Just as they did with 2001's , begin with a brief, mood-setting prelude. The move establishes spiritual leader 's music in a world outside our own, in a silvery place somewhere between celluloid and the supernatural. Some operators in the genre get caught up in their own stylism -- all that talk about ghouls and gore over slap bass and recast chording atrophies into one enormous (and enormously dull) song. But are different. First of all, can sing. He pours bitterness and yearning into the melody of -- it ends up sounding like fronting a version of . and too, expand 's traditional aesthetic borders with vocal harmonies and interesting changes -- in short, write songs, not generic genre product. the distorted-vocal rave-up and especially land on the band's harder side. While the slap rhythm and decadent, corpse paint lyrics ("I want to show you what happens when we die") are present and accounted for, there's in the guitar work and even the vocals. Overall, it's another solid outing from , who find real inspiration -- not just rehashing of theme -- among the leather jackets, nether world references, and biting heartbreak that have always defined . ~ Johnny Loftus