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The second album by Orlando quintet Modern Day Escape doesn't reinvent the post-hardcore wheel, but there are still some tracks worth digging into. "Don't Hold It Against Me" and "Demons Down Below" in particular— the latter with a slicing riff that drops in after an almost Maiden-like guitar intro — stand up with some of the best newish metal out there, echoing Funeral for a Friend or Fightstar. The melodies are sustained in short enough bursts, and most songs clock in around the three-minute mark — which is good, because they never drag on too long. But some never get a chance to stretch out fully, either, leaving untapped potential. There's a lot of cross-pollination in the air — emo, screamo, metalcore — leaving it a bit hazy as to what exactly MDE want to be. The mix works much of the time, and then there are tracks like "Life's a Bitch," which sounds a little too much like the Papa Roach hit "Scars." And missteps like "Tiger's Blood" —where the subject stays up all night drinking until dawn with no regrets but acknowledges that maybe he's in a cycle of "spin, spin, out of control" — is about two Charlie Sheen rehabs too late.
