The Year of the Suckerpunch

When I first heard that Amoral was going to release a new album this year, I was ecstatic. Until, of course, I found out they had a new vocalist. I thought I'd give the new guy a shot, I mean, he can't be that bad, right? Boy was I surprised. "Year of the Suckerpunch" is an appropriate name for the single, as that's what I felt like had happened after having heard it.

I had high hopes for this new album, and I was let down after hearing just 2 songs from it. The music itself wasn't terrible, though it wasn't the same as on Reptile Ride or Decrowning. The big time deal breaker to me was the drastic change in vocal style. It just doesn't fit with this particular group of musicians. It just isn't Amoral to me. Yes, I'll admit, there were times while listening to Reptile Ride where I felt that if clean vocals had been added, it would have possibly enhanced the song, though it was nearly perfect as it was. But going to pure clean vocals? Wow. One word comes to mind. Blind-sided.

I rated this 15 out of 100 because the only chance at redemption for this album was the music itself. That's about as good as it will get for those out there, like myself, hoping for another release like their previous 2. I, along with a few others I'm sure, was very disappointed. I'll stick to Decrowning and Reptile Ride when looking for an Amoral fix.