Are you looking for an album that finds its members desperately seeking a genre? This may fill the bill. However, if you are looking for an album that is more focused on what it is than what it wants to be, you will need to look elsewhere.

Immortal Dominion's Awakening: The Revelation is a release that is filled with metalcore, deathcore, death metal, and even some punk stylings. However, none of them seem to want to step up and take control. In this regard, this 2005 release (the last full length from the band) is all about self-discovery, a desire to figure out what the band wants to be. The title then becomes all the more relevant, as the band concept is being awakened and the multitude of influences slowly reveal what it is that they are. Rumor has it the band is working on a new album. One would hope they have gained more focus since 2005.

You may be wondering why there would be interest in this 2005 album from a band you've likely never heard of. The answer is simple; there is a renewed public interest in the band following the release of the horror film Teeth. You see, the band was able to contribute five songs to the soundtrack, and that will almost immediately put them on some people's radar. It would not surprise me to learn that situation is the driving factor in the band moving forward.

Whatever the real case may be, there is a new push with this album to help get the band's name out there and create some buzz, with the hopes of positioning them for a breakout year in 2008. Will it work? Perhaps. While the movie buzz will put them back on the radar, it is going to be what they do on the next album that will seal their fate. At this point, I would have to say they have a 50/50 shot at hitting it big.

The problem is that while there are some good tunes on Awakening, it is not a great album that loses something in the cohesion factor. I did not get caught up in any of the songs. Not to take anything away, I think the skills are there to create a truly kick-ass metal album. Perhaps the next album will be it.

The first thing to grab my attention with Awakening was the cover art. It is black and gray with the band's name on top and bottom, simple enough. The interesting portion comes in the middle, in the form of some bio-mechanical art that seems to have been directly inspired by H.R. Giger. It is an intriguing image that feeds perfectly into their clipped style.