There are few bands who play music with the aggressiveness of Integrity. But just as the tension builds on the raging songs about the demise of humanity, the silence marking the end of the song sets in on the listener.

With most songs having a Slayer-type sound and lyrics that could scare small children into a closet, Integrity has a sinister air about it. For fans of hard-core music, this is a good thing.

Without a vocal range, lead singer Dwid is forced to scream throughout the album, making the shortened songs of less than two minutes, a plus. His talent is exemplified perfectly on the first song, Vocal Test, where he roars hysterically every few seconds, like he just stumbled upon a bloody car accident.

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The best song on the CD, Jagged Visions of My True Destiny starts out slowly like Metallica’s Fade to Black off 1984s Ride the Lightning. At nearly four minutes long, the extended song has a smooth texture of dual guitars with the drumbeats keeping time like a metronome.

The last two songs are basically sound like LSD-induced compilations of bizarre noises. The predecessor to the final tune, Drowning in Envy is a tripped-out sound experience. The self-doubting voice of the drummer is heard telling himself he sucks, and then is countered with his confident side reminding himself he is an excellent percussionist.

The last number, Humanity is the Devil, is a spoken word performance by Frank Araca, father of Integrity’s late drummer Dave Araca, who died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in 1991. The dark spoken word message about God being fed up with humans lust for physical pleasure rather than eternal salvation is more than haunting. The theory behind the concept of the song is Satan employing demons to put the final touch on corrupting the remaining humans to end what homosapiens would call humanity.

The CD comes with a booklet that spells out the spoken word performance by Araca. It bears the message of the Holy Terror Church of Final Judgment. The back page reads, The Lamb and the Goat have finally fused as One, but it is evident that superior talent and the aggression of Integrity puts into its playing has not. For the amount of darkness Integrity injects its their vein of musical talent, it could cause a blackout in Carbondale, but not much else. If you like hard-core and want to die by the sword, buy it; otherwise, I’d stay away. Grade C+