If Hope Dies is another in the long line of East Coast metalcore outfits that have as much in common with Iron Maiden as they do Slayer, yet the quintet which hails from Manowar's hometown succeed in taking the sounds of the new wave of American metal to the next level. There's a lot of screaming and lightning fast guitar licks here, and if that's not metal, what is?

Well, there's apathy and discontent, too, and with songs that bash the American spirit of over-consumption and lack of participation like "Sugar, Free Donuts" and "Shop Til You Drop", there's no shortage of that, either. If you dig Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall, If Hope Dies fits snugly in between those two releases.