Born from Hardcore, Melodic Death, and Thrash, the intent of the sub-genre of Metalcore is to pummel the listener with highly polished and melodic aggression fronted by Hardcore/Death vocals, with a few clean vocals thrown in for good measure. Popular bands such as KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and LAMB OF GOD are often branded with the Metalcore logo, as is the big hit of the second, AS I LAY DYING from San Diego, California. The problem with many bands in genres such as Metalcore, Grindcore and Hardcore is that, at the end of the day (and many years of listening), it's really hard to tell them apart in a truly meaningful way. Unless a band has prodigious talent, or character, or excellent songwriting, or takes the music in a direction not thought of before, it all becomes quite boring and repetitive.

Unfortunately, despite all the hype, AS I LAY DYING's "An Ocean Between Us" is no exception to the rule. Musicianship and excellent production abounds, but neither the Death/Hardcore or clean vocals are overwhelming in quality, character or construction, and, combined with songwriting that leaves a distinct "where have I heard this before?" taste in the mouth, the result doesn't bode well for this, their third Metal Blade outing.

However, there are a few things that do stand out on this disc. First are Lambesis' lyrics that, for the most part, aren't the typical "the world sucks and so do you" but have a strong poetic power, even if they do seem fairly negative for a Christian band. Second, there is a lot of potential here, if it could be harnessed. This is evident by the instrumentals and the subtle use of melodic repetitive notes-in the vein of a faster AGALLOCH and U2's The Edge-producing excellent emotional contrasts in between pummelings, as in "Wrath Upon Ourselves" and "I Never Wanted". It is in these contrasts-the sensitive vs. the explosive-that this band, with better songwriting, could really carve out a powerful individual sound.

However, in the end, it is still not a good thing to go through a disc and be able to say that "Nothing Left" is overwhelmingly reminiscent of IN FLAMES or "Within Destruction" has far too many elements of early SLAYER, etc. Thankfully, there's still bands like KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and LAMB OF GOD, Metalcore or not, blazing some really interesting, and individual, trails in the Metal sky.