We'll Make the Roads By Walking

The Assistant's final studio release is an eight-song album of relentlessly heavy metal hardcore that seeks to put the band alongside the technicality of bands such as the Dillinger Escape Plan based on guitar work, but with female vocals instead of male ones. While vocalist Leigh Sabol handles the majority of the vocal work, it's very hard to tell her vocals apart from the occasional times when the male vocals kick in. And with the exception of the final track and the primarily instrumental song "Tom Hanks Has a Huge Beard," much of this is just brutally heavy hardcore with lots of complex guitar work and occasional melodies. The band has a lot more in common with old Cave-In or Combatwoundedveteran than just about anybody else. And while the extensive liner notes and photos in the album make it stand out, it's unfortunate the music couldn't do the same. Many of the songs seem redundant and as though they're part of a formula that has already been tried with many other acts, with the exception of having a female singer. This is a well-meaning attempt at an album, but one that ultimately falls short due to an inability to stand out amongst the influx of hardcore bands.