Perhaps Textures are at an unfair disadvantage, as my favorite bands include Meshuggah, Coprofago, and Ephel Duath. I bought this disc expecting some zany math-metal, and instead got a math-powerpop-metal cd.

These guys manage some good mathy riffs here and there, but there’s way too much of the Def Leppard vibe going on, too. That is, of course, an exaggeration, but as a fan of the aforementioned groups, I cannot help making the comparison.

The “metal lite” outweighs the real metal here, and the horrible, teen-friendly vocals rear their head more often than the jens-kidman-worthy grit.

If you want a kinder, gentler Meshuggah, this band is for you. If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool math-metaller, you may want to pass it up.