A Life Once Lost

A Life Once Lost's first album in five years is more of the same rhythmic groove metal fans have come to expect from the band, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ecstatic Trance thrives in its simplicity, bobbing along from stellar opener "Something Awful" with a meticulous pace that continues throughout, even with its nuances. Though, at times, too simple for their own good, the drums build a solid backbone for an album that, while guitar dominant, never strays too close to excess ― the leads are often powerful, but rarely overdone. In many respects, Ecstatic Trance strips itself of over-indulgent polyrhythmic noodling in favour of grooves that never stray too far off the beaten path. It's all quite repetitive, with even the eerily Slipknot-sounding "Madness is God" eventually falling in line, but then there's a sense that maybe that's the point. Ecstatic Trance is far from perfect, but it locks itself in pretty early and rarely lets go.