A good portion of the reviews for this CD are way off! Does a band these days have to scream like maniacs every song to satifsy their un-appreciative "metalcore" fans? This is a sound, hard rockin', great effort from Still Remains. Geez, let these guys get creative if they want!

Most of these reviews are way off track. One or two stars because the music isn't filled with screams? Accusing the band of using the thank you section of the liner notes as a media ploy?! Please, get over yourselves. This band has far from sold out. The Worst is Yet to Come and White Walls both had melodic singing and were two of the best songs from Of Love and Lunacy. If anything they've simply built off those songs. Wax Walls, Anemia, Dropped from the Cherry Tree, The River Song, and Avalanche should more than please any fan of previous album. Avalanche is an excellent song, which starts out brutal with vocals more extreme than anything on the previous full length and EP. The brutality keeps up for a couple minutes straight, then mellows out with some melodic lead guitar, and further transitions into a great acoustic passage to end it. A perfect album closer. Proving that, more than a cliche, they have grown as musicians.

The other group of songs, those with dominant, or only, clean vocals, if not listened to with a "scenester" mentality are some of the best tracks on the album. Stay Captive and Dance with the Enemy both maintain a heavy sound and great energy, even without the growls and screams. I'll agree Maria might be a little too mellow but it progressively builds up to a harder sound with some extreme vocals and is a well done song. The new keyboardist proves he more than fills the role of his predecessor here. Throughout the album the keys are dominant and add atmosphere and energy (Killer 80's vibe on Dance with the Enemy) to the songs. They're never a distraction.

I don't think most of these scenesters, and specifically the reviewer who claimed the original keyboardist was the tr00 metal head, (BTW, Whelan has stated that the new drummer is "obsessed" with Black Metal), know what Metal is. The band hasn't gone from Metalcore to emo pop/rock. If anything they've dropped some of the core, a scene quickly growing stale, and kicked up the Metal. Just look at the improvement in the guitar work. The guitars on the album are phenomenal! Throughout the album are excellent leads and dual guitar solos! If you're a real metal head by any standard, and not a scenester, you'll enjoy this album.

recieved the CD just fine. I'd been looking for it everywhere, with no success. Found it here for cheaper than expected, and it was received promptly with no issues at all

These Grand Rapids, MI-based metalheads slowed things down a bit on their second major-label release, restraining the guitars and screams while emphasizing their melodic keyboard/synth parts and clean vocals. They're still heavy, but this album proves they're not just another metalcore band in a flooded market. They are in fact, way too musically diverse to be categorized, for they can go from brutal, in-you-face metal to dance-influenced choruses to breakdowns that would make Unearth jealous and back to powerful rock ballads all in one album. The lyrics are better, the melodies are catchier, and the screaming is WAY better. Look out Massachusetts, Still Remains is out to prove that Michigan is the true center of good metal and hardcore. And to those naysayers out there crying because they changed their sound, fear not, for there are about a million other cliche metalcore bands out there just starving for your attention. If you can't get past your "if it ain't as heavy as a ton of bricks, it's wimpy" attitude, Still Remains isn't the band for you. However, if you enjoy good musicianship, creativity, and passion, pick up The Serpent today!

This album is a little bit of a different style than Still Remains previous albums, but I personally loved the album.