In the Disaster is a melodic death metal album rounded out by modern hardcore breakdowns and plenty of technical flourishes, and it's played by fashionable young kids from California. As much I liked to show the claws and tear another one of these albums to shreds; I can't. Because, even though this comes from a corner of the metal world that most of us despise, this is a remarkably solid and well played album that fans of the particular style would be remiss to pass up.

What's satisfying about A Love Ends Suicide's approach is they are entirely comfortable and at terms with the style they're playing. They play American metalcore through and through, and even though they don't bring anything new to scene, their desire to work within the confines of the style, rather than superficially expand on it makes for a much stronger output. As with most bands playing this style, the guitar players can shred, and while it sometimes borders on being obnoxious (the intro to "Cold Summer"), more often it's tasteful and complimentary ("Let's Spark this Fire", "Black Art"). The riffs are familiarly melodic and choppy, and that's fine with me, I'm actually amused by the concept of "new guitar riffs." More importantly, there are lots of riffs. Here you will find no acoustic interludes, or pauses for clean singing. Each of these songs revolves around the riff, and I'm certain your appreciation for this album will be directly related to your tolerance for the At The Gates school of composition. The bass trunks in and out of the mix, and adds a little more than you would expect of a modern metalcore album. Drums and vocals are there, doing their job, and neither distracting nor stealing the show. Ultimately, this is a guitar driven album, and in playing to that strength it succeeds.

Of course, with all that's out there to spend money on, In the Disaster shouldn't be your first choice. However, that doesn't make it any less of an album. These songs are well written and concise in a way that makes ALES a more viable option for your metalcore dollar than talented but precocious acts like The Human Abstract, and more technically minded and complete than some of the genres more well-known but reductive acts like As I Lay Dying or Killswitch Engage.