No Innocent Victim

To Burn Again (2005)

William_David

There isn't much to say about this album, which in turn, doesn't really say much for the album. It has the ‘X-Pac Effect;' a term created by some friends and myself, named after the wrestler who has consistently failed to draw either cheers or boos unto himself. Like this album, he's just there.

This isn't quite as negative in music as in wrestling, but for an album that is being hyped as "the long awaited comeback of southern California's No Innocent Victim," it is a four-year wait that definitely wasn't worth it. To Burn Again is mediocre. It's not bad, but it doesn't leave the listener caring enough to need to pop it in again.

None of the tracks, from "To Burn Again" to "Highly Flammable" (first to last), draw enough attention to themselves to really stand out. On the latter, the opening line states "make me ignite." The problem is that this album never truly ignites. The lyrics seem uninspired, and instead are just something to keep the music moving forward. It always feels as if it's on the verge finding a great sound, but just never gets there.

Again, the album is not awful, and if you're a fan of the band, it still may be worth checking out for yourself, but for the casual hardcore fan, there is nothing here that hasn't been done better before.