Not even after the third or fourth consecutive listen of "Kill/Gore/Sledge" (or is it fifth… can't remember…) is it 100 percent clear why this young Floridian death/thrash metal act isn't clicking with me. Well, let's take a closer look here. The reason could be the smeared booger album cover that looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint. It could be the simplistic riffs that are repeated over and over again until blood starts gushing out of listeners' noses. It could be the personality-deprived vocals that don't showcase any variety until these guys attempt some sort of harmonized yelling on "I Am (The Monster)"… and then they're just hilarious. It could be that god-awful bass drum trigger that doesn't sound as much like a typewriter as it does a cross between a rackety old Model T going down the road and the flatulence that can only be caused by eating at least six White Castle sliders (the spurts around the 2:30 minute mark of the title track sound particularly juicy). Or it could be the lyrics, which sound like they were thrown together by someone with only a faint grasp of the English language by picking random words and phrases from "The Book of Heavy Metal Clichés."

Ultimately, it's a combination of all these things, plus a severe lack of individuality. I can appreciate that these guys dig extreme metal and want to contribute to the scene, but there's just not enough that listeners can take away from this album that they'll recollect longer than 10 minutes after they're done listening. Hell, ask me in about two weeks and I'll probably say, "ARES? Who? Oh, you mean the guys with snot on their album cover?" As always, though, I could be eating a crock pot full of crow if these guys one day become the next MORBID ANGEL, and I'd be curious to see how their sound develops over the years. Next time, though, could you please put a bit more thought into your cover art?

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/aresfl

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