Swarm of the Lotus decided for their sophomore release, they were going to kick some ass and take some names along the way. What we got is a very diverse release that just about anybody into hard music can like. For fans of Mastodon, Isis, Clutch even would dig on this album.

Scattered in between the 12 tracks are a look into the minds of the 4 men who make up the band. “Call to Abandon” is a 6+ minute song in which it drags the listener into a very slow paced heavy song. It goes from being a very sludgy stoner rock kind song, all while maintaining it’s heavy edge. It starts off like a bat out of hell, and then in the middle goes into a lengthy instrumental part. It’s a great song that really makes the CD worth listening.

By the sound of the production, you could tell that Kurt Ballou (of Converge fame) did this CD. It’s almost his trademark sound of his usual releases.

This is what I won’t get, The Sirens of Silence will be released and it will get decent amounts of press, but a band like Shadows Fall releases something and they’re the saviors of hard-rock or heavy metal. What Swarm of the Lotus have done on this CD is put a stamp on the metal world and said they’re here to stay and they will be at the forefront of the scene. Definitely check this band out when you can
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Reviewed by: Chris Buehler
Reviewed on: July 12, 2005