UNTIL I WAKE

Buffalo's UNTIL I WAKE are breaking the usual light dusting of December music releases, as they often do with their music, and unleashing their latest full-length during the holiday season. UNTIL I WAKE are back with "Renovate", out on Fearless, and on it, they continue their genre-bending efforts with a blend of hip-hop, post-hardcore, metal and hard rock.

From opening track "Catacombs", it's apparent that this release is going to be a banger. "Catacombs" starts with eerie, menacing atmospheres before crashing into an all-out guitar assault, with a slogging breakdown that kicks the song off before making way for new vocalist Justin Smith's mix of rapping, screaming and clean tenor.

Throughout "Renovate", one of the album's biggest strengths is Smith's versatility. He can really do it all, from street-style hip-hop rhymes to death metal screams to soaring, clean, high-pitched vocals. Smith's diversity switches things up as the album progresses and helps keep the listener engaged.

Not that the band should be left out of the praise, though. Guitarists August Lee Geitner and Niko Karras, bass player Ryan Ridley and drummer Alex Curtin are tight and solid, delivering a heavy, imaginative backdrop for Smith's vocals.

While "Renovate" isn't a concept album, it has a theme of change and, as Smith has said, surrounds a "metamorphosis." Songs such as "Separate", "The Reverence" and "Pressure" are bold, heavy statements about finding oneself and moving on.

"The Reverence" is an especially heavy track. Here's Smith pretty much only screams, and the guitars and rhythms are especially assaulting and explosive. Listening to "Renovate", most of this album is on the heavy side, but the band does switch things up with more melodic songs, such as the glistening "Castaway" and understated "Heaven Knows".

"Remember This" is one of the most commercial-sounding songs on the collection. While the song doesn't compromise UNTIL I WAKE's style, it's very approachable and mainstream-sounding, with soft, inviting verses and a powerful, catchy chorus with clean singing.

UNTIL I WAKE have only been together for about five years, but "Renovate" shows that this band is in it for the long haul. With a new vocalist in toe, following vocalist Cody Jamison's departure, it will be especially interesting to see what these guys do in the future, once the new lineup has been together a bit longer.