Mastered in the burgeoning art of amplified noise wrought with brief sedentary breaks, All Else Failed's "Archetype" follows up their "In Times Of Desperation" EP of last year and… do we see a theme developing here?

Despair, distraught, destroy, three D's, three good reasons why listeners might wanna keep the old pill bottle close at hand as a precautionary measure. Yesterday's Aggro-Rock attitude has slowly and most keenly tempered itself into this highly evocative form of tempered aggression, where musicianship is a quality embraced rather than abhorred, while the emotional cup runs over into sonic intensity, sudden changes, quick stops, starts, with only a brief idling in between-"The Hutton Play," "Did You Think Of Me?" "The Emesis Brain," a microcosm of an estranged collection of songs, thirteen in all, bordered but rarely cornered, with lyrically fortuitous stretches to make for a broader soundscape without peeling too much off the "Emo-Core" label that's becoming the accepted outlet for angled aggression led by humanistic instrumental impulses.

A quarter of the way down look for "Route 1" and a few miles further "While I Say One Prayer" are two of the album's staples that should quickly draw return trips for their harmonic composure and easy listening attributes amongst the otherwise punishing wall of distort and vocal drown-outs.

All Else Failed follows a similar blueprint as the likes of a Zao, complex but composed, Dillinger Escape Plan for sheer meanness, and fellow label mates Maharahj nearly foot stepping through the same path of art fed aggression and discontent.

Released by Now Or Never Records: http://www.noworneverrecords.com/

Review by Vinnie Apicella