Reviewed by Matt Anderson

A band following closely in the footsteps of the now defunct The Crucified deliver an aggressive speedmetal/hardcore sound. Even though they do echo The Crucified (they're all buddies. Mark Saloman, Crucified vocalist, did the cover artwork and Jim Chaffin, Crucified drummer, did some guest drum work) it would be unfair to compare the two. One track consists of almost six minutes of the band casually talking to each other in the studio! But fear not, the other 11 tracks are really good, the best being "Blinded". The opener "Bow" has a whistling wind in the background and a lone voice calling a declaration of repentance to the countless stubborn and desperately lost souls. Watch out at the beginning of "Walk Beside Me", the riff sounds identical to that used in Detritus' "Blindly Rejected". At times Focused seem a bit blurred and blunt. But overall this is a brilliant debut.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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