Formula for reviewing new Mortal album: See band live the night before; hook up portable CD player to car cassette deck and run errands at full volume. Alive And Awake gets things going on this album with tons of energy, intensity and aggression. This song is incredible. The riff just plain shreds. Ow! I almost rear-ended another car during the next track, Neplusultra, which features The Crucified's Mark Salomon on lead vocals. As I pass the guy holding the "Veteran, Desperate, Need Work" sign, I wonder, "Should I give him my Mortal CD? It might save my life to get these dangerous tunes out of my earshot; but I don't want to endanger his life." Maybe the guy selling roses at the next light will trade a dozen for this CD. This music is so driving and intense that it makes it hard to keep my faculties on the road. Rift is a little easier to drive to. It's mellow most of the way through and doesn't put all of my nerves on edge with an onslaught of electric power. A few speedy breaks diversify the song, as I almost catch air over the railroad tracks. Jil Sent Me could send me to sleep behind the wheel if I was driving late at night (dangerous!). A lot of this album slows down and explores non-intense realms, which could quickly bore a mosh-minded metalhead. Mortal is a good band to have in your collection, because they can funnel your senses in a swirl of blazing intensity in a tight fashion. These guys know how to cut a heavy groove at high speed. Fathom is a scorching hot album during its moments, and somewhat cooler during the non-intense tunes, like Bright Wings, which sounds like LSU doing a hip hop tune. One very cool puzzle in the album is track #7, which is not listed on the back of the album. It features only four seconds of silence before track 8 and then reappears at the end of the album. "Welcome to track seven," says a voice. It is a high speed thank you list and salute to friends and fellow rock bands. You have to wade through portions of this album to find the highlights, but the highlights are great. Besides the fore-mentioned Alive And Awake, Electrify and the Mark Salomon assisted Godspeed are the brilliant standout cuts. For those who haven't yet charted into the waters of this new industrial/metal hybrid, Mortal would be a good place to start.