Facedown's newest artist, Poured Out, really impressed with the re-release of their Blind Heart EP earlier this year. That EP set Poured Out up to by my most anticipated heavy album for the remainder of the year. The 90's hardcore throwback sound was divine and reminded me so much of the earlier Facedown days. I was raring to go for some more 90's flavored hardcore, but that's not really what their full-length album, To The Point of Death, has to offer. The throwback hardcore sound has been replaced with a more modern hardcore feel.

"Dementia" opens the album with an all-out metal assault with a much more aggressive and modern sound (especially in the drums) than anything on Blind Heart. The song eventually settles into a nice little hardcore groove and is a solid start to the full-length label debut. The tracks seem to blur by at a fairly fast clip without noticing a lot of differences between each one until the emergency broadcast tone rings out at the beginning of "5-101." The rhythms, tempo, and breakdowns change up a bit more in this one and it lets the number stand out a bit more. A cool combination on the album is the instrumental "Weeping…" and the accompanying song, "…And Gnashing of Teeth." The two tracks are an obvious reference to the suffering described by Jesus, himself, in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Most of the remainder of the album blends together like the first half, but the closer, "Victim of My Own Hate," changes tempos up again for a more interesting listen.

It's very unfortunate that Poured Out altered their sound for the debut album. Sure, they are still a hardcore band. Sure, the music is pretty enjoyable and is worthy of some head banging. But, overall, To The Point of Death just doesn't live up to the hype that the Blind Heart EP created. There are some good tracks present, but nothing comes close to "American Justice" or "Hymn of Broken Man" from the EP. If you're looking for a new hardcore/metal band to jam to, Poured Out may be exactly what you're looking for. And while I'm sure the differences are more subtle to other listeners, if you were expecting that punk influenced hardcore from their EP, you may want to look elsewhere. To The Point of Death isn't a bad listen, but it's not as good as it could have been.