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Track Listing: Condemning The Bloodline Lament For The Fallen God Grant Me Vengeance The Rebirth Assembly Of The Locusts Scars In Oblivion Deliverance Interlude Eternal Uprising Remnants Of A Failed Creation Hours Of Decay

Hell Within plays brutal-yet-melodic metalcore, almost along the lines of fellow statesmen Shadows Fall.

Their third release, God Grant Me Vengeance, due out on July 13th via Thorp Records, sees the New England band progress even more within the genre. Recorded at Damage Studios with producer Peter Rutcho (Bury Your Dead, Unearth, Revocation), the sound is dead-on. The mix is clear but not too polished, and every instrument stands out without dominating.

God Grant Me Vengeance mixes a lot of grooves and breakdowns with good transitions that keep the songs moving. There are some twists and turns in the song variation, and JJ Long's clean melodic vocals morph nicely into aggressive shout vocals.

There's nothing too innovative about their riffs; it's pretty standard metalcore. However, drummer Derek Jay really brings the tempo to the breaking point. His drumming is fast and relentless, with plenty of double kick on every song. Hell Within doesn't add much to the crowded genre, but they stand out among the newer bands. They are trying different things to break away from the metalcore formula. It's still a little predictable, but you have to admire their effort.

Opener "Condemning The Bloodline" packs a punch and preludes what's in store on the rest of the album. On "Lament For The Fallen", JJ offers a nice blend of shout-clean-raspy hardcore. Blast beats pound away on "Assembly of the Locusts", it also boasts good harmonies and melodies, lots of tempo changes and variation. "Eternal Uprising" is a brutal groovefest with nice guitar leads. "Hours Of decay" changes things up a bit with a nice acoustic twin lead and a galloping beat.

Whether you're a fan of metalcore or not, what Hell Within has to offer is admirable, and the direction they're heading in is definitely up.

To buy the CD and for more information, check out their official myspace.