I've been hooked into a new loud music PR company for the last couple of months (as if you couldn't tell by what's been reviewed). One of the things I love is that the rep gives every band a unique genre listing. Escaping Amenti is "apocalyptic metalcore." And, yeah, that just about sums it up.

Escaping Amenti Awakening (Big Balls Productions)

These boys from Malmö (Sweden) answer the question "exactly how has Fear Factory influenced music over the last 25 years or so?" Blistering extreme metal punctuated by shrieking keyboards and industrial rhythms. With the requisite synth washes, since these guys are Swedish and all.

And that's about it. These songs throttle through at a high tempo and maximum volume, with both shouted and sung vocals (just like FF), and every once in a while it becomes necessary to remember to breathe.

The tableau is laden with goodies, and the feast is sumptuous. Escaping Amenti is something like a metal greatest hits package, combining some of the best sounds of the last 30 years with meticulously-crafted songs. Metal for metalworkers. Or something silly like that. In any case, adrenaline is not a problem here. The issue is keeping the heart rate from going febrile.

Jon Worley