tallied 19 years as a band with the release of , but in listening you're apt to suspect otherwise. As a collective they remain as tight as they were on 2003's obsessively dark (like all music-school outfits, they've exacted an all-for-one formula that doesn't allow a single player more than his share of swagger), but a edge -- call it a leap into 2005 -- has invaded their pledge of allegiance to theatrical heavy . Hear it on and both of which, at under five minutes, play like charming haikus from a band known for its epic , and also on the orchestra-backed 20-plus-minute final cut, which skips around from to influences, stopping off every so often at a place fans of might find familiar. As with all the band's discs, guitars loom large and both doom and redemption seem no further than the next twisted verse. What's changed is 's commitment to carrying on their reputation as underground 's classicists, and it seems well-timed. [ was also released on LP.] ~ Tammy La Gorce