Continent is an album that may not leave a lasting impression on me, but it is an album that you can really get into when it is on. There guitar sound, which is the centerpiece of the act, is excellent. They tune way down and procced to deliver these riffs of utter destruction. You can practically see them on stage tearing it up with a sea of people surging in front of them, limbs and bodies flying in all directions. This is violent music that just begs for you to break something.

Daniel Laskiewicz is the man behind the thick guitar sound, which I understand is heavily multi-tracked in the studio (especially since the band's line up has dwindled from three guitarists down to one). He does some very nice work mixing it up while keeping the aggression in place. Backing him up are the drums of Kevin Boutot and solid bass work from Jack Strong, the newest addition to the band. Leading the charge into battle is Vincent Bennett, whose growled vocals actually stand out from the pack. The sound of the voice is generally one of the last things I consider, mainly due to so many sound alike growlers, but Bennett's is quite good. I may not know what he is saying most of the time, but he sounds good doing it.

When you press play, here are a few tracks to pay attention to: "Skynet," "Seaward," "Balboa Towers," "Kraken," and the album closing instrumental "The Behemoth."

Bottomline. This is a good album. It does not rank among my favorites, and I cannot say how often I will revisit it, but it is a cut above. The Acacia Strain put a lot of work into crafting these supremely heavy songs and their hard work shows. If you like heavy music, this is going to be for you.

Recommended.