This is the perfect record to start off the New Year and I think it’s a fair statement to say that this will undoubtedly be one of the best metal albums of 2010. I have been a fan of Living Sacrifice since the early 90’s when I was introduced to metal and hardcore. At that time they were breaking away from their Slayer influence (their self-titled debut was considered by by many in the scene at the time as equivalent if not superior to Slayer's Reign In Blood) and adopting more of a death metal sound. They soon called it quits after three solid releases, then came storming back in 1997 with the classic “Reborn,” seemingly out of nowhere. I remember seeing them for the first time at their record release show for “Reborn” and being totally blown away by their revived sound which translated to a more Machine Head-meets-Meshuggah onslaught. It was totally devastating and warmly welcomed by metal and hardcore heads alike. One thing can be said about Living Sacrifice and it’s that they have never claimed to be anything but a metal band and have conveyed that in several ways over their 20 year off-again-on-again existence. Every release has been a solid slab of metal and remains some of my favorite albums to this day. Aside from a collection of greats called “In Memoriam” we haven’t heard a full album of new music from them since 2002’s “Conceived in Fire,” after which they called it quits again. In retrospect I guess I was fine with the demise of the “Sac Posse.” I had the privilege of going on tour with them in 1998 and seeing them destroy every night. I was pleased with every record they released and understood that all good things eventually come to an end; it was time for them to move on and do other things. So needless to say, I had mixed feelings when they decided to resurface in 2008 as a support for a Demon Hunter tour. However, those feelings were soon quelled with the 2 song teaser EP “Death Machine”. I think the world could use some more Living Sacrifice.