I remember when the Debut album from Fear Before The March of Flames hit my ears. They haven't been the same. OK, not that extreme but Art Damage left an impression on me that raised the bar for Equal Vision. Sadly the group fumbled a little on their sophomore album, Odd How People Shake but I'm willing to give them another chance. The Always Open Mouth is a strong album even if they have left some of their edge behind. It is pushing the post-hardcore genre further than it has been pushed in quite some time. Fear is now more melodic and less screamo. If you need one song to drive this into your skull it would be "My (Fucking) Deer Hunter", one of the best tracks to ever grace Equal Vision. It's got mellow parts and while it never gets terribly aggressive it does turn loud. They've taken their old sound and fused it with the experimental styles of bands like Mars Volta or The Sound of Animals Fighting. Honestly, this is great change for this band. They realized that they could only take the screamo/post-hardcore only so far so they had to add something. They've found the magic key. Think of Liars camping out with Converge. For a taste of the difference, have a listen to the closing track "Absolute Past". If you buy one CD from Equal Vision this year, make it The Always Open Mouth.