RULED BY REASON

You won't have a clue quite what to expect after the bubbly title track intro and may think you have it figured out within the first couple of minutes of the breakdown-y Swedcore that is "We Met Destruction", but you'll still be missing the mark until you've waded in well past the buoys. That's because on "The Dawning of Dystopia" RULED BY REASON wrap an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach around its brawny, yet intricate, metalcore. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but the waters run deep enough to make one think new and exciting things are yet to be discovered closer to the sea bottom.

The kitchen sink thing is a bit of an exaggeration and it's not like the Clevelanders' debut album is the second coming of BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME. Rather it is recognition of RULED BY REASON's willingness to stick their necks out and go for it in the arrangement department. There are a fair number of positives in that regard, most of which pertain to several six to eight minute tracks of compositional shape-shifting, all of which are inclusive of some jagged, slightly askew riffs and a handful of melodic leads that hover right around captivating. The kit-rattling drumming and the bark 'n scream vocals give the overall effort a calamitous feel and the melodic flourishes typically either surprise with pleasantry or fall a bit flat.

Aside from the brief clean vocal segments that range from failed ("Dr. Jekyll Sleeps Alone Tonight") to just about tolerable ("Look to the Stars"),much of the material on "The Dawning Of Dystopia" offers an intriguing, often bone jarring listen. It takes a time or two to settle in to RULED BY REASON's groove, but the end result is usually rewarding. In addition to those forced (feels like it anyway) clean vocal parts, the main issues holding the score down are a few transitional moments that come off too disjointed to be appealing creative (e.g. a guitar solo break during "Dorsia") and an occasional rough spot in the flow. There is work left to be done, but even with the rough edges "The Dawning Of Dystopia" is a pretty solid affair and leaves one imagining the potential yet to be unleashed by this band.