A taciturn critic is an unusual occurrence in the world of review writing, and acts as more of a commentary on the object in question rather than the reviewer. Nu Metal artists Destroy The Runner released their newest effort, I, Lucifer, recently, and unfortunately it leaves the listener with very little to say.

The record opens strongly with two harder pieces, "Crumbs For The Murder" and "Isabellas," but if you're expecting it to go upward or elsewhere from there, you'll find yourself disappointed. While I, Lucifer is a bit of a departure from DTR's debut album - with more melodic parts focusing on singing parts, a slower tempo, and a definite de-emphasis on speed metal - it doesn't offer a heck of a lot technically and very little as far as content.

Breakdowns are weak and uninspired, soloing is limited and riffs in general are typical and have a borrowed feel. Everything on this album pretty much sounds like something you've heard somewhere else, something I hate to say about a band I had high hopes for. Saints had me excited for more, but I, Lucifer leaves me wondering what happened. The combination of emo and thrash that was so powerful on Saints falls short of the goal on tracks like "A Novel Of War" and "Luxuria," where vocals go from strongly emotive straight to whiny, with a hardcore scream thrown in to blend with the metal backdrop.

The real point is that each of these songs is good and worthy of being on an album. The trouble is that all of them are on the same album together, leaving very little variety between the tracks. They run together in a seamless blend, whether or not you listen to the words. I, Lucifer is an album suited to someone who likes to listen to their iPod on shuffle. When a random track pops up from this record it's far more enjoyable alone than taken with the rest of the album.

I hate to leave such a scorching review on a down note, especially since I understand how much of a musician is poured into the work and how much it means to have a completed effort all polished and tour-ready and pressed to a disc. Having said that, it may be helpful to point out that Destroy The Runner has got an appealing sound, not to mention a far more equal blend of singing to screaming than most metal bands, and the body of fans that buy and love an album and a band speak far more profoundly and significantly than one negative review.

- Review date: 5/19/08, written by Sean Lex