Hard to believe that’s it’s been 8 years since The American Dream. Not the American Dream you’re thinking of. I wouldn’t know anything of that as I share a house with way too many roommates and pinch pennies for booze money at the end of the week.

Sagging economy jokes aside, it has been nearly a decade since we heard any new music from Walls of Jericho. And while the Michiganders have been busy starting families and with other musical endeavors, they apparently haven’t lost an ounce of the fury that brought them notoriety in the mid aughts. One Obama presidency later and Walls of Jericho are still spitting venom on latest album No One Can Save You from Yourself (Napalm).

With the exception of album bookend ‘Probably Will’ that venom is still potent. And ‘Probably Will’ is a well put together song, but its clean vocals and orchestral arrangements just don’t gel well with the rest of this sulfuric set.

But allow me to clarify to both naysayer and cautious devotee alike; Walls of Jericho are not on a mission to reinvent themselves. Much to my heart’s delight, frontwoman Candace Kucsulain still has those varnish peeling vocals. If you were expecting a post-hardcore or tech makeover then this album is not for you. That said, if you enjoyed With Devils Amongst Us All and All Hail the Dead then you’ll be dancing to your hearts content on tracks like ‘Relentless’ and ‘Cutbird.’ ‘Damage Done’ follows suit as it switches from gradual pummel to short Slayer blitzes. ‘Reign Supreme’ as a title may seem like an easy hardcore wink and nod, but its suffocating groove will kill any cynicism.

It’ll be easy for the dismissive and jaded to file No One Can Save You from Yourself as derivative. But to do so would be to disregard quality work from a band who’ve long paid their dues. And if we’re going to adopt that philosophy then we might as well expect musical metamorphoses from Ringworm or Integrity. Who wants that?

7.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ

[amazon asin=B019NU7D6Q&template=iframe image1]