This album will punch you in the face, plain and simple. There's really no two ways about it. Before Daughters came about, some of its members were spending their days in the now-defunct As The Sun Sets. As The Sun Sets was not a long-lived band, having released only three full-lengths, this being the second of them. The band split shortly after 2002's 8949 and are more often than not completely overlooked because of all the hype surrounding Daughters. Unfortunate, really, because, damn, could this band make some noise.

And that's what they did: make chaotic, ear-splitting, grind-influenced tech metal. If that's not your thing, might as well quit reading now. Since everybody loves a good comparison, the two bands that spring soonest to mind in comparison to ATSS are Discordance Axis, and even early Dillinger Escape Plan... you can really hear it in the guitars. They're as intense as any record in this genre you'll hear. Everything about this album is intense, in fact. The guitars absolutely rip, the drums pound relentlessly, and the vocals are absolutely ear-shredding; they're also completely incomprehensible.

But as with most bands of this style, you're not missing anything deep or poetic with the lyrics, as in "Feed The Scenesters To The Lions;" "If I were you and you were me / I wouldn't be me and that wouldn't work / Because you don't know how to be anything but an asshole / So fuck you and fuck me too / So on and so forth." Brilliant lyricists they're not, but that's quite obvioulsly not an intent for these guys. They only want to knock you on your ass. And in that right, I'd have to say they've succeeded. Half the songs here don't even break a minute, but pound relentlessly for the entire duration. A trademark in most bands of this type, the lightning quick tempo changes and odd time signatures are here in full effect. Listen to "Feed The Scenesters To The Lions" if you need proof of that.

In keeping with both of their other releases, this album isn't a long one, just topping off a little over the 14 minute mark, with half the songs on the album not even cracking a minute. Just to mix things up a bit, ATSS has decided to include two instrumental songs on here, both at the very end, both untitled (two of five untitled songs on the album), and both a hell of a lot more melodic than the rest of the album's duration. The first instrumental track is done entirely with drums and some clean guitar, and the other on the piano. Though it seems like a funny gripe to have with a band like this, the piano playing is disjointed, and doesn't flow at all, but such is probably the aim of ATSS, a band who doesn't conform to too many musical standards.

If you're a fan of grind-influenced tech metal, or just grind, or fast music, or Yanni for all I fucking care, give this album a shot. It's not everyone's cup of tea, sure, but I'm sure some of you will find it to be enjoyable stuff.