As a solid ten seconds of feedback rang through my speakers at the start of the all too aptly named “Has Everything We Do Already Been Done Before,” I knew exactly what I was in for -- the same metalcore album I’ve heard hundreds of times already. The same scowling vocals, the same blast-beats, and the same breakdowns.

I might as well be a living magic 8-ball.

Indeed, Zero Mentality’s In Fear of Forever is a retread four times over, and every part of every song is straight off the same assembly line that has put countless other bands like this in proverbial musical limbo. Not bad enough to be laughed at, not good enough to listen to.

I acknowledge that it’s hard to do anything new in the genre by now, but that doesn’t excuse a complete lack of effort on trying to do something new, anything new. The formulaic verse, gang vocals, sung part, breakdown approach is exactly what happens here, and although it’s not even bad per se, it’s just so uninspiring that it’s hard to even make it to the next song. That’s because without fail, you know that it will sounds just like what you heard two minutes ago.

And though I’ve never been one for extreme brevity, at the risk of continually repeating myself about how the album does the same, I’m cutting this review short by telling you to pass on this album.

It’s for the best.