Perhaps one of these days Threat Signal will find their own identity...ok, their brand of Testament-meets-Pantera-meets-Meshuggah extreme metal is not without its merits. New album Vigilance is chock full of tasty riffage and headbanging songs, jackhammer drum fills, and a mix of harsh & clean vocals, everything you'd expect from Threat Signal. Unfortunately, the band seems like they are trying a bit too hard, and much of Vigilance comes across as rather forced.
Lead singer Jon Howard is the only member of Threat Signal still on board since their 2006 debut Under Reprisal, and he once again does an admirable job of mixing vocal styles here. The only problem is, his clean, melodic vocals stray too far into Linkin Park campiness, and will certainly turn off those into the more extreme fare. It's a shame, as his death/metalcore growls on "Afterlife" and "The Beginning of the End" are actually quite good, sort of like a mix of Chuck Billy and Phil Anselmo. Musically, Vigilance is more than competent, and features some rock solid guitar riffs and some drum work that approaches the mighty Meshuggah at times. Problem is, we've heard this all before, and better I might add. Threat Signal deliver solid, by the numbers metal, that unfortunately, no matter how well it's played, just reeks way too much of their influences. "Hate Machine" is a perfect example-kick ass song, but it has Lamb of God and Pantera written all over it.
There's no doubt plenty of metal fans are going to love this album-hell, there's a lot to like here, but until Threat Signal search real hard and find some sort of spark that's going to help them instill some sort of uniqueness into their sound, their stay in the 'metal band wasteland of mediocrity' is going to continue.
Track Listing
01. Afterlife
02. Through My Eyes
03. The Beginning Of The End
04. United We Stand
05. Beyond Recognition
06. Another Source Of Light
07. Hate Machine
08. Severed
09. Lost
10. Revision
11. In Repair
12. Escape From Reality
13. To Remember
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