Vigilance

Personnel: Jon Howard (guitar, keyboards).
Producer: Jon Howard .
Engineer: Jon Howard .
Audio Mixer: Greg Reely.
Audio Mixer: Greg Reely.
Recording information: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (11/2008-03/2009); Temple Studios, Reseda, CA (11/2008-03/2009).
Threat Signal's fans can breathe a sigh of relief when they hear VIGILANCE, the Hamilton, Ontario metalheads' second album. While the band had plenty of lineup changes after its 2006 debut, UNDER REPRISAL, on the follow-up, lead singer Jon Howard is the only one remaining from the original lineup. The good news is that Threat Signal bounce back nicely on this 2009 release. Stylistically, VIGILANCE isn't a major stylistic departure from the Canadians' first album; their work is still best described as alternative metal with elements of metalcore/hardcore, thrash metal, and death metal. While the album is scorching much of the time, it is also relatively melodic and not without nuance. Howard usually favors metalcore/hardcore-style screaming vocals, although there are some clean vocals as well. Memorable tracks like "United We Stand" and "Revision" have that "angry as hell, but positive and hopeful" vibe that is so common in metalcore and hardcore. In fact, VIGILANCE is memorable more often than not. There are a few mediocre tracks, but overall, this sophomore outing underscores Howard's ability to keep Threat Signal healthy despite all those lineup changes.