into the same scene. Each song sounds like a single that you could listen to for day -- or, put negatively, that it sounds pretty much identical to the track before it.

Being a fan of the genre I enjoy the album as a whole, but I did notice after a while that I couldn’t tell any of the songs apart. After a couple listens and a struggle I noticed a couple standout tracks, including “The Influence of False Pretense,” featuring great dual vocals as well as the guitar-enthused “Anchors.” The only downside to “Anchors” is the intro, which is dangerously close to that of Linkin Park’s latest single.

The album doesn’t have many noticeable flaws, but with only a few good things that stand out it is safe to say that you won’t see Cry of the Afflicted being credited as music pioneers any time soon. The Unveiling is an enjoyable CD in the genre, but don’t expect anything different from their genre peers.