Originally formed as an outlet for ex-Locust drummer Dave Astor, California death/grind act Pathology have developed into a solid album-a-year band with a steadily growing reputation, as evidenced by their signature to mega-indie Victory Records for their 2010 effort Legacy of the Ancients. Between that record and Awaken to the Suffering, vocalist Matti Way left to be replaced by Jon Huber, formerly of I Declare War, and the transition has been far from kind. In contrast to Way's distinctive deep growl, Huber's guttural emissions slip awkwardly between a dull, lifeless drone and comical gargling. The new arrival is hardly helped by his bandmates, who -- Astor's solid blastbeats notwithstanding -- offer little in the way of invention. There are plenty of tempo changes and rhythmic variations, but the riffs are bland and the breakdowns monotonous. The song titles alone read like a proud statement of the generic: "Opposing Globalization" and "Media Consumption" resemble less song titles as they do entry-level college lecture topics, while "Humanity's Cesspool" and "Prolonging the Suffering" would surely be among the first to run off a deathcore title generator were such a poisonous device to exist. Awaken to the Suffering is a pointless, meandering record that, despite the obvious technical ability of the players, is killed by a total lack of imagination.