Internal Salvation, the sixth studio album from Boston street punks
the Unseen, is another riotous assault of guitar-driven fury, anchored by rapid-fire drumming and snotty scream-sing vocals of criticism and discontent. And though it's not necessarily a bad thing, the record -- all visceral aggression and melodious f*ck yous -- is basically just more of the same. The Unseen continue spouting frustrations with society, government, and the scene, and songs like "Such Tragedy," "Break Away," and "Right Before Your Eyes" fall stridently in line with the acerbic piss-and-vinegar line of attack fans have come to expect from the guys. But nicely enough, the production factor on
Internal Salvation has been upped a notch from past efforts -- not so much to rile fans wearing one too many studded belts over their tight black jeans, but just enough to actually distinguish instruments from one another and make each jagged lyrical couplet cut sharper. Overall, the Beantown crew has not softened a bit in its decade-plus of fighting the good fight, and actually, this record is one of the tightest and best the band has released in years. The icing on the cake is the excellent cover of
the Freeze's "Talking Bombs," whose searing guitars and a rousing fadeout of gang vocals finishes up the brisk 35-minute set on a note as high as the fists left pumped in the air. ~ Corey Apar