I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the artwork for this record seriously pisses me off. Throughout the jewel case insert is the girl pictured on the front in different poses with a halo and tears rolling down her cheeks. Yuck.

Once we get passed the cosmetics "Burning Bridges" still doesn't bring a lot to the table. "Emo" or whatever is dying; the new trend is the recent onslaught of Metalcore. Bands like Every Time I Die, the Bled, and As I Lay Dying are making respectable names for themselves with the sound. Haste the Day on the other hand is dragging behind their colleagues.

You know what this sounds like, one guy screams -- coming off rather raspy, while the backup vocalist kicks in for the chorus and harmonies. The vocals are pasted over Hardcore chugs of the guitar mixed with Metal riffs, followed by breakdowns, then rumbling out for the conclusion. These five gentlemen sound like they could kick my ass, but their lyrics hint otherwise, "Take me back, I surrender all / Without you my heat is broken / I never should have let you go / I never should have let you slip / Through my arms."

Haste the Day's debut full-length really isn't all that bad, there's a few songs I can get into. The majority of it just seems tired and forced right now to fit in with the rest. If you are a substantial fan of this current genre of music, then you're sure to enjoy "Burning Bridges." My opinions though are that it's already been done and better, especially by a few Solid State label mates.