As this album opened, I kept thinking, "Could you get just a little more distortion on the top end of the lead guitar?" This is a really nerdy desire, I know, but the squeals and squalls in the upper register of the guitar were what drove "Once We Were Immortal."

The Saddest Landscape Darkness Forgives (Topshelf)

See, the kinetic drive of the band was easy to hear. These songs are propulsive, and they just needed a bit more dissonance to make them enthralling. Needless to say, I got more from the lead guitar and then some.

That said, this is strictly for fans of the scream/extreme hardcore side of the musical universe. The Saddest Landscape doesn't try to make this sound more appealing for tender ears. Rather, it straps on a jet pack and blasts straight into the heart of the sound. If getting your eardrums shattered every second isn't your cup of tea, please go elsewhere.

Because while this stuff sounds great at normal volume, it creates its own temple of desire when the knob is cranked and the needles are pinned. There's nothing wrong with music that should be heard loud. In fact, I'm a strong proponent of volume in all aspects of life, with the possible exception of my two-year-old at three in the morning.

First-rate stuff. This album turned my brain to jelly, and then I listened again. Sometimes you just have to submit to the pain in order to receive the pleasure. Chain me down again, please.

Jon Worley