If this is metal status quo these days, then I feel really old. I just don't get the kids today with their zero-variance, vocal-chord-fraying, cranked-to-11 screams, and uninspired power chord progressions over double-bass drums. Damn kids, get off my lawn!

Autumn Black's second release, "The Unborn Tragedy", is standard-issue, anti-innovative, drop-tuned death metal - - never gripping, never very interesting. No riffs or hooks to get under your skin, no epic feats of instrumental or compositional prowess to make you ooh and ahh. But as I alluded before, what kills the album for me are the vocals. With each strained scream, vocalist Andrew Vargas sounds like he's surpassed his limits and is about to keel over. They mix in semi-melodic singing here and there, but this is not a new trick, and it does nothing to enhance the songs or to make the primary vocals more palatable. The clean instrumental, "In Between Here and Now", makes for some aural diversity, but still doesn't explore any fresh themes.

There are plenty of sound-alike death metal bands on the late 2000s incarnation of Headbangers Ball on MTV2; if you watch that and enjoy almost every video - - if you just can't get enough - - then you'll probably get more out of "The Unborn Tragedy" than I did. You might even think it's ok. There's just nothing here to bring me back for repeat listens.

Music samples – as well as some positive fan comments – can be found on their Myspace and pure volume webpages (http://www.myspace.com/autumnblack, http://www.purevolume/autumnblack); apparently some people dig their sound. Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I'm just a cranky old man.

-Jack

Full disclosure: I'm not familiar with AB's 2006 debut release, "Beneath the Shadows", so I can't compare the two, can't rate the band's progression and/or changes.