With that said, screamo has always held a small place in my heart. Heading back to the wondrous days of old where The Used were still good, Underoath had grips on their music and Finch made me smile, 36 Crazyfists had been able to make me feel like screamo is alive and well. Boy oh boy it makes me smile to hear screamo like 36 Crazyfists' Rest Inside The Flames.

The album opens with sheer anger. The ever-expected screams and near-happy melodies are placed so perfectly in the first few songs. It's as if Finch kissed the distortion of every metalcore band out there leaving out the mallcore-ness of it all. Each song begins with a clever riff and every song makes sure that your face has been slapped with the buckle of a belt. Now, this may not be the hardest of hard nor the darkest of dark, but for any fan of non-s***ty screamo, this is your CD.

Vocalist Brock Lindow makes sure that you hurt as much as he does throughout this album. His voice is extremely well used in each song, and never becoming overwhelmingly annoying (as some screamo bands have done). Guitarist Steve Holt makes very good use of his guitar using tastefully clever guitar mixes with the drums and bass giving the album an overall darkly-melodic feel.

Hearing the album, you may think to yourself, "That Mike guy was a f*cking liar! He called this band not-metalcore! I distinctly hear breakdowns!" But when you hit that point, you should also realize that the breakdowns are not overwhelming enough to even call this band metalcore. Besides, the album is atypical, and therefore does not suck--like most metalcore.

Ending, 36 Crazyfists makes sure you have a good time with their album. With a good mix of screams and singing along side of some well written music, Rest Inside The Flames ends up being one of the best screamo (not metalcore!) albums I have heard this year.

Track Listing
1. I'll Go Until My Heart Stops
2. Felt Through a Phone Line
3. On Any Given Night
4. Elysium
5. Great Descent
6. Midnight Swim
7. Aurora
8. Will Pull This in by Hand
9. We Cannot Deny
10. Between the Anchor and the Air
11. City Ignites