Dark Matter

Personnel: Zack Hansen, Tony Pizzuti (vocals, guitar); Telle Smith, Daniel Shapiro (vocals); Luke Holland (drums); Matthew Good (programming).
Audio Mixers: Chris Baseford; Scott Stevens ; Scott "the Ninja" Stevens.
Recording information: Pulse Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Sam Kaufman.
Dark Matter, the fourth full-length from Phoenix, Arizona's favorite metalcore sons, picks up where 2014's Real left off. Where that album showcased lead vocalist Telle Smith experimenting with clean vocals, this date forsakes dirty singing altogether. While their attack combines metalcore and nu-djent, the 12 tracks are drenched in hooky riffs and sheeny production deeply inspired by '90s metal. "Trapped" is a prime example. At under four minutes, soaring, anthemic choruses compensate for the other "requisite" thing the band leave in the genre dustbin: breakdowns. This is an interesting, accessible development that will likely garner them airplay and new fans.