Reviewed by Elliot Rose

In their second studio outing, the five Californian punk and metal band make music that sounds like it's on fast-forward. The opening track "Abandonment Theology" demonstrates this perfectly and the tempo doesn't slip as it enters "Don't Let It Die" and works its way through the majority of the songs on 'Helpless But Not Hopeless'. Although they are clearly competent musicians with Manny's lead guitar being pretty effective, emotion is somehow drowned out by the adrenaline. The chord progressions overall are decent and much of the rhythm guitar work is cemented well with the driving bass but there is little time to even acknowledge the skill shown. "The Coming Storm" is probably the best of their thrash-punk style, though the highlight for me is definitely the bluesy opening to "We Belong Together" before it descends into relentless head banging. The lyrics are interesting for the most part, however Johnny's vocals sometimes slip awkwardly off key on the sustained notes, particularly on "The Lone Road".

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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