Life In A Burn Clinic

The packaging and song titles promised some interesting math-core, but what California's Life In A Burn Clinic are offering here is something different altogether. Unfortunately, it's pretty much a mess, combining weirdo prog hardcore with atonal riffs, an almost jazzy vibe, songs that go on for too long with songs that end too quickly. Cryptic Slaughter meets NoMeansNo at a jazz-fusion fest? Sure, the sum of these parts sounds good, but put it together and it's a scraping, jarring and dissonant headache. I couldn't squeeze one moment's enjoyment out of this record. However, they get credit for doing something original; thumbs up in theory, thumbs down in practice.