You know, I've read all kinds of reviews of this album, but I thought the best review was by a guy who really didnt like the band, but gave a completely neutral review...a true honest interpretation of this album. I am a huge Hawthorne Heights fan. I loved SIBAW and fell in love with all their songs and literally counted down the days til I could buy the new one..

But, I was very disappointed when I actually listened to it. I will admit to everyone right now, that if you are looking for guitar-efficinado (sp?) then this is not the cd or band to purchase...but I love the drums and bass, very much so. It seems that HH is becoming the band that draws all the teenage-girls to the emo/screamo scene or whatever, all over MTV.

Now, once again, I am not saying that HH has "sold-out" or anything else as lame..Im just saying that the reason that SIBAW was sooo good was because they tore it up and Casey ( the screamer ) did his thing. Now he is a rarity, he's mic is always turned down and JT, a mediocre singer at best is the backbone of HH. I love this sorta music...but this album didnt do it for me.

Before you read another brainless, run-of-the-mill emo fan review of this cd, just know that if you're a fan of HH, de pick it up...but no one should buy this with the expectations of musical genious and the next greatest album ever...but enjoy it for what it is : a decent follow-up to their debut...nothing more and nothing less.

Wow, if you liked The Silence in Black and White, you will love this. These guys have gained so much more musicianship. Disregard anything you might read in other reviews: there are only 2 songs that sound quite similar.

They use the screaming in a creative way this time. In their freshman album, most of the screaming was ok to have, but it was unnecessary. This time, it is placed and done very well and adds to the song nicely.

Guitar riffs have grown much stronger. There are a lot of picking/palm muting mixes right next to each other.

The last song sounds like it has a little bit of sventies rock influence. They broke the rules! Finally a trendy, heavy band knows they're actually allowed to borrow from another genre.

The only beef I have is that the Version A/Version B thing is a pretty lame marketing ploy that will probably disappoint them in the end. I thought it was great when they re-release The SIB&W with EIGHT extra tracks and a DVD with SEVENTEEN chapters (That was actually worth watching) for the same price (rather than a rediculously higher price), but who's gonna buy 2 copies of one cd to follow an entirely staged story?

With the progression of this band and their talent, this CD deserves five stars. Pick it up if you have ANY liking to this band.

This CD is OK. It's not bad. It's worth getting if you liked the first album, just don't expect the first one all over again. It is different. And I know this is a short review and is bound to get tons of negative reviews, but what is it with Victory plugging on ever commercial I see for this album the fact that we need to buy BOTH LAYOUTS TO GET THE WHOLE STORY! I like the Layout B that I got just fine thank you. No need to get another one. The CD: B+

BTW, the CD artwork is freakin beautiful on my layout (I don't know if all the discs are the same or if they are particular to the particular layout). It looks similar to the little girl on the Silence in Black & White case.

I was a huge fan of their first album,"the silence in black and white" I was hoping for an amazing new album, and when I went to buy it the first day it came out, that is what I got. My favorite tracks are #s 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, & 8. Some people who didn't like their first album should try this one

Most likely going to be #1 Best Seller .. Hawthorne just gets better and better. Last album was awesome this album has no words to describe how good it is... Awesome Buy.